Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables can potentially prevent DNA damage and metastatic cancer spread, activate defenses against pathogens and pollutants, help to prevent lymphoma, boost your liver detox enzymes, target breast cancer stem cells, and reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression. Does it maintain these benefits when fermented, in the form of kimchi and sauerkraut?
Why Shouldn’t You Eat Kimchi?
Kimchi consumption potentially doubles one’s risk of breast cancer, and may increase the odds of getting prostate cancer ten-fold—from just a spoonful a day.
Habitual “consumption of pickled foods, salted fish and processed meat were [each] associated with” about a 25% greater risk of stomach cancer. The pickled foods may explain why Korea appears to have the highest stomach cancer rates in the world.
Why Shouldn’t You Eat Sauerkraut?
Red or purple cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables—packed with antioxidants, yet dirt cheap, and seems to last forever in the fridge. But, when you ferment it, not only do you add way too much salt, but you end up wiping out some of the nutrition. The antioxidant capacity of your bloodstream in the hours after eating fresh red cabbage is cut down by almost 30% if you ate the same amount in fermented form.
Is The Sodium Harmful?
They are both high in sodium, so if you do eat them I would suggest moderating your intake. See, for example, my videos:
Image Credit: Nagyman / Flickr
