cabbage

Cabbage

History

Cabbage has a long history of use both as a food and a medicine. It was developed from wild cabbage, a vegetable that was closer in appearance to collards and kale since it was composed of leaves that did not form a head.

It is thought that wild cabbage was brought to Europe around 600 B.C. by groups of Celtic wanderers. It was grown in Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that held it in high regard as a general panacea capable of treating a host of health conditions.

While it's unclear when and where the headed cabbage that we know today was developed, cultivation of cabbage spread across northern Europe into Germany, Poland and Russia, where it became a very popular vegetable in local food cultures. The Italians are credited with developing the Savoy cabbage. Russia, Poland, China and Japan are a few of the leading producers of cabbage today.

Sauerkraut, a dish made from fermented cabbage, has a colorful legacy. Dutch sailors consumed it during extended exploration voyages to prevent scurvy. Early German settlers introduced cabbage and the traditional sauerkraut recipe were introduced into the United States. As a result of this affiliation, German soldiers, and people of German descent were often referred to as "krauts"

Description

Cabbage has a round shape and is composed of superimposed leaf layers. It is a member of the food family traditionally known as cruciferous vegetables and is related to kale, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. All cruciferous vegetables provide integrated nourishment across a wide variety of nutritional categories and provide broad support across a wide variety of body systems as well. For more on cruciferous vegetables see:

The word "brassica" translates in Latin as "cabbage," and this word is being used more and more by researchers to refer to the entire group of cruciferous vegetables. You'll find many plant scientists now using the Latin word Brassicaceae and the phrase " brassica vegetables" instead of Latin word Cruciferae and the traditional phrase "cruciferous vegetables" when referring to cabbage, kale, broccoli, collards and other foods in this vegetable subgroup.

Because cabbage's inner leaves are protected from the sunlight by the surrounding leaves, they are oftentimes lighter in color. There are three major types of cabbage: green, red, and Savoy. The color of green cabbage ranges from pale to dark green. Both green and red cabbage have smooth-textured leaves. Red cabbage has leaves that are either crimson or purple with white veins running through it. The leaves of Savoy cabbage are more ruffled and yellowish-green in color. Red and green cabbage have a more defined taste and crunchy texture as compared to Savoy cabbage's more delicate nature. Bok choy as well as Chinese (Napa) cabbage are other varieties of cabbage available. Bok choy has a mild flavor and a higher concentration of vitamin A. Chinese cabbage, with its pale green ruffled leaves, is great to use in salads. Red cabbage contains additional health benefits not found in green cabbage.

Sturdy, abundant, and inexpensive, cabbage is a longstanding dietary staple throughout the world and is so widely cultivated and stores so well that it is available throughout the year. However, it is at its best during the late fall and winter months when it is in season.

Nutritional Profile

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6 potassium and omega-3 fatty acids. Cabbage is also a good source of thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, and protein.

Cabbage and its anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids

It's worth making a special note about the omega-3s found in cabbage. Ordinarily, we simply do not think about this cruciferous vegetable as a source of omega-3s. For that matter, we do not think about cabbage as source of any type of fat. And we are right in this overall type of thinking. Cabbage is not a fatty food! But among the little bit of fat it contains, there is a surprising amount of one particular omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA. There is actually far more ALA in 100 calories of cabbage than there is in 100 calories of salmon! While fish like salmon do contain most of their omega-3s in the form of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) or DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) rather than ALA, the amount of total omega-3s in 100 calories of cabbage (520 milligrams) is still substantial in comparison to the amount of total omega-3s in 100 calories of salmon (798 milligrams). The past 5 years of greatly expanded research on cruciferous vegetables and inflammation points to the omega-3 content of cruciferous vegetables as a potentially critical component of their unique health benefits.

Cabbage and its cancer-protective phytonutrients

As described earlier in this food profile, cabbage is also a unique source of several types of phytonutrients. Its overall antioxidant activity is most likely due to its unusual polyphenol content. With red cabbage, these polyphenols include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds called anthocyanins. Cabbage is also unique for it rich supply of glucosinolates. These phytonutrients can be converted by the body into isothiocyanates that have special detoxification and anti-cancer properties.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Cabbage.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Cabbage is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Cabbage 70.00 g 70.00 grams 17.50 calories
Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
vitamin K	53.20 mcg	66.5	68.4	excellent
vitamin C	25.62 mg	42.7	43.9	excellent
folate	30.10 mcg	7.5	7.7	very good
dietary fiber	1.75 g	7.0	7.2	very good
manganese	0.11 mg	5.5	5.7	very good
molybdenum	3.50 mcg	4.7	4.8	good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	0.09 mg	4.5	4.6	good
potassium	119.00 mg	3.4	3.5	good
tryptophan	0.01 g	3.1	3.2	good
calcium	28.00 mg	2.8	2.9	good
vitamin B1 (thiamin)	0.04 mg	2.7	2.7	good

Glucosinolates and Cancer Prevention

Given the roles of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation as risk factors for cancer, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory richness of cabbage would provide anti-cancer health benefits without the addition of cabbage's glucosinolates. But glucosinolates are cabbage's trump card with regard to "anti-cancer" benefits. The glucosinolates found in cabbage can be converted into isothiocyanate compounds that are cancer preventive for a variety of different cancers, including bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer. Different types of cabbage highlight different glucosinolates, as summarized in the chart below:

Glucosinolates in Cabbage and Their Anti-Cancer Thiocyanates

Best Cabbage Source	Glucosinolate	Derived Isothiocyanate	Isothiocyanate Abbreviation
red cabbage	glucoraphanin	sulforaphane	SFN
savoy cabbage	glucobrassicin	indole-3-carbinol*	I3C
savoy and green cabbage	sinigrin	allyl-isothiocyanate	AITC
green cabbage	glucotropaeolin	benzyl-isothiocyanate	BITC

* Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is not an isothiocyanate. It's a benzopyrrole, and it is only formed when isothiocyanates made from glucobrassicin are further broken down into non-sulfur containing compounds.

The isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from cabbage's glucosinolates act to protect us against cancer through a variety of different mechanisms. In some cases, they help regulate inflammation by altering the activity of messaging molecules within our body's inflammatory system. In other cases, they improve our body's detoxification system and leave our cells with a smaller toxic load. But the bottom line is decreased risk of cancer from consumption of cabbage and its glucosinolates. We've seen one study, from Poland, showing impressive reduction of breast cancer risk in women consuming large amounts of cabbage. (In this particular study, this reduction in risk was associated with consumption of at least 4 cabbage servings per week, in comparison with the once-per-week serving consumed by women with higher breast cancer risk.)

Digestive Tract Support

Long-established in health research is the role of cabbage juice in helping heal stomach ulcers (called peptic ulcers), but more recent studies on cabbage have looked at the overall health benefits of this food for the stomach and digestive tract as a whole. Present-day studies make it clear that cabbage contains a variety of nutrients of potential benefit to our stomach and intestinal linings. These nutrients include glucosinolates (and the anti-inflammatory isothiocyanates or ITCs made from them), antioxidant polyphenols, and the amino acid-like substance called glutamine. In the case of ITCs, digestive tract benefits include proper regulation of bacterial populations of Helicobacter pylori inside the stomach. These bacteria are normal stomach inhabitants, but their populations can become too large and they can latch onto the stomach lining in an undesirable way. The ITCs made from cabbage's glucosinolates can lower the risk of these unwanted stomach events.

Cardiovascular Support

You can count on cabbage to provide your cardiovascular system with valuable support in the form of cholesterol reduction. Researchers understand exactly how this process takes place. Your liver uses cholesterol as a basic building block to product bile acids. Bile acids are specialized molecules that aid in the digestion and absorption of fat through a process called emulsification. These molecules are typically stored in fluid form in your gall bladder, and when you eat a fat-containing meal, they get released into the intestine where they help ready the fat for interaction with enzymes and eventual absorption up into the body. When you eat cabbage, fiber-related nutrients in this cruciferous vegetable bind together with some of the bile acids in the intestine in such a way that they simply stay inside the intestine and pass out of your body in a bowel movement, rather than getting absorbed along with the fat they have emulsified. When this happens, your liver needs to replace the lost bile acids by drawing upon your existing supply of cholesterol, and as a result, your cholesterol level drops down. Cabbage provides you with this cholesterol-lowering benefit whether it is raw or cooked. However, a recent study has shown that the cholesterol-lowering ability of raw cabbage improves significantly when it is steamed. In fact, when the cholesterol-lowering ability of steamed cabbage was compared with the cholesterol-lowering ability of the prescription drug cholestyramine (a medication that is taken for the purpose of lowering cholesterol), cabbage bound 17% as many bile acids (based on a standard of comparison involving total dietary fiber).