rewrite this title New Study Reveals This Gut-Friendly Food Might Also Help You Lose Weight

When you think of weight loss-friendly foods, salad, fresh fruit, or smoothies might come to mind. But a new study shows that kimchi—a fermented cabbage and vegetable mixture—might also deserve a place in a weight loss eating plan, even though it’s less commonly consumed in the standard Western diet.

The study focused on the potential weight loss effects of consuming 60 milligrams of kimchi powder, which registered dietician Qianzhi Jiang, PhD, RDN, founder of the Nutrition Changer, said equates to nearly one ounce of fresh kimchi (or about the amount you might add to a dish like rice or noodles). People who took the kimchi powder capsules daily for three months lost a statistically significant amount of body fat compared to a control group, the study’s authors reported in the Journal of Functional Foods.

Cindy Chou, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and founder at The Sound of Cooking, told Health that “the results from this study aren’t surprising, especially when it comes to the effects on the gut microbiome with daily consumption of fermented foods like kimchi.”

In fact, the new research confirms the findings of several previous studies, including one from early 2024 that found a link between consuming three daily servings of fresh kimchi and lower obesity prevalence in men. 

The scientists behind the latest study, all of whom work for the Korea Food Research Institute affiliate World Institute of Kimchi, noted that their research stands out by being the first to assess kimchi’s anti-obesity effects using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design—considered the research gold standard.

For the study, researchers recruited 90 people aged 20 to 65 with a body mass index (BMI) of 23 to 30. The National Institutes of Health considers a BMI of 25 to 29.9 to be overweight, while the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity defines overweight as a BMI of 23 or higher.

Participants were divided into three groups. One consumed an encapsulated version of powdered kimchi that was “spontaneously” fermented, meaning the cabbage was soaked in salt water and prepared with red pepper, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, radish, and onion. A second kimchi group consumed an encapsulated, powdered version of this same kimchi fermented with the bacterial starter Leuconostoc mesenteroides KCKM0828. A third group consumed a placebo capsule that contained lactose and kimchi flavoring.

After three months of daily ingestion, the three groups had some noteworthy differences in weight. The spontaneously fermented and bacterially fermented kimchi groups had significantly reduced body fat mass compared to the placebo group. Those who took the spontaneously fermented kimchi capsules lost an average of 1.32 pounds, and those who took the bacterially fermented capsules lost an average of 1.96 pounds. On the other hand, those who took the placebo actually gained an average of 2.56 pounds over 12 weeks. 

Participants’ gut microbiomes also underwent some intriguing changes. Using fecal samples, researchers detected that both groups who consumed the kimchi capsules had a greater abundance of the beneficial gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila, known for its positive effects on inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and diabetes. They also had lower levels of Proteobacteria, microbes linked with obesity.

Kimchi is a low-calorie food, with just 22.5 calories per one-cup serving. But that’s not the only reason experts say it’s good for weight loss.

Kimchi’s effects on weight likely come down to the bacterial benefits of fermentation. As a fermented food, kimchi introduces good bacteria into the gut, where they uniquely enhance digestion. “The good bacteria in the gut ferment dietary fiber into short-chain fatty acids, which can promote weight loss through appetite regulation,” Jiang told Health. Some studies have found that short-chain fatty acids trigger satiety signals in the brain, limiting appetite and reducing weight. 

The more diversity in the gut, the more effortless weight loss may become. “Human studies have linked the diversity of gut bacteria and certain types of bacteria with obesity,” Jiang said. “Some hypotheses imply that these associations are due to how bacteria influence the metabolism of protein, fatty acids, and energy.”

Greater microbiome diversity and healthy weight appear to be a two-way street, with weight loss also promoting gut diversity.

However, Jiang noted that more research is needed to fully understand the differences in gut bacteria among obese and non-obese individuals.

Because the Journal of Functional Foods study used powdered, encapsulated kimchi, it might seem like its results don’t apply to the fresh kind you’d eat at a meal. But Jiang says there’s reason to be hopeful. “The kimchi powder used in this study was made by freeze-drying the kimchi. This process removes the water content without killing the live bacteria in the kimchi and has a minimal impact on its fiber and SCFA content,” she pointed out.

Chou offers several suggestions if you’d like to start adding kimchi to your diet. “You can enjoy it as a side dish, condiment, flavor booster, and as a vegetable ingredient in recipes. Pair it with rice, noodles, soups, dumplings, grilled meats or tofu, and even as a topping for omelets, pizza, or grain bowls,” she said. Or consider it as an alternative wherever you’d use sauerkraut or pickled vegetables. “How much you try adding is up to your taste preferences and what works best for you.”