Who doesn’t love kimchi? The sour cabbage condiment is so versatile that you can have it with almost anything! But apparently, its benefits don’t just stop at being delicious.
According to a study by a former WHO expert, Dr Jean Bousquet, kimchi has been linked to low fatality rates in South Korea.
In his study published by the journal Clinical and Translational Allergy, he mentions that nutrition may play a role in the immune defence against Covid-19 and may explain some of the differences seen in Covid-19 across Europe.
Ultimately does your diet affect your defence against the virus?
Countries, where fermented cabbage forms a key part of their diet, have had lower fatalities. These countries include Austria, Baltic States, Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and even Germany.
What’s with cabbage? Besides being high with antioxidants, fermented cabbage helps decrease levels of ACE2. For all you non-science people, ACE2 is an enzyme used by the Covid-19 virus to enter the lungs. Thus, when ACE2 reduces, the virus will find it harder to enter the lungs.
Fermented cabbage is also good for boosting immunity.
Does this mean we should start including cabbage in our daily diets?
There’s nothing wrong ever in including more green vegetables in your daily diets but can kimchi alone be enough to prevent you from contracting the virus.
In a report by Arirang News, they state that kimchi has been proven to combat MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and researchers are now using PRObiotics instead of ANTIbiotics to treat Covid-19.
However, there are certain biases we need to consider before making a conclusion. According to John Hopkins resource centre, an important way of measuring the severity of Covid-19 is mortality rate BUT the mortality rate is assessed differently between countries.
Differences in the mortality rates depend on the characteristics of the health care system, the reporting method, whether or not deaths outside the hospital have been counted and other factors, many of which remain unknown.
For example, the reason Germany recorded a lower number of fatalities could’ve been due to different quarantine methods and early testing, not their cabbage-rich diet only.
Are you going to be having kimchi for breakfast, lunch AND dinner now? Let us know in the comments section!
Also read: Research: Yoghurt & Kimchi Among Foods That May Help With Depression And Anxiety
