Eat Korean to Fight Cancer

Cancer is Korea's biggest killer, responsible for 25 percent of deaths. Its causes are still not fully known, its treatment too often remains a stab in the dark, but it is clear that a diet rich in kimchi and other traditional Korean dishes can be highly effective in preventing cancer.



◆ Rice and Black Beans

An article recently published in a respected cancer journal showed that rice-bran and embryo buds of rice contain substances that can prevent cancer. For a better intake of rice-bran and embryo buds, eat unpolished rice rather than polished rice that is hulled several times. Unmilled rice has 12 times more fiber and three to four times more vitamins than polished rice. Black beans are rich in estrogen, which make them effective in preventing breast cancer. Black beans are anti-oxidants, so unpolished rice cooked with black beans provides quality nutrition as the two supplement each other's deficiencies.


◆ Kimchi

Until a few years ago, kimchi was regarded as a possible cause of gastric cancer or stroke because of its spices and salt. But the substance that makes the powdered pepper hot is not carcinogenic, and even the carcinogenic substances in Chinese cabbage, such as nitrate and nitrite, are extremely small in quantity and usually destroyed during fermentation. The major ingredients in kimchi, meanwhile, are mostly cancer-preventing vegetables -- garlic, ginger, green onion, and radish -- while the lactobacilli produced during fermentation are effective for the prevention of colon cancer.


◆ Garlic

Garlic was included in the top 10 healthy foods named by the U.S. weekly Time in 2002 and at the top of the 48 foods with anti-cancer effects listed by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Garlic reduces cholesterol by controlling the enzyme that synthesizes cholesterol in our body and clears the blood. It also is effective in enhancing immunity while controlling proliferation of cancer cells. The alicin in garlic is particularly effective in controlling an increase in bacteria and was used as an antibiotic during World War I and II.


◆ Chili Peppers

While chili peppers are the signature spice in many Korean dishes, they were once regarded as a major cause of chronic gastritis. But a moderate intake of chilies cannot harm the gastric mucous membrane. Instead, research shows that the capsaicin in chilies, which makes them so spicy, regulates the growth of helicobacter pylori and as a result prevents gastric cancer. Other studies published recently show the efficacy of capsaicin in anti-oxidization and inflammation control. That the relationship between capsaicin intake and the frequency of gastric cancer is significant is evident in the fact that the disease is relatively rare in Latin American countries like Mexico, where large quantities of chili peppers are consumed.


◆ Bean Paste

Bean paste is acknowledged as a key "longevity" food. The anti-cancer effect of the major ingredient -- beans -- added to various beneficial substances produced in the process of fermentation makes bean paste highly-effective in preventing cancer. Some 40 percent of a bean is protein, which, when fermented, produces amino acids. They in turn play an important role in preventing cancer. The vegetable estrogen produced in the process of fermentation is also effective in preventing osteoporosis in women and various symptoms of menopause as well as various types of cancer.