Cabbage

Cabbage is a hardy and easy to grow vegetable, it is available in most countries and cultures.
Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable rich in nutrition and fiber.

One cup of cabbage contains around 15 calories.
Cabbage is rich in the following nutrients:
Vitamin A: responsible for the protection of your skin and eyes.
Vitamin C: an all important anti-oxidant and helps to burn fat.
Vitamin E: a fat soluble anti-oxidant which plays a role in skin integrity.
Vitamin B: helps maintain integrity of nerve endings and boosts energy metabolism.

Cabbage boosts the immune system’s ability to produce antibodies. Cabbage provides high levels of iron and sulfur, minerals that work in part as cleansing agents for the digestive system.

There are many different varieties of cabbage; Green cabbage is the most popular, Bok Choy, Red and Napa cabbage are just as good though not as popular. Sauerkraut is also very popular; the German word literally means “sour cabbage”.

The cultivation of cabbage goes back 4000 years. Horsemen from China and Mongolia learned to preserve this vegetable in brine and it became the main nourishment of the builders of the Great Wall of China in the third century BC. This pickled cabbage arrived in Europe from the East, carried by Hun and Mongol cavalcades.

A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that the process of fermenting cabbage produces isothiocyanate, a class of compounds identified as potential cancer- fighting agents. Sauerkraut is also a cruciferous vegetable, proven to reduce the risk of breast, colon, lung, and liver cancer according to the US Department of Health.

Homemade sauerkraut is tasty, healthy and easy to make 3 to 4 tbsp of salt to 5 lbs of shredded cabbage, water and time are the only ingredients needed to make sauerkraut.

Have you had your cabbage today?