28 Useful Health Benefits Of Cabbage

Green and leafy cabbage is a low-calorie vegetable, which is a great choice in several salad recipes. Cabbage contains high fiber content in it. Cabbage is a round and leafy vegetable that is an important member of the family brassica⁽¹⁾. It is available all throughout the year and because of its exclusive nutrient profile, cabbage forms a major part of a healthy diet.

There are a lot of varieties of cabbage; such as savoy, green cabbage, January king, red cabbage and Wombok⁽²⁾. Cabbage can be either taken raw or be cooked and eaten. Because of its rich mineral, vitamins and fiber contents, cabbage is known to have a lot of health benefits. Read below to discover some of the best health benefits of cabbage.

It is true that cabbage is quite low in calories; still it has got a real impressive nutrient profile. One cup or 89 grams of raw green cabbage comprises of 22 calories, 1 gram of protein, 2 grams of fiber, folate of 10% of RDI, manganese 7% of RDI, calcium being 4% of RDI, Magnesium 3% of RDI, potassium of 4% of RDI , vitamin B6 6% of RDI, Vitamin C 54% of RDI, vitamin K 85% of RDI.

Apart from all these, cabbage also contain small amount of some other micronutrients, like iron, riboflavin and vitamin A. Moreover, cabbage is loaded with fiber and has extremely powerful antioxidants, such as sulfur compounds and polyphenols. The vitamin B6 and folate content found in cabbage is known to be essential for several important processes in your body. Being quite high in the vitamin C content, or a powerful antioxidant, cabbage may also be used to protect the body against several heart problems, vision loss and some types of cancers.

Let us read the following array to know more about the health benefits of cabbage.

One of the most important health benefits of cabbage is that it helps prevent cancer. There are some compounds known as DIM or Diinodolylmethane, sulforaphane, sinigrin, lupeol and indole 3- carbinol or I3-C; present in cabbage and are known to have anti-cancer properties.

Your immunity is enhanced by taking cabbage on a daily basis. Being loaded with Vitamin C content, cabbage helps in strengthening the immune system and even helps in curbing the free radicals. 

One more health benefit of cabbage is that it reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. As per the latest research, eating cabbage, especially the red cabbage can be used to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. This is because of the vitamin K found in the cabbage.

Stomach and peptic ulcers can be healed by consuming cabbage. The juice of cabbage contains anti-ulcer properties because of its rich glutamine content.

One of the finest health benefits of cabbage is its benefit in losing weight. In fact, cabbage is believed to be the best food for people who want to keep their weight in check. One full cup of cooked cabbage has only 33 calories in it.

Another health benefit of cabbage is its anti-inflammatory properties. Being rich in amino acids, which aid in fighting inflammation, cabbage is known to be a great natural anti-inflammatory agent.

Cabbage can be a great food for treating constipation. This is because of the proper digestion that is facilitated because of the presence of rich amounts of fiber in the cabbage and this offers relief from constipation.

One of the finest benefits of cabbage is its benefit in maintaining a good digestive health. The dietary fiber content present in cabbage is essential for keeping the digestive system healthy. The dietary fiber when enters into your body through cabbage, develops bulk inside the digestive tract and it accelerates your digestion eventually by removing the unwanted materials out from your body.

There is another health benefit of cabbage; it is good for your cardiovascular health. This is because cabbage is loaded with two most crucial minerals, the calcium and potassium, which effectively regulates the blood pressure levels in the body. Moreover, the sodium amount present in cabbage is very low, which is good for the heart health. So, by adding cabbage to your diet, you can greatly benefit your heart.

One more health benefit of cabbage is that the vegetable is good for patients of diabetes. Cabbage helps in treating hypertension and also takes part in maintaining the blood sugar level under control. This is because of the potassium content found in the cabbage. Potassium can even help in relieving stress, tension and anxiety and stimulate the mental well being.

Being rich in antioxidants, cabbage is considered to be one of the healthiest green vegetables that curb the adverse effects of free radicals. It is found that one cup of cabbage can satisfy around 50% of the daily requirement of Vitamin A and C. Both these vitamins are important antioxidants. Taking cabbage on a daily basis can help you in conditioning your body’s defense mechanism.

Another health benefit of cabbage is that it is great for your bones and teeth. This is because of the vitamin K and calcium content found in the vegetable.

There is another health benefit of cabbage and that is it is good at providing relief from sore muscles. This is because of the presence of lactic acid in cabbage⁽⁸⁾.

Cabbage is one of the fabulous foods for you to consume during your pregnancy. Being loaded with folic acid, cabbage is considered to be a great food that can meet the nutritional requirements of pregnant women. Cabbage benefits pregnancy by providing nourishment to the fetus and also promotes milk production in mothers.

Cabbage is a vegetable that protects you from the side effects of radiation therapy. It contains a rare compound called 3,3’-diindolylmethane or DIM, which has shown effective in preventing the risks associated with radiation therapy.

Cabbage is also good for your eye health and is known to eliminate the risk of developing cataracts^{(11, 12)}. The presence of beta-carotene in cabbage helps in preventing macular degeneration of your eyes and this in turn helps prevent cataract and benefits your eye health.

Presence of a potent antioxidant, known as “indole-3-carbonile” in cabbage makes it quite beneficial for the skin, as it removes the toxins accumulated in your blood, which might else cause blemished and dull skin. Below are some of the skin health benefits of cabbage.

You can get anti-aging benefits from cabbage if you consume it on a daily basis. The presence of high amount of vitamin C in cabbage helps you keep your skin youthful and also delays the process of skin aging. Other vitamins, such as Vitamin A and Vitamin D present in cabbage works greatly in making your skin quite clear and healthy. Apart from this, it even avoids the skin cells destruction caused due to the UV rays.

One more skin health benefits of cabbage, is that it has got excellent skin healing properties. Cabbage can effectively cure skin eruptions, like psoriasis, eczema, acne, insect bites, skin rash, leg ulcers and wounds.

Cabbage is known to offer you flawless skin. Cabbage can be the best solution if you have pimples, or skin irritations. For this, you need to steam the upper leaves of the vegetable and then remove all the veins. Then, you need to compress those leaves between cotton or a linen cloth so as to make them soft and smooth and place this compress on the affected skin area overnight. You can experience spotless skin in a few days.

The sulfur content present in cabbage helps in preventing acne. This is because of the vegetable’s drying effects. Apart from this, it is also important for keratin protein synthesis that is beneficial for healthy skin and hair. Cabbage also aids in cleansing the blood and removing toxins and bacteria from the body.

Cabbage is highly effective in cleansing the body because of its rich content of vitamin C. cabbage juice can help you in clearing up any acne from your skin.

It is also known that cabbage is an excellent source to improve your skin complexion. The potassium found in the vegetable purifies the body and also the skin. Moreover, high amount of sulfur assist in fighting any infection and vitamin A helps in rejuvenating the skin tissues. You can get clear, fairer and a much glowing skin with regular use of cabbage.

Because of the abundant presence of vitamins, minerals like sulfur, calcium, iron and magnesium; cabbage is quite beneficial for hair. Below are some of the hair health benefits of cabbage.

Cabbage is rich in vitamin A content and this vitamin is an antioxidant that helps in stimulating the growth of hair. Applying a mixture of steamed or boiled cabbage along with freshly squeezed juice of lemon on your scalp can help in hair growth.

You get smooth as well as healthy hair with cabbage. The vegetable nourishes your hair and offers you silky and shining hair. You need to apply the juice of cabbage on your scalp and the root hairs and keep it for one hour before shampooing it to get smooth and silky hair.

Eating raw cabbage or preparing the cabbage juice and drinking it can be beneficial for dry hair, as it makes your hair shiny and soft. To get healthy hair drink a mixture of 80 ml of raw cucumber and raw carrot juice, 40 ml of raw cabbage juice.

One of the best hair health benefits of cabbage is that it helps in preventing hair loss. Raw cabbage along with cucumber juice is loaded with sulfur and silicon; two important minerals that helps in hair growth and also prevents loss of hair. Applying a mixture of 30 ml, each of cabbage and cucumber juice on the scalp and your hair roots and thoroughly massaging it for about 15 minutes before bed and washing it off the next morning can offer you this benefit. This must be done at least thrice a week to get the desired results.

Now that we know some of the best health benefits of cabbage, it is time to start adding this vegetable in your regular diet and skin care routines.

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