The health benefits of the cabbage are now well known and still, this vegetable does not seem to be present in our diet. Studies suggest that it should be brought to our table 2 to 3 times a week. If you are reluctant to eat some because of the flatulences it produces, you will see that they are some tips to help overcome this trouble.
Health benefits
In the middle ages this vegetable was called "the drug of the poor".
There is few vegetables that have more healing properties than cabbage. Unfortunately, nowadays, people prefer to rely on drugs rather than healing food. I do not say that you should not use medication but just that for some cases cabbage could be a great help but we do not even consider it. If you are interested, many books have been written about it and its medicinal uses.
The most interesting property of this vegetable is its power to reduce the risk of developing a colon cancer. Studies have shown that population who eat large amounts of cabbage have low rate of colon cancer. This is due to its high content in fibers and chemicals. Fibers help our intestines to stay healthy by increasing our transit movements. Cabbage also contains chemicals that inhibit tumor growth and protect cells against free radicals.
Some of its chemicals are believed to speed up the body's metabolism of estrogen and therefore reduce the incidence of breast, uterus and ovaries cancer.
Cabbage is also an excellent source of vitamin C and beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor). These anti-oxidants are helpful to fight free radicals that are circulating in our body and increase our process of aging.
The high amount of beta-carotene may cut the risk of cataracts.
Raw, the cabbage is a good source of folic acid which lowers the risk of having babies with Spina bifida.
Juiced cabbage promotes healing of some ulcers.
Cabbage also reduces risk of heart disease and stroke, alleviate rheumatisms and skin problems.
On top of all these properties, this vegetable is low in calories.
Caution:
Cabbage reduces absorption of iodine. If you do eat more than 2 to 3 times a week this vegetable, be sure you do not suffer from thyroid disorders and ensure your intake of iodine.
How to eat it?
First of all, how to avoid the flatulence?
It is really easy and adds a nice flavor to your dish too. Just add a few seeds of caraway/cumin or fennel (or both) before cooking. The cabbage will be more digest and you will not have the unpleasant odor in your kitchen for days.
There are many ways to prepare a cabbage.
Raw, shredded in small pieces, you can add it to any of your salad. It can be a salad by itself with a few pieces of apple, raisins, cheese...
When shredded you might want to fry it alone or with a cereal.
Cabbage is wonderful for winter's recipes such as "pot-au-feu", soups or even stuffed.
It can be boiled, steamed... There is not limit to creativity.
Cabbage can also be eaten as sauerkraut. This recipe comes from Germany. It consists of soaking it in salt brine and then let it ferment. Sauerkraut provides microorganisms that are good for our intestinal flora but is also rich in sodium. To lower the sodium content rinse it before cooking it.
Avoid cutting the cabbage in advance otherwise you would lose its vitamins, especially vitamin C.
The leaves in the inside are usually well tight and clean. You do not have to wash them. Just remove the exterior leaves that might be spoiled and rinse the whole cabbage under running water. You can then prepare it.
The simplest way to cut it is with a large and sharpen knife to cut it in half and then in quarters. You might want to remove its core from each quarter since this part is usually hard.
Depending on what you want to do with it, you can slice it in small pieces, leave it in quarters or cut it again in half.
Do not cook cabbage in an aluminum pot which causes a chemical reaction that discolor the vegetable and alter its flavor.
Peak season
Cabbage is available all year round but its peak season is the fall.
Storage
Cabbage is one of the vegetable that keeps well. Placed in the refrigerator or in a cold place, a whole cabbage can be store for at least two weeks. If the cabbage has already been cut, the rest cannot be stored more than two or three days.
Nutritional values
|
Nutrients
|
Units
|
Cabbage - raw
|
Cabbage - cooked
|
|
Water
|
g
|
92.15
|
93.60
|
| Energy |
kcal
|
25
|
22
|
| Protein |
g
|
1.44
|
1.02
|
| Total lipid (fat) |
g
|
0.27
|
0.43
|
| Carbohydrate |
g
|
5.43
|
4.46
|
| Fiber, total dietary |
g
|
2.3
|
2.3
|
|
Minerals
|
|||
| Calcium |
mg
|
31
|
46
|
| Iron |
mg
|
0.17
|
0.84
|
| Magnesium |
mg
|
8
|
24
|
| Phosphorus |
mg
|
15
|
59
|
| Potassium |
mg
|
97
|
292
|
| Sodium |
mg
|
8
|
26
|
| Zinc |
mg
|
0.09
|
0.38
|
| Copper |
mg
|
0.012
|
0.043
|
| Manganese |
mg
|
0.117
|
0.218
|
| Selenium |
mcg
|
0.6
|
1.9
|
|
Vitamins
|
|||
| Vitamin C |
mg
|
20.1
|
74.6
|
| B-1 (thiamin) |
mg
|
0.057
|
0.055
|
| B-2 (riboflavin) |
mg
|
0.055
|
0.113
|
| B-3 (niacin) |
mg
|
0.282
|
0.574
|
| B-5 (pantothenic acid) |
mg
|
0.139
|
0.508
|
| B-6 (pyridoxine) |
mg
|
0.113
|
0.143
|
| Folate |
mcg
|
20
|
50
|
| B-12 |
mcg
|
0
|
0
|
| Vitamin A |
I.U
|
132
|
1318
|
| Vitamin A |
mcg RE
|
13
|
139
|
| Vitamin E |
mcg ATE
|
0.105
|
1.69
|
|
Lipids
|
|||
| Fatty acids, saturated |
g
|
0.053
|
0.054
|
| Fatty acids, monounsaturated |
g
|
0.030
|
0.024
|
| Fatty acids, polyunsaturated |
g
|
0.196
|
0.167
|
| Linoleic acid (18:2) |
g
|
0.085
|
0.038
|
| Alpha-linolenic acid (18:3) |
g
|
0.110
|
0.129
|
| Cholesterol |
mg
|
0
|
0
|
Realized by Laurence LIVERNAIS-SAETTEL, dietetian
© Copyright L. Livernais-Saettel 2000
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