STUDENTS HEALTH SCIENCES : WORLD [2] ESSAY

ARE FERMENTED foods good for us ? Research on their health effects is limited, Dr. Marco said. But some studies suggest that the foods [ excluding alcohol ] may offer a few benefits.

In a trial published in 2021, for instance, researchers split 36 healthy adults into two groups, one that ate a lot of fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi and Kombucha and another that ate plenty of fiber-rich foods like legume whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

After 10 weeks, those in the fermented food group had significantly lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood - and more diverse gut microbes - than they did at the start of the study. [ Both measures are associated with lower risk of chronic disease.]

Those in the fiber group had no changes in those measures.

Other research has found associations between fermented food consumption and less risk of eczema — as well as kimchi consumption and lower rates of obesity; yogurt consumption and reduced risks of Type 2 diabetes and weight gain; and sauerkraut consumption and fewer irritable bowel syndrome symptoms.

IN ONE study of more than 46,000 U.S. adults, researchers linked fermented food consumption to small reductions in blood pressure, body weight, waist size and blood insulin and triglycerides levels.

The existing studies on the health benefits are promising, Dr. Hutkins said. But many are limited by their size, duration or observational nature [ meaning they can't prove cause-and-effect. More research is needed, he said.

And not all research has been positive. Some studies have found higher rates of stomach and esophageal cancers in people in EastAsia who ate a lot of kimchi and other fermented vegetables, said Suzanne Devkota, director of the Cedars-Sinai Human Microbiome Research Institute in Los Angeles.

The evidence for the cancer link is weak, though, she said, and many other factors could have influenced that result.

This Master Publishing continues to Part [3].