Perfect Pickler

Kimchi and Flu Dear Pickling Pals~

The gist of this update: lactic acid bacteria are very good at protecting your immune system. This might be helpful with your pickling efforts during this flu pandemic.

Kimchi, the Korean pickled cabbage staple, got worldwide press four years ago, when the bird flu (SARS) ramped up. Eating fresh fermented pickles is an excellent way to help protect yourself.

I am including my favorite kimchi recipe, which can be made in less than 30 minutes. It makes about 3 pounds of fermented vegetables at a cost of only pennies per serving.

Korean dish 'may cure bird flu'
By David Chazan
BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347443.stm

South Korea's spicy fermented cabbage dish, kimchi, could help to cure bird flu, according to researchers.
Scientists at Seoul National University say they fed an extract of kimchi to 13 infected chickens - and a week later 11 of them had started recovering.
The researchers said the results were far from scientifically proven and if kimchi did have the effects they observed, it was unclear why. South Koreans are reported to be eating more kimchi as a result of the study.
"I'm eating kimchi these days because I've heard in the media that it helps prevent bird flu infections," one man said.
Love it or loathe it, once you have eaten it, you will never forget it. Kimchi is made by fermenting cabbage with red peppers, radishes and a lot of garlic and ginger.
The idea that it could help poultry to fight off bird flu sounds like a dubious folk remedy. But the theory is being floated by some of Korea's most eminent scientists.
"We found that the chickens recovered from bird flu, Newcastle disease and bronchitis. The birds' death rate fell, they were livelier and their stools became normal," said Professor Kang Sa-ouk.

Sars link

There was an increase in kimchi consumption two years ago, when thousands of people in Asia contracted Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

Kimchi was reported to have helped to prevent Sars. The claim was never scientifically proven, but according to some Koreans, people in other countries followed their example and started eating kimchi.

"After the Sars outbreak, I went to China and I noticed that the Korean restaurants there sold most of the kimchi they'd made that day," a Korean man said.

So one of Korea's national specialities may soon find a much bigger market. Whether it really is an effective remedy, only time and more research will tell.

Published: 2005/03/14 © BBC MMIX

Avian ﬂu: the kimchi option

http://neweconomist.blogs.com/new_economist/2005/12/avian_flu_the_k.html

With reports of growing Tamiﬂu resistance**, readily available alternatives become more attractive. One possibility is kimchi; Mark Thoma cites a Washington Post story that more people are buying it after reports it may help cure avian ﬂu.

Blame it on the Internet ... publication of a minor study by a South Korean academic last spring has apparently triggered a minor run on kimchi, a daily staple of the Korean diet that the bland-of-palate are likely to avoid ... Which presents a potentially difﬁcult choice given the work of Kang Sa-Ouk of Seoul National University, who took 13 chickens infected with avian ﬂu virus and a couple of other diseases, fed them kimchi juice and found that 11 of the birds recovered.

Are there any foods which protect against Avian Flu Virus?

Kimchi may cure bird flu? Researchers at Seoul National University say that kimchi, a Korean version of sauerkraut, may provide protection against avian flu. In an experiment, 11 out of 13 chickens recovered from the disease after being fed kimchi.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347443.stm and http:// www.newstarget.com/005897.html. See also the Seoul National University website

Sauerkraut used to treat Small Pox with success! "Good Bacteria: Just as scientists are belatedly recognizing that cholesterol can be good, so have they recognized that bacteria can be friendly. According to an article in Newsweek (3/26/01), "It's hard to imagine microbes as our allies. But mounting evidence suggests that these friendly flora aid digestion, ward off pathogens and help us process folic acid and other critical nutrients." The friendly bacteria are the hundreds of strains of lactobacilli, which formerly were in our diets when we ate natural lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut and yogurt. Actually, the medical profession used to understand this principle. At the Civil War Cemetery and Pest House in Lynchburg, VA, visitors learn that Dr. John Hay Terrill was able to reduce the death rate from small pox from 90 percent to 5 percent by giving his patients sauerkraut. As humans develop more and more resistance to antibiotics, health practitioners will return to nature's natural antibiotics—the friendly flora in lacto-fermented foods." Reprinted with kind permission from the Weston A. Price Foundation website. Flu Pandemic: Got Kimchi?

SUPERFOOD STRIKES AGAIN: Scientists Find Kimchi Sauerkraut May Cure Avian Flu.
Publication: Business Wire
Date: Tuesday, October 18 2005 http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diseases-disorders-infectious/ 5100201-1.html

FREMONT, Ohio -- A cure in a meal: U.S. Sauerkraut sales expected to skyrocket In yet another indication that Sauerkraut is the super food of the 21st century, scientists at Seoul National University have successfully used Kimchi Sauerkraut to treat chickens infected with avian flu. Kimchi is a seasoned variety of sauerkraut that shares Lactobacillus bacteria with traditional Sauerkraut, which may be the critical element in preventing Avian Flu. Both Kimchi and traditional Sauerkraut are made by fermenting sliced cabbage, producing a high level of lactic acid.

According to an October 2005 BBC report, Kimchi was fed to 13 infected chickens and 11 of them started recovering within a week. South Korean Kimchi consumption is up as a result of this report and U.S. sales of Sauerkraut are also expected to spike up.

Kimchi Recipe is available in our recipe section.

If you like this recipe, I have just created another version that is based on the national diet of Okinawa, where there are five times more centenarians than in Japan—which is the longest lived culture in the world! Email me at bill@perfectpickler.com.