Kimchi, the staple Korean food, was named as one of the world's five healthiest foods by Health Magazine in the United States recently.

    Along with Spanish olive oil, Japanese soy sauce, Greek yoghurt and Indian lentils, kimchi is being touted as a cure all for prevention of diseases like cancer, digestion problems, immune booster, lowering blood cholesterol and delaying the age process.Korea's favourite spicy cabbage side dish which is served at every meal is loaded with vitamins A,B and C but its biggest benefit is the ‘healthy bacteria' called lactobacilli found in fermented foods like kimchi and yoghurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections and contains compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer.

    Koreans eat approximately 20 kilos of kimchi per person each year, so much so that when Koreans have their photo taken they say ‘kimchi' instead of ‘cheese'. Kimchi is very much a part of the Korean high fibre, low-fat diet that keeps obesity at bay.

    Kimchi is made from a mix of cabbage, garlic, salt, vinegar and chilli peppers and the health properties of kimchi come from the fermentation process. Kimchi has antibiotic functions as lactic acid bacteria produced in the process of fermentation suppresses growth of harmful bacteria. This bacteria not only gives a sour flavour to matured kimchi but also prevents excessive fermentation by restraining growth of other bacteria. Substances in Kimchi also help to prevent hyperacidity resulting from excess meat and other acidic foods.

    Kimchi is synonymous with Korea, so much so there is a Kimchi Museum in Seoul. At Gwangju there is an annual Kimchi Festival where visitors can enjoy making kimchi and try all the various kinds of kimchi. There are many different kinds of kimchi - some made with cabbage, others made with cucumber or radish. A Korean meal is incomplete without kimchi.

    泡菜，主要的韓國食品，最近被美國“健康雜志”稱之為全球5種最有益健康食品之一。

    泡菜，與西班牙橄欖油，日本辣醬油，希臘酸奶和印度偏豆齊名，正在作為預(yù)防多種疾病的靈藥推銷，被宣傳為可以預(yù)防癌癥，消化系統(tǒng)病，增加免疫，低血膽固醇和延緩衰老。韓國著名的每餐必備的香辣菜配盤有豐富的維他命A，B和C，而它的最大益處是：名為乳桿菌的“健康菌”，正如泡菜和酸乳之類的發(fā)酵食品。這種益菌有助消化，甚至預(yù)防感染，并含有某些可以防止癌變的化合物。

    韓國人每人每年食用將近20公斤泡菜，多到如此程度以至在拍照片時把“cheese”說成“kimchi(泡菜)”了。泡菜占韓國高纖維，低脂肪，遠離肥胖癥飲食的很大比例。

    泡菜由卷心菜，大蒜，鹽醋和紅辣椒等原料制作而成。而泡菜的健康品質(zhì)來自它的發(fā)酵過程。泡菜具有抗生素的作用，這是由于在發(fā)酵過程中產(chǎn)生的乳酸菌抑制有害細菌的繁殖。這種乳酸菌不僅讓成品泡菜有酸味而且防止過分發(fā)酵，遏制其它細菌生成。泡菜中的成分也有利于防止由過量肉和其它本性食物造成的胃酸過多。

    泡菜與韓國同義并論到這樣程度，以至在漢城居然有泡菜博物館。在光州有非同一般的泡菜節(jié)，觀光人們可以享受制作泡菜的快樂，品嘗各種泡菜。這里有多種多樣的泡菜，有用卷心菜原料，也有用黃瓜和蘿卜制作的。韓國餐沒有泡菜是不完整的。