Kimchi, a Korean dish made of fermented vegetables like cabbage, is known for packing a welcome probiotic punch to the gut.
Now, a new study published in Bioresource Technology suggests it can do more than support our stomachs.
Researchers from the World Institute of Kimchi isolated a type of lactic acid bacteria from the dish that could help remove nanoplastics from our body by binding to them in the gut. As you might guess, nanoplastics are related to microplastics — but the former are much smaller in size, and are created when microplastics break down.
Nanoparticles are often introduced into our bodies through common foods, like salt, beer, sugar, fish and honey, and also occur in drinking water. It’s a consequence of our heavy reliance on plastics and other synthetic materials.
As their name might imply, nanoplastics are teeny-tiny, small enough to pass through the membrane of our intestines and accumulate in less-than-ideal areas like the kidneys and the brain.
In the study, researchers found that male and female mice that received a strain of the bacterium found in kimchi had twice as many nanoplastics in their feces compared with those who did not receive any probiotic. This could mean that the probiotics are helping the body rid itself of nanoplastics by sticking to them in the gut, thus ensuring they make their exit.
Despite the problem plastics pose, there are few tried-and-true solutions to rid them from the body for good. They pose a problem for both the environment and our health. Finding stopgaps like kimchi, however unusual, might be one way of course correcting.