Cabbage is an amazing vegetable. While it resembles a thick-leafed lettuce, it's actually related to the turnip, and tastes quite a bit the same, when raw.
Cabbage is very high in vitamin C, which makes it ideal for cold and flu season. If you suffer from stiff joints, you may enjoy the benefits of the amino acid glutamine, which is also found in this humble vegetable.
Lately, we have heard a lot of news reports about the disease called human papillomavirus. Cabbage contains indole-3-carbinol, a compound which is used in treating this disease. Cold cabbage leaves can also be used as compresses for breast-feeding women.
The nutrients in cabbage also lend themselves well to those who are trying to lose weight, and there's a diet formulated to work with cabbage soup as the main entree. On the flip side, if you're concerned that you're too thin, don't eat a lot of cabbage.
Cabbage also contains dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium, manganese, vitamin A, thiamin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron and magnesium. It's purported to assist in achieving optimum health, and its anti-oxidant content has made it one of the vegetables recommended by the American Cancer Society to help prevent cancer.
If you are concerned about the strong smell of cooked cabbage, slice it very thinly and only boil it for four minutes. This will reduce the smell in your home and may also help reduce the flatulence that can accompany cabbage that has been overcooked.
