Cabbage Health Benefits

It is quite interesting to know that cabbage is actually referred to as “Drug of the Poor” during the medieval times. This is primarily because people back then rely on this vegetable for curing a lot of common ailments.

This vegetable is loaded with a whole lot of vitamins and minerals. That is why, it is recommended whether it is eaten raw, added to soup or used as ingredient for a dish. If you also want to experience all the impressive cabbage health benefits, might as well add this to your meal as often as possible.

Great for Weight Loss

The secret for effective weight loss is fiber. One thing that makes cabbage a popular choice for people who would like to go on a weight loss diet is the fact that it has lots of fiber. Green cabbage is an excellent choice. However, if you truly want to get the amazing cabbage health benefits, you might want to pick the purple ones. A cup of chopped purple cabbage will give you 2 grams of fiber. This is equivalent to 8% of the RDA for fiber. This massive amount of fiber will make you feel full so you would not end up feeling hungry too soon. It makes it easier to control your hankering for food too.

Stronger Defense Against Cough, Cold and Flu

Among the cabbage health benefits is strengthening of the immune system. Even if this is not a citrus fruit, it still has impressive amount of Vitamin C. Eating at least a cup of chopped cabbage daily will already satisfy 60% of Vitamin C RDA. It would be better if cabbage is eaten raw if you really want to have a stronger defense against cough, cold and flu. It is because heat can destroy Vitamin C and would lower the amount of vitamins that you can get.

Alleviates Pain of Arthritis

One of the cabbage health benefits is that it can help people who are in pain because of their arthritis. There may be various ways on how to resolve arthritis but alleviating the inflammation is the most effective method of resolving the pain. Cabbage has an anti-inflammatory effect. Hence, eating this would reduce the ache being felt on parts that are stricken by arthritis.

Breast Cancer Prevention

Cabbage also has a lot of phytochemicals. This captured the attention of scientists because it converts estradiol so that breast cancer would not develop. Estradiol is a more harmful form of estrogen which leads to cancer. All thanks to cabbage, this can be transformed to a safer form which can be used up by the body without harmful effects.

Prevents Osteoporosis

One type of cabbage which is called bok choy is very effective when it comes to prevention of osteoporosis. It has surprising amount of calcium which can even beat the level found in other dairy products. Calcium from bok choy will prevent bone mass to deteriorate which often happens with aging. It also strengthens the bone so it would not become brittle eventually and break too easily. Some vegetarians use this type of cabbage as source of calcium since they skip dairy products.