Chapter 17 - Kimchi and other fermented foods for gastrointestinal health

Abstract

This chapter introduces the health benefits of kimchi and other types of fermented foods in South Korea. It starts by presenting the types of Korean fermented foods and their fermentation methods, focusing on kimchi, doenjang, and cheonggukjang. It then explains the microbial compositions of all three fermented food and their health properties were discussed. The highlight of this chapter is the clinical evidence of Korean fermented food for gastrointestinal health. The chapter ends with the quality and safety of fermented food. A full literature review is performed to show the overall health benefits of fermented foods in Korea.