The Study
Fermented foods and inflammation: a crossover intervention trial with fresh and pasteurized sauerkraut.
This study gave people sauerkraut for a month and measured changes in their bodies. It found that their blood pressure went down a little, but not much else changed. Because people were randomly assigned to eat it or not, we can guess that the sauerkraut might have caused the drop in blood pressure—but it’s not a big effect, and we can’t say it helps with other health problems.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested if eating sauerkraut every day helps healthy people feel better by checking their blood pressure, sugar, and inflammation levels.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 568 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A 2 mmHg drop in blood pressure is small but may help reduce heart disease risk over time, especially if combined with a high-fiber diet.
- 2After eating 100g of sauerkraut daily for 4 weeks, blood pressure dropped by 1.5–2.5 mmHg, blood sugar improved in people under 50, and inflammation went down only if they already ate lots of fiber.
- 3Pasteurized sauerkraut worked just as well as fresh.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
European journal of clinical nutrition
Year
2026
Authors
Nelly Schropp, Alexander Bauer, Virginie Stanislas, Karin B Michels
Related Content
Claims (10)
Consuming either fresh or pasteurized sauerkraut lowers systolic blood pressure by the same amount, indicating that the effect is caused by non-living components like organic acids, peptides, or fiber, not by live bacteria.
Eating 100 grams of fresh or pasteurized sauerkraut every day for four weeks lowers systolic blood pressure by 1.5 to 2.5 mmHg on average in healthy adults aged 21–69. This effect is due to non-live components in sauerkraut, not live bacteria.
Healthy adults who eat at least 30 grams of fiber daily and consume sauerkraut every day for four weeks have lower levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, compared to those who do not.
Eating fresh or pasteurized sauerkraut results in the same modest decrease in systolic blood pressure, meaning the live bacteria in sauerkraut are not responsible for this effect; other compounds like organic acids, peptides, or phenolic substances are likely responsible.
Eating sauerkraut every day for four weeks does not change the levels of specific proteins in the blood that measure gut barrier function in healthy people.
Eating 100 grams of sauerkraut every day for four weeks does not change measurable markers of inflammation or metabolism in healthy adults.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.