Kimchi: Great taste and fantastic health benefits
Listen to this articleIt is proven. Good food = long life. Or why I love cabbage.
A while ago I reported on the glorious fact that the good people of Okinawa on average live beyond 100 years. To the best of known statistics that makes the Okinawans the longest living group of people on earth.
Their long life is no real mystery however but can be explained by their diet and eating habits that reduce over consumption and focus heavily on vegetables and sea food.
In fact as you examine the life expectancies around our world those who live longest also have the healthiest food consumption habits. Coming up fast in life expectancy is not too far away Korea where their life expectancy is currently right at 90 years and slowly climbing. So when looking at ways to improve your own personal wellbeing doesn’t it make sense to look at the eating habits of those populations already proven to enjoy long life?
The basic eating habits of both the Okinawans and Koreans share many commonalities including abundant sea food and vegetables, but there is one food unique to Korea that deserves your attention and it is fermented cabbage. Yuck! Well not really but it is more commonly known as Kimchi and in truth it is one delicious food with superb health benefits.
Kimchi is fermented with probiotic lactic acid bacteria adding probiotic benefits to vegetables much as a similar process adds probiotic benefits to dairy products such as yogurt. The probiotics help create microorganisms that aid digestion. With the addition of these healthy bacteria comes a boost to your immune system, reduced risk of infection, lower cholesterol and a great big reduction in the risk of colon cancer. And making Kimchi even more appealing is the happy fact one cup of a typical Kimchi weighs in at only 25 calories.
So there you are — great taste, fantastic health benefits and wonderfully lower calories than typical foods. The only significant downside to Kimchi is that it is relatively high in sodium and therefore not so good for those fighting hypertension. But even that has a solution. There are indeed low sodium varieties of Kimchi. One that I found and love is from Rejuvenate and labelled “Salt Free Garden Kim-Chi.” It is 100 percent organic and absolutely delicious and you may check it out here.
••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••
To read more of Ron’s health columns and theatre reviews, click here. And we invite you to join Ron on the Hollywood Health Hike April 30.
•••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••
Now that you are well on your way to more enjoyable and healthier eating and longer life take a moment and enjoy some good art.
Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.