Article By: John Fontana

There are few foods that truly deserve to be designated “All-stars” for nutritional, abundance and economic reasons. Of that all-star team, cabbage may very well deserve to play the role of captain. In baseball, a player that can hit for average, hit for power, run, catch and throw is called a “5-tool player.” In the world of food, cabbage may be one of the only 5-tool players in the game, consistently over-performing, while being under-appreciated.

The saying “never judge a book by its cover” has never held more truth than with cabbage. From looking at it, you would never expect cabbage to be so healthy. When you break into the heart of green cabbage the dominant color is white, which is not exactly the typical color we look for when hunting for healthy foods. Even if you look at the nutritional breakdown, checking into the vitamins and minerals, cabbage doesn’t seem to be all that amazing. Sure it is high in vitamin K and vitamin C, but other than that, it doesn’t seem to be all that amazing. But look deep into the chemical makeup of cabbage and you will find some health properties that can’t and shouldn’t be avoided.

Why So Good?

Fight The Enemy

As with many of the foods featured on Shadow Fit, cabbage does a great job protecting and fighting against cancer-causing free radicals. Cabbage holds certain phytochemicals that can increase the rate at which specific enzymes help to kill off free radicals, while also fighting against carcinogens.

The metabolism of estrogen plays a key role in women’s health and certain phytonutrients found in cabbage called indoles help the body metabolize estrogen in a positive manner, reducing the risk of cancer.

Special Veggies

Cabbage belongs to the Cruciferae family which is made up of broccoli, chard, sprouts and bok choy. Multiple studies have shown that cruciferous vegetables are in a league of their own when it comes to protecting the body from cancer. In these studies, people who ate less overall vegetables, but more crucifer veggies still had a lower risk of cancer (especially prostate). Cabbage can have a positive impact, helping protect against lung, colon, breast, bladder, prostate and ovarian cancers.

Calm The Fire

Inflammatory reactions that our bodies have to free radicals are the building blocks for many health issues such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, ulcers and allergies. The antioxidants found in cabbage can help reduce inflammation in the body, which will help prevent many of the aforementioned diseases. Anthocyanins, one type of antioxidant found in cabbage, can help keep keep blood vessels and connective tissue healthy and operating optimally.

What’cha Got?

As stated earlier, cabbage is host to high levels of vitamin K and vitamin C but also contains manganese, folate, calcium and potassium. Raw cabbage will hold about 2 grams of fiber per cup compared to 4 grams of fiber for cooked cabbage.

How To Eat?

Cabbage has a wide variety of uses but my guess is that it is most commonly used in coleslaw. Both raw and cooked cabbage show different health properties, so an effort should be made to incorporate both types. Even when cooking cabbage, you should only sauté or steam it for around 5 minutes or less on low-medium temperature. If you cook cabbage for too long on too high a heat, sulfur will be released giving you a nasty rotten egg smell, which I doubt you are looking for.

My favorite way to eat cabbage is by making cultured vegetables, which essentially turns cabbage into real sauerkraut. Cultured veggies are some of the healthiest and easiest foods to prepare in the world. To give you a quick rundown, all you have to do is chop up a variety of veggies, mix them in with a culture started, throw them into an air sealed container and let them sit at room temperature for about a week. When the week is through, you will have a food that is truly amazing for you and does wonders for your gut.  Just a heads up, the taste will be sour and the smell during the culturing process isn’t the greatest. I recommend storing the cultured veggies out of the way while they are “culturing” and then putting them in the fridge (which will subside the smell) after the week is through.

real sauerkraut

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