How does Kimchi help you against COVID-19 infection?
With the prevalence of the K-pop culture, more and more Filipinos are loving Korean foods. We crave for foods like samgyeopsal, bulgogi, japchae, and the famous side dish, kimchi.
Fermented foods are good for our gut health and immune system
There’s a great news for those who frequently eat kimchi as a recent study has found that this superfood may be the reason for low COVID-19 fatality rates in South Korea.
Dr. Jean Bousquet, together with a team of researcher in France, conducted a research about the dietary preferences of countries with low fatalities from the deadly virus. They found out that countries where diet mainly consists of fermented cabbage had lower deaths as compared to others.
In South Korea, kimchi is considered a staple food and it’s made of fermented cabbage. Only 296 people have died out of 13,771 infected with COVID-19 so it has a fatality rate of 2.14% only. Other countries like Germany, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey also have low fatality rates due to fermented foods like sauerkraut, caviar and yoghurt.
Based on the report, fermented cabbage helps in lowering levels of ACE2. This is an enzyme in the lungs that the coronavirus uses to gain access to bodies of the infected people. Allegedly, the lower amount of ACE2 will make it harder for the virus to enter our body.
Moreover, the former Chairman of the WHO Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases Dr. Bousquet reported, “Coronavirus binds to ACE2 that induces oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic effects. Fermented foods have potent antioxidant activity and can protect against severe Covid-19.”
In addition to the high antioxidants and vitamin C packed in cabbage, the fermentation process creates probiotics that support the “gut microbiome”. Many studies have shown that this helps for a better immune response in the body.
Maybe this is the best time to boost our defense against COVID-19 by adding these foods to our everyday diet. What do you guys think?
