Wednesday, May 31, 2006

It's the Lactobacilli, Stupid! or, There is No Avian Flu in Korea

Kimchi is an artisanal food: you can't mass produce it, you have to squish it and eye it and figure out when it's properly fermented by using real human input. When I smell its garlicky peppery gingery aroma, my stomach growls but a lot of people unfairly think it's gross. In Korea, people eat it with every meal because not only does it taste delicious, but it has all sorts of cool enzymes to help you digest and it cultures lactobacillus, a strain of "good" bacteria that can help you fight the bad things, including the avian flu virus. Word!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347443.stm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001431.html

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