Under the names cabbage, kale, or brassica, we find several types of cruciferous vegetables. Cabbage has a very high content of micronutrients and at the same time very few calories, which makes it the queen among green superfoods.
Cabbage was already cultivated by the Egyptians. In the Middle Ages, its positive effects on the human body were already known. Nowadays, its cultivation is widespread all over the world, but most notably here in Europe.
But what makes cabbage so exceptional? Cabbage has a very high content of vitamins A, K, and C. Similarly to other leafy vegetables, it has a very high content of antioxidants: beta-carotene, vitamin C, flavonoids, and polyphenols, including quercetin and kaempferol. And all of this is a source of many health benefits and preventive effects.
Regular consumption of cabbage reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is a source of so-called bile acid sequestrants. These substances bind to bile acids released into the digestive tract after consuming fatty foods and prevent their absorption, and along with them, part of the cholesterol is not absorbed. Cabbage also contains many compounds that have shown effects in laboratory conditions and on animals in fighting cancer, such as sulforaphane (see broccoli) or indole-3-carbinol.
Other attractive substances are lutein and zeaxanthin, whose consumption is associated with the prevention of eye disorders, such as retinal degeneration. And of course, we must not forget that due to its very low energy content and decent fiber content, cabbage is an excellent vegetable for weight loss.
And how to easily add cabbage to your diet? From raw or lightly steamed cabbage, we can make a salad. We can add it to many different recipes, such as patties or rolls, simply add it to salads or use it in recipes. And we can also add it to smoothies to increase their nutritional value.
And finally, one more advantage of cabbage is its lower oxalate content, which allows us to extract more of the contained minerals than from many other green superfoods.
