What Are the Health Benefits of Kimchi?

Some health benefits of kimchi are its high vitamin C content, low caloric count, and the presence of healthy bacteria. The dish can contain nearly an entire day’s worth of vitamin C in one serving. Its low caloric count makes kimchi a good dieting food, and it is sometimes used as such even in countries where it is not widely popular. The bacteria from this Korean dish result from the fermenting process, but some variations, like Japanese kimchi, are usually not fermented. Kimchi also contains garlic and and carotene from peppers, both of which can have positive affects on a person’s body.

Kimchi is rich in vitamin C because of the chili peppers used. Red chili peppers in particular have the most vitamin C among peppers, and many kimchi dishes use a lot of red pepper. Some dishes, like those served in winter, use green pepper instead of red. Green peppers are still healthy, but do not have as much vitamin C.

The benefits of kimchi includes its low caloric count. This Korean dish is made primarily from vegetables like cabbage and peppers. Even though it has a lot of variations, the primary ingredients remain vegetables, which are naturally low calorie when unprocessed. Some people even use kimchi as a dieting food.

Kimchi is full of healthy bacteria called lactobacilli because of the fermenting process. This bacteria can be found in yogurt, but kimchi has about four times the amount. Lactobacilli live in the gut, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina and fight harmful bacteria. People who have irritable bowel syndrome or frequent urinary tract infections are sometimes advised to consume foods with lactobacilli to help remain healthy.

One of the benefits of kimchi is that it contains a large amount of garlic. Garlic contains selenium and allicin, which have many health benefits; for instance, selenium can cause vitamin C to last longer in the human body and remove cholesterol from the walls of the arteries. Allicin helps the body remove built up cholesterol.

The health benefits of kimchi include the consumption of carotene, also called provitamin A. Carotene is found in peppers, sweet potatoes, and other orange-colored vegetables. A regular intake of carotene can prevent cognitive decline and lower a person’s overall risk of death. Carotene can turn a person’s skin orange if she consumes an excessive amount of vegetables containing it. This side effect is not dangerous and is resolved by cutting back on carotene.