Sauerkraut May Reduce Gut Inflammation

Your gut does more than just digest your food. It influences almost every system in your body, including your brain, heart and, of course, your digestive system. Your gut’s microbiome contains living organisms, including bacteria and yeast, that affect your health—hopefully in positive ways.

But what you eat greatly influences what your microbiome is made up of. Eating fermented foods, like yogurt, kefir and sauerkraut, can help you add beneficial probiotics. Then there’s prebiotics, which are food for those probiotics to feast on, and they’re primarily found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains. Some foods play a dual role as both prebiotic and probiotic. For example, kimchi and sauerkraut are fermented, providing probiotics. And because they’re made from cabbage, they also provide food for that beneficial bacteria. 

When these beneficial bacteria eat, they produce metabolites. A metabolite is a compound formed in or necessary for metabolism, which means it helps you keep your energy up and maintain your overall health. Metabolites can also help get rid of toxic substances in the body. There is some evidence that certain microorganisms produce metabolites that specifically help maintain a healthy intestinal wall, which is also sometimes called an intestinal barrier.

The health of your intestinal wall is important, as the intestinal wall should only allow certain compounds to pass through it. A healthy intestinal wall is made up of healthy cells that are properly joined together. An unhealthy intestinal wall has large gaps between cells, potentially allowing toxins to enter the body. That’s called intestinal hyperpermeability or leaky gut syndrome, and it can have some negative health consequences, including achy joints, fatigue, depression, anxiety, food allergies and autoimmune diseases. 

Because both cabbage and sauerkraut have health benefits, researchers at the University of California, Davis, wanted to examine the difference in metabolites between the two. Specifically, researchers were testing whether sauerkraut’s and cabbage’s metabolites could help protect intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage. Their findings were published in April 2025 in Applied Environmental Microbiology. Let’s break down what they found.

How Was This Study Conducted?

Researchers examined the metabolites in two types of sauerkraut, the brine from the sauerkraut and raw cabbage. The two types of sauerkraut included store-bought and homemade sauerkrauts. The homemade sauerkraut was examined at varying times throughout the fermentation process to see if their metabolites changed at different times.

When a study is done in a lab setting, researchers attempt to mimic the human body for studies that are trying to connect factors with how they react in humans—referred to as in vitro. In this case, the intestinal environment was imitated in the lab by using cells from the intestinal wall and exposing them to inflammatory compounds plus the metabolites produced from sauerkraut, cabbage and brine samples. 

What Did This Study Show?

Researchers found that all sauerkraut samples—store-bought and homemade—helped protect the intestinal cells from inflammation. The sauerkraut brine and raw cabbage did not have these effects.

Comparing store-bought sauerkraut to homemade, researchers found no difference with the result of maintaining the integrity of the intestinal cells, despite having some differing metabolites. Despite the differences, researchers note that there are “core metabolites” shared by both types of sauerkraut that protect your intestines from inflammatory damage. 

As with all studies, this one also has some limitations, the primary one being that it was performed in a lab, not in humans. Until this same concept is tested in human participants, we cannot say with certainty that the results directly apply to humans. 

How Does This Apply to Real Life?

This in vitro study suggests that homemade and store-bought sauerkraut may protect the intestinal wall from inflammation. 

It’s important to note that the store-bought sauerkraut used in this study was from the refrigerated section of the grocery store, which means that it maintains its probiotics. Shelf-stable canned and jarred sauerkraut has been heated to high temperatures and in that process, it loses most of its probiotics. 

So, now you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerated section of the grocery store, and you notice that there are several brands to choose from. Is one better than the others? 

“We found that the enrichment of the mostly beneficial compounds was consistent across sauerkraut ferments,” says Maria Marco, Ph.D., the study’s lead author. “This finding is useful because it suggests that, so long as the fermented cabbage is made correctly, we don’t need to rely on a single commercial brand to get a benefit from eating that type of food.”

When Marco says “made correctly,” she refers to the sauerkraut not being heated. Refrigerated and homemade sauerkraut are produced simply by combining cabbage with salt and allowing the fermentation process to happen over time. When buying sauerkraut, the ingredients should be basic—cabbage and salt, possibly with a seasoning added, like caraway seeds or garlic.

If you want to start adding sauerkraut on a regular basis but aren’t accustomed to it, begin with small amounts—like a tablespoon with a meal every day or so—and gradually increase it according to your body’s tolerance. 

Not a sauerkraut fan? Other fermented foods, like yogurt and kefir, will also add beneficial bacteria to your gut. When your microbiome is balanced with plenty of beneficial bacteria, it reduces inflammation. An imbalanced microbiome has been linked with higher levels of inflammation, which can lead to chronic illness, including leaky gut syndrome. There is evidence that, besides the symptoms we previously mentioned, leaky gut has also been linked to type 2 diabetes. That means taking care of your gut has the potential to lead for better overall health—especially since gut-healthy foods tend to be pretty good for you in other ways, too.

The Bottom Line

“Our study affirms how fermentation dramatically changes the bioactive composition of our foods and beverages and how these changes may impact our digestive tract,” says Marco. “Although more studies need to be done, a picture is forming that we find health benefits from fermented foods [that are] not observed from consuming the raw or cooked ingredients these foods are made from.” 

This does not mean that raw or cooked cabbage isn’t good for you, though. “It’s important to point out that we still have many questions as to the best format—like cooked or fresh—and quantities of these foods we should be eating, and how different people respond to them. However, fermented foods are good to include as a part of a healthy diet,” concludes Marco.

So if you want to make some gut-conscious choices on your next grocery run, reach for dependable fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut and kefir.