Benefits of the Cabbage Patch

A popular main ingredient for sauerkraut Green Cabbage is a tough leafy green cruciferous vegetable, part of the brassicaceae. Also popular shredded into salads, soups and stews this vegetable offers a deep rich flavor to a range of meals. What may be surprising is cabbage has tremendous health benefits offered by the cabbage.

Fresh, green leafy cabbage is incredibly nutritious, but very low in fat and calories. 100 grams of leaves carry just 25 calories. The vegetable is a storehouse of phytochemicals like thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zeaxanthin, sulforaphane, and isothiocyanates. These compounds are potent antioxidants and known to help protect against breast, colon, and prostate cancers and help reduce LDL or "bad cholesterol" levels in the blood. Not to mention cabbage contains tremendous amounts of beneficial dietary fiber which is highly beneficial to digestion.

Fresh cabbage is an excellent source of natural antioxidan; vitamin C. Provides 36.6 mg or about 61% of RDA per 100 g. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the human body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

Cabbage is also rich in essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that our body requires them from external sources to replenish. It also contains an adequate amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin-K, provides about 63% of RDA levels. Vitamin-K has the potential role in bone metabolism through promoting osteoblastic activity. Sufficient amounts of vitamin-K in the diet contribute immensely to your bone health. Also, vitamin-K has established a role in the cure of Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain.

There are certainly a great range of cabbage recipes available but a great way to easily access all of these incredible health benefits is to juice cabbage. This way drinking the juice will provide a direct feed of the nutrients without having to digest the tough fiber of the cabbage leaves. Try mixing the juice from a cabbage with juice from ginger, lemon or apple to create a boosted nutrition drink. What's more the cabbage pulp left over from the juicing can be used to make other foods like sauerkraut.

There are a wide range of cabbage varieties available. Bok Choy, Napa, Red Cabbage are all great and provide a different flavor and texture. Try them all and see which one is most appealing to taste.

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