Cabbage is one vegetable that is often served at Christmas and for some persons, it is a must-add to their meal.
However, not very many persons know the health benefits of cabbage.
It is one vegetable that spices up our meal and gives it a different taste. For so many persons they could only eat it in rice.
You should know that you can blend and take it as smoothie.
Cabbage belongs to the family Brassicaceae and we have seen it in green and purple colours.
The colour often differentiates them in terms of their nutritional value.
However, we will focus on the green cabbage which is common in Nigeria and found in every of our outlets.
Green Cabbage has so much health benefits for those that will add it to their meal.
But before we look at these health benefits of cabbage, here is a nutritional fact you should know.
Also, these nutrients make the vegetable very good for everyone.
1. Dietary Cancer-inhibitors
A 2018 study reports that cabbage contains high levels of flavonoids and anthocyanins.
As a result, it has long been used as a herbal medicine.
More so, the study highlighted that because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties cabbage has significant effect on tumours.
“Topical treatment with MEBO (Methanol extract of Brassica oleracea) inhibited ear swelling and erythema significantly.
“Furthermore, the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, interleukin-6, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in inflamed tissues were effectively lowered by MEBO.
“Finally, MEBO did not affect body weight gain or spleen body weight ratio,”the report read.
2. Cabbage Boosts Immune System
Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C and this really makes it great for your immune system.
According to the study, “MEBO also significantly inhibited epidermal hyperplasia and infiltration of immune cells”.
This implies that anyone who wants to boost immune system should add cabbage to diet.
3. Improves Digestion
Every festive period it is easy to eat a combination that could affect digestion.
But adding this vegetable to your diet guarantees you stability in your stomach.
Digestion is something you must seek as you celebrate.
It has been said that “you are what you digest”. Therefore, ensuring that the food you eat digests is absolutely a good course.
Cabbage is full of gut-friendly insoluble fibre. These fibre aids digestion. It is a kind of carbohydrate that cannot be broken down in the intestine.
This kind of fibre adds bulk to your stool. It clears the intestine.
4. Cabbage Is Good For Treatment Of Ulcer
One other thing that was mentioned in the study is that the vegetable has been used in “herbal medicine.
It has been used in treatment of gastrointestinal disorders such as gastritis, peptic and duodenal ulcers.
Others are irritable bowel syndrome, as well as wounds and mastitis.
5. Boosts Hearth Health
We have mentioned earlier that this fibre-rich vegetable contains flavonoids and anthocyanins.
Really, these are components that have been linked with hearth health.
Eating foods rich in flavonoids has been linked with reduced risk of heart disease.
Interestingly, adding this vegetable to your diet is a sure way of reducing your risk of heart disease.
6. Lowers Cholesterol
High cholesterol in the body has been linked with increased risk of High Blood Pressure.
However, to lower the bad cholesterol in the body requires that cabbage should be added to diet.
Particularly, cabbage is rich in fibre.
This Fibre aids the breaking down of food in your intestine, helping your body to absorb the nutrients.
You may also find our article on Eggplant: 7 Health Benefits You Should Know helpful
While this happens, another substance called phytosterolsa, which is also structurally similar to cholesterol, reduces LDL cholesterol.
This it does by blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract.
Additionally, soluble fibre, which is also about 40% of the fibre in this vegetable, has shown to help reduce this bad cholesterol in humans.
7. Lowers Blood Pressure
Meanwhile, recent researches have suggested that people who are hypertensive should increase intake of potassium.
Cabbage is one vegetable that is rich in potassium and it helps to reduce the risks blood pressure.
8. Improves Fertility
Cabbage contains folate, as shown in the nutritional fact image above, and this makes it a great food for persons looking to conceive.
9. An Excellent Source Of Vitamin K
Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin K which is a collection of fat-soluble vitamins.
Importantly, they play many important roles in your body.
These fat-soluble vitamins are divided into two – Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) which is found primarily in plant sources and Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) which is found in animal sources and some fermented foods.
This vegetable is a great source of vitamin K1 and it delivers 85% of the recommended daily amount in 89 grams.
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