Posted on 04/16/2025 6:06:40 AM PDT by Red Badger
A new UC Davis study shows that having fermented food like sauerkraut could be good for gut health. Credit: Hector Amezcua / UC Davis
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Sauerkraut might be doing more than just adding zing to your hot dog — it could be actively defending your gut.
New research from UC Davis reveals that fermented cabbage helps protect intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage, unlike raw cabbage or brine alone. The researchers found no difference between homemade and store-bought sauerkraut, suggesting it’s an accessible option for better gut health. By identifying hundreds of fermentation-related metabolites, they’ve opened the door to understanding how these tangy foods may boost resilience in our digestive systems — with human trials up next.
Fermented Cabbage and Gut Health
Is sauerkraut more than just a tangy topping? A new study from the University of California, Davis, suggests it might be. Researchers found that this fermented cabbage could help protect the gut—a key part of overall health that supports digestion and helps defend against illness.
Led by food science professor Maria Marco and postdoctoral researcher Lei Wei, the study explored what happens during fermentation, focusing on how the chemical compounds (metabolites) in sauerkraut differ from those in raw cabbage.
Lab vs. Store Sauerkraut: Same Benefits
To test sauerkraut’s potential benefits, the researchers compared three things: raw cabbage, fermented sauerkraut, and the leftover brine from the fermentation process. They looked at whether each one could help protect intestinal cells from damage linked to inflammation. The sauerkraut samples included both store-bought products and batches fermented in the lab.
The results showed that sauerkraut helped preserve the integrity of intestinal cells, while raw cabbage and brine did not. Interestingly, there was no difference between the store-bought and lab-made versions—both were equally effective.
“Some of the metabolites we find in the sauerkraut are the same kind of metabolites we’re finding to be made by the gut microbiome, so that gives us a little more confidence that this connection we found between the metabolites in sauerkraut and good gut health makes sense,” Marco said. “It doesn’t matter, in a way, if we make sauerkraut at home or we buy it from the store; both kinds of sauerkraut seemed to protect gut function.”
The Power of Fermentation
Chemical analysis shows that fermentation changes cabbage’s nutritional profile, increasing beneficial metabolites such as lactic acid, amino acids and plant-based chemicals linked to gut health. These changes may explain why fermented foods are often associated with digestive benefits.
Marco said she and Wei identified hundreds of different metabolites produced during fermentation and are now working to determine which ones play the biggest role in supporting long-term gut health.
A Tangy Ally for Resilient Digestion
“Along with eating more fiber and fresh fruits and vegetables, even if we have just a regular serving of sauerkraut, maybe putting these things more into our diet, we’ll find that can help us in the long run against inflammation, for example, and make our digestive tract more resilient when we have a disturbance,” Marco said.
Fermented vegetables and foods are already a staple in many diets, but this research suggests they could be more than just a flavorful side dish. Marco said the next step is to conduct human trials to see if the gut-protective metabolites found in sauerkraut can have the same positive effects when included in everyday diets, as was shown in the lab.
A Bite of Prevention
“A little bit of sauerkraut could go a long way,” she said. “We should be thinking about including these fermented foods in our regular diets and not just as a side on our hot dogs.”
Reference: “The fermented cabbage metabolome and its protection against cytokine-induced intestinal barrier disruption of Caco-2 monolayers” by Lei Wei and Maria L. Marco, 7 April 2025, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
DOI: 10.1128/aem.02234-24
This research was funded by a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, as well as a Jastro Shields Graduate Research Award from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
German supermarkets sell sauerkraut juice.
Works well in the lederhosen too, from what I’ve heard
I think the canning process destroys a lot of what happens in the fermentation.
I think the canning process destroys a lot of what happens in the fermentation.
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Right?
That reminds me one of one of the questions I had about if these ‘metabolites’ survive cooking too, such as having sour kraut and dumplings or a kielbasa dish.
My fav!
Bkmk
My grocery store sells kimchi in a jar that allows it to keep fermenting, and vent some gasses. The stuff is actually a bit fizzy when you eat it. I’d like to see sauerkraut packaged that way.
Anybody have an idea on whether or not the health benefits still apply if you heat it? I usually pan fry mine with bacon and cheese, and prep it by getting rid of the excess liquid. Got a feeling I’m removing whatever health benefits there are but, hey, still good eating! :)
I think it’s still good, hot or cold................
The only way I will ever eat it is on a hot dog.
That’s why you only eat refrigerated kraut.
That makes a lot of sense, specially if the vents aren’t allowing all of the carbon dioxide to escape. It’s kind of like fermenting grapes; if your allow it to aerate and ferment all of the sugar, you get a dry wine, but if you cap it before it’s done fermenting, you get a sparking wine (not technically champagne unless it’s from that region of France). So it’s like you have sparkling kimchi. lol
Drain it, Stir fry it with bacon fat and real bacon bits and it is delicious!.................
The young German lady at this link (Michaela, who reminds me of one of my cousins) explains how to ferment cabbage for Sauerkraut. (Augie I know you make it too! I have seen the pictures you posted on the FR Garden thread of a crock full of sauerkraut !) While she is a vegan, I think that this would go well with bratwurst, ham or a pork loin roast! (Eat raw for its benefits. Cook it and you kill the bacteria!)
A few notes; Sterilize the jars first. If you have to add liquid to cover the sauerkraut make brine and do NOT use clorinated tap water which can kill the beneficial bacteria you are trying to cultivate. (Boil any water first to drive off the chlorine.) For the same reason do NOT use iodized salt, use non-iodized canning or kosher salt. (Even though most iodine in something like Morton's salt has probably sublimated away by the time it is placed on the grocery store shelf.) You can buy fermenting kit supplies like self burping lids and weights on Amazon. )
If anyone wants to learn how to grow the cabbage....
Michaela has a nice fried potato dumpling recipe as well!
Alsatian style sauerkraut, slowly cooked in wine and favored with salt pork and juniper berries. Fond memories from Strasbourg
Family is evenly divided on this - 1/2 hate it with a passion 1/2 love it. I think it depends on the quality and “bite” of the sauerkraut.
My grandmother used to make it homemade in a large barrel, apparently it keeps almost forever. She passed before I was old enough to try it.
Looking at pork and sauerkraut recipes now. Those that hate it can have a hot dog - without sauerkraut.
Try this for the ‘Hate it’ crowd:
Drain, rinse, stir fry in bacon fat, till well coated and heated, then add the crumbled bacon to top it off...............
The vents are tiny, and there’s a moisture absorbing pad above them. They’re good, heavy duty plastic jars. I keep them. The lid itself isn’t vented. I think it takes considerable pressure to force anything out.
Alsatian style sauerkraut, slowly cooked in wine and favored with salt pork and juniper berries. Fond memories from Strasbourg
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I would try that in a minute. Like mulled wine pork sour kraut.
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