GWANGJU, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — A new study has revealed that kimchi, the most well-known traditional Korean dish, can alleviate symptoms caused by the coronavirus.
A joint research team from the World Institute of Kimchi, the organization under the state-run Korea Food Research Institute, and the University of Montpellier Department of Respiratory Diseases in France focused on low coronavirus death rates in South Korea and East Asia in general, as well as African states near the Sahara Desert.
Most countries with low death rates, excluding Australia and New Zealand, shared a common practice of consuming fermented vegetables like kimchi or various kinds of spices.
The research team discovered that nutrients made from sulforaphane in cabbage, allicin in onions, capsaicin in peppers, gingerol in ginger, and lactic acid bacteria produced by fermentation interact with nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), an antioxidant regulator in the human body to eradicate harmful free radicals caused by COVID-19.
It controls the activation of transient receptor potentials, which trigger inflammatory responses from cell membranes, to reduce pain.
Image Credit: Rural Development Administration / Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
