▲ There are various kinds of kimchi which is representative food of Korea such as kkakdugi and waiver kimchi. by Siyeong Im

Lately, there is growing interest in a unique COVID-19 prevention method and specifically the treatment effects of kimchi, which is a Korean representative food.

In particular, when a famous U.S. actress Gwyneth Paltrow was diagnosed with COVID in February, she has suffered from chronic fatigue and aftereffects such as 'brain fog,' according to her website GOOP. Brain fog is a symptom of concentration and memory loss, decreased appetite, fatigue, and depression while feeling as if there is fog in the head.

However, she stated she enjoyed eating kimchi regularly to recover her health, thus initiating the growing popularity of kimchi abroad. Paltrow said, "I am taking care of my healthy diet to recover from COVID-19, by consuming nutritious kimchi." She described what she's eating as 'sugar-free daikon kimchi,' apparently referring to Korean kkakdugi, a type of kimchi that is made of radish and spices.

In fact, interest in the effect of kimchi has increased every time an epidemic spreads.

According to the Korea Customs Service, kimchi exports in 2020 amounted to $144.51 million, up 37.6 percent from the previous year, surpassing the previous record of $16.61 million in 2012. Although it is not clearly known whether the surge in kimchi consumption overseas last year was due to the influence of COVID, research has already shown that kimchi is effective in treating a disease like COVID.

In July of 2020, a research team led by Dr. Jean Bousquet, a professor at Montpellier University in France and a World Health Organization (WHO) expert, announced that "countries with low mortality rates from a global pandemic consume a lot of fermented food," exemplifying kimchi from Korea, and sauerkraut from Germany, which are a form of both fermented cabbage. The research team reported that when the COVID binds to ACE2, an enzyme in the human cell membrane, the fermented cabbage inhibits such ACE2 activity, thus preventing a complete intervention of COVID-19 in our body.

Additionally, even when the swine flu virus spread in 2014, a study found that the survival rate was 40-50% higher than that of ordinary mice when mice fed kimchi lactobacillus were infected with the influenza virus. If the fight against Corona is prolonged, we may see Korean kimchi on the table every day for all mankind.