Kimchi and its Anti-Ageing Effects (Part 2 of 4)

Yes, that is not a misprint. And yes, I know that sounds a little far-fetched.

So let's back up.

One result of a long and intricate preparation process is that kimchi contains a looooooot of the good stuff. We're talking antioxidants like Vitamin C, beta carotene, phenol compounds, and chlorophyll. You know, the kind of stuff you'd need to be a fitness-nut to know all the names of.

Anyway, one of the many beneficial effects of all this good stuff, is that Kimchi reduces your stress in a big way. Stress can be a good thing if it motivates you. We're talking about the negative kind that just....stresses you out.

Here's a study that proves the point, brought to us by the amazing Professor Lee Jongmi of Ewha Women's University.

A mouse under stress (and no, it doesn't say how she did this, maybe gave it a really tight deadline or something, I don't know) was fed with a mixture containing 5% Kimchi.

The mouse's blood corticosterone - a fancy term for the hormone that indicates the stress level - was reduced by 30.4%. 30.4%, bro!

There's a place near my office in Manhattan I've found that recently started serving kimchi, and I added a bunch as a side to my lunch the other day. No kidding, but the ride home that day was a totally different experience. Zen-like calm. On the New York subway. It was so weird I almost started stressing out about it.

Anyway, the point is that 30% is a lot. And 30% every day is going to have a pretty noticeable effect.

I don't know if you've noticed this, but in my experience, my Korean friends all tend to look in fairly good shape for their age. As in 30 year olds who look about 15, and 60 year olds who look like they're at the top of their game. That's not scientific, but I just thought I'd mention.

The point I'm trying to get to, is that negative stress and ageing in the skin are closely related, and people wanted to find out if kimchi also helps to make people look younger.

BACK TO THE LAB YO!

This time, Professor Park Kunyoung of Pusan University ran a sixteen week experiment.

First she tested the skin cell thickness of a group of mice. Then she fed them with Kimchi for sixteen weeks. Skin usually becomes drier and thinner with age, but the skin cells of the mice that were fed with Kimchi showed an *increase* in thickness of more than 24% compared to the mice that were given ordinary food.

In scientific language, 'the formation of new collagen (fibrous structural protein that forms skin, bone and so on) in the derma structure increased, indicating antiageing effects...'

No freaking way! That is n.u.t.s.

And that's it for kimchi. There are literally no more good things about it other than what we've mentioned so far.

Except you know that's not true. YOU KNOW IT.

Check back for more articles soon, and we'll be bringing the amazing!