I’m speaking about my new book, The Fish Counter, at Origins at Woodberry Kitchen. For information and reservations, click here.
Apparently, no food can exist without research attesting to its healthfulness. This item comes from Karla Alindahao, senior editor at Food & Wine (for which I have promised to start writing—more on this later in the summer).
She sent me the NBC News account: Eating kimchi every day could help stave off weight gain, new study says: Cabbage and radish kimchi, a popular fermented vegetable dish, in particular were effective in reducing the risk of obesity and abdominal obesity in both men and women.
As usual, I went right to the study: Jung H, Yun Y-R, Hong SW, et al. Association between kimchi consumption and obesity based on BMI and abdominal obesity in Korean adults: a cross- sectional analysis of the Health Examinees study. BMJ Open 2024;14:e076650. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2023-076650
Kimchi, fermented vegetables, contains probiotic lactic acid bacteria.
In this survey, higher kimchi consumption was related to a lower prevalence of obesity.
Eating radish kimchi was associated with 8% lower abdominal obesity in men and 11% in women.
As for the funding: “This research was supported by grants from the World Institute of Kimchi (KE2201- 1) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea.”
Comment
Somehow, the caveats got lost in the press releases.
Oops: Both lower and higher kimchi consumption were associated with obesity (a ‘J- shaped’ association).
The authors caution:
In conclusion, total kimchi consumption of 1–3 servings/day was shown to be reversely associated with obesity in men…However, since all results showed a ‘J- shaped’ association, excessive consumption suggests the potential for an increase in obesity prevalence. As kimchi is one of the major sources of sodium intake, a moderate amount of kimchi should be recommended for the health benefits of its other components.