FERMENTED foods are the bees knees if you want to improve your gut health and digestion.
But did you know these types of foods could have other health benefits too – from preventing balding to giving your skin a glow?
A study from South Korea has found daily consumption of kimchi, a tub of which costs less than £5 in supermarkets and pennies to eat every day, may prevent weight gain.
The study of 115,726 people discovered eating up to three servings of the Korean dish made of fermented vegetables per day may lower men’s risk of obesity, and eating kimchi made with radish is linked to smaller waists in both sexes.
There is growing evidence for the benefits of fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi.
These foods have undergone a process of fermentation, which promotes the growth of probiotics, which can support your health.
Catherine Nash a Gastroenterology Dietitian at Oxford Gastro Dietitians, says: “Your gut contains its own ecosystem with thousands of different types of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, yeasts and fungi.
“There is a huge push on gut health at the moment, and one of the ways of looking after the gut is by encouraging the gut ecosystem – or biome – to be as diverse as possible.
“Eating fermented foods can help increase diversity of the microbiota in your gut and if we nurture and look after our gut, it has the potential to create other positive effects in the body.”
So which foods can help?
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1. Kimchi – best for weight loss and preventing hair loss
Liv Morrison, clinical dietitian and nutritionist at health and wellbeing app Kic, says: “Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented food, with a spicy and sour flavour, usually consumed on the side of meals.”
The ingredients can vary but kimchi is usually made by salting and fermenting cabbage, radish or cucumber and includes other ingredients like garlic and onion.
“Because it’s a fermented food it adds good bacteria to your gut. It contains fibre which is beneficial to build up good bacteria and also contains important vitamins like Vitamin A and C,” says Catherine.
As well as benefits for your gut and weight loss, kimchi has been found to thicken hair and even reverse the balding process.
A small study from 2019 looked at men in the early stages of hair loss who consumed kimchi twice a day. After one month, the average number of hairs had increased from 85 per square centimetre to 90, then to 92 after four months.
You can find kimchi in most supermarkets in the Asian section, including in Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
2. Sauerkraut – best for digestion
Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. While sauerkraut translates to sour cabbage in German, the dish was first developed in China over 2,000 years ago.
Like kimchi, sauerkraut contains probiotics that support digestive gut health as well as vitamins A and C.
Clinical trials have found that sauerkraut can help improve symptoms for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Other studies have found evidence that probiotics found in fermented food like sauerkraut seem to have a potential role in both the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Liv says: “Both kimchi and sauerkraut are powerful anti-inflammatory foods, with human studies showing regular consumption to have numerous health benefits.
“These include lowering cholesterol, body fat and blood sugars, preventing the development of various cancers, particularly colon and breast cancer, preventing heart disease and narrowing of arteries and improving immunity and metabolic health.”
Sauerkraut is very easy to make at home with just three ingredients – cabbage, water and salt – and a jar.
You can then add the fermented cabbage to a ham sandwhich, toss it in a salad or make it into a dip.
Or, find it in the supermarket – it’s often labelled as Polish, Bavarian – or in a health food store.
3. Kefir – best for skin
Kefir is a fermented drink made of milk and kefir grains – colonies of yeast – which looks and tastes like thin yoghurt but with extra tanginess.
It’s become a staple item in most milk fridges in supermarkets but is also made into yoghurts, too. Usually these have flavourings, but you can make it at home, too, as long as you have the right kit.
Kefir is one of the most well-researched types of fermented foods with strong links to improved gut health and digestion.
Research has found drinking kefir can improve skin health by bolstering the skin barrier, including one study that the homemade stuff improved atopic dermatitis (eczema).
Therefore, it could be a good choice for those with chronic skin conditions, as a compromised skin barrier allows for the worsening of skin conditions and allergies, too.
Meanwhile, high calcium levels in milk-based kefirs can contribute to healthy bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
4. Natto and tempeh – best for bones
Liv says: “Natto is a traditional Japanese dish often eaten for breakfast or as a snack, made from fermented whole soybeans.
“As soybeans are quite bland in flavour, natto’s taste can range depending on what seasoning you want to use.”
When served natto has a pungent smell and is sticky.
Natto is high in dietary fibre among several vitamins and minerals, which means it is useful for digestion and alleviating constipation.
Liv says: “Natto is nutrient-rich, particularly high in calcium, vitamin K, iron and potassium. These are great for reducing blood pressure, improving kidney and heart function, bone density and immunity.”
Fibre is also beneficial for preventing bowel cancer and heart disease, and can manage weight.
Japanese researchers recommended menopausal women eat natto because after studying middle-aged women, it was most associated with reduced bone loss.
Tempeh is also made with fermented soybeans. Originating from Indonesia, it is similar to tofu and often used as a protein-rich alternative to meat.
Like natto, tempeh is high in fibre and can help improve gut health and cholesterol levels.
5. Yoghurt – best for mental health
Many people enjoy yoghurts, which are made by fermenting milk, as part of a healthy diet, but they can also be beneficial for mental health.
Research has found that certain types of bacteria found in yoghurt could potentially improve mood and the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Liv says: “Probiotic foods that have been shown to provide mental health benefits are called psychobiotics.
“Well-researched, natural sources of psychobiotics include Greek yoghurt, kefir, kimchi and tempeh.
“There are many strains of good bacteria that have been shown to influence mood via our immune system pathways.
“This is called microbiota-gut-brain signalling, which is a fancy term for how our gut bacteria communicate with our brain to create physical changes.
“This area of research is pretty new, so we are still a while away from being able to prescribe specific strains of bacteria for treatment of mental health conditions.
“Regardless, the research is promising and there’s no harm in including natural fermented foods now.”
To get the best of yoghurt, go for the natural kind, not the sweetened sugary stuff.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
