White cabbage: benefits and harm to the body

White cabbage: benefits and harm to the body

White cabbage is an agricultural plant belonging to the cruciferous family. Biologists still have not come to a common opinion about where exactly this culture first appeared. For example, the Soviet botanist and breeder E.N. Sinskaya suggested that the wild ancestors of white cabbage grew on the Mediterranean coast. At the same time, the Georgian researcher G. Dzhaparidze wrote in his works that the Colchis lowland is the birthplace of the plant: an exceptional variety of cabbage was recorded on the territory of this plain.

The results of archaeological excavations indicate that people began to cultivate white cabbage in the Bronze or Stone Age. The technology of growing this vegetable mastered the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Southern Slavs learned about the existence of cabbage cultures from the Roman and Greek colonists who settled in the Black Sea regions. At the beginning of the XI century, vegetables began to grow in Russia.

Today, white cabbage is cultivated in all corners of the planet, excluding desert regions and regions of the Far North. The largest manufacturer and supplier of this product to the world market is China: more than 8 million tons of cabbage heads are grown annually in the country. Major exporters of this vegetable crop are such countries as Poland, Iran, the Netherlands.

White cabbage is a valuable food product. It is consumed in its raw form, stewed, boiled, pickled and fermented. The leaves of this vegetable culture are used to make salads, vegetable cutlets, cabbage soup and cabbage rolls. In folk medicine, the plant is used to combat a range of disorders in the body.

Biological plant description

White cabbage is a two-year-old vegetable culture with an extensive root system. The stem of the plant is tall, upright, leafy. Pale green lower cabbage leaves are large, fleshy, with thick veins. They form a dense basal rosette (head) around the plant stalk. Stem leaves - grayish-green, oval, do not have petioles. The cabbage blossoms with large pale yellow (less often white) flowers forming multicolored brushes. The fruits of the plant are large pods with a thickened, blunt nose. Within each pod, several large globular dark brown seeds ripen.

Rules for selection and storage of white cabbage

When choosing white cabbage, it is helpful to follow three simple guidelines.

  • Before buying a cabbage, you need to carefully inspect. It is important to make sure that there is no dirt, dark patches, mold, scurf, rot or cracks on the surface of the head. The cut must be white or pale yellow: darkening of the stalk indicates that the product is stale.
  • When choosing cabbage, preference should be given to vegetables weighing more than 1 kilogram. Heads must be tight, resistant to deformation during compression.
  • It is important to make sure that no foreign odors emanate from the cabbage. Fresh vegetables have a light grassy flavor.

Cabbage should be stored at a temperature of 0 to 3 ° C and at a humidity of 86 to 90%. Each fruit should be wrapped with newsprint or cling film. In this form, heads of cabbage can retain their nutritional and taste properties for up to six months.

Nutritional value of the product

100 g of cabbage contains:

  • 1, 723 g of proteins;
  • 4, 621 g of carbohydrates;
  • 0, 193 g of fat;
  • 1, 903 g of dietary fiber;
  • 90, 343 g of water;
  • 0, 291 g of organic acids;
  • 0, 614 g of ash;
  • 0.097 g of dextrins and starch;
  • 4, 524 g of monosaccharides and disaccharides.

Also in the composition of the product are sterols, essential and non-essential amino acids.

Vitamins in the composition of the product

White cabbage - a storehouse of vitamins. When consumed, 100 g of this product enters the body:

  • tocopherol equivalent, E - 0, 093 mg;
  • riboflavin, B2 - 0, 063 mg;
  • Niacin equivalent, PP - 0, 898 mg;
  • pyridoxine, B6 - 0, 934 mg;
  • retinol equivalent, A - 2, 975 mcg;
  • thiamine, B1 - 0, 026 mg;
  • ascorbic acid, C - 59, 404 mg;
  • choline, B4 - 10, 633 mg;
  • folic acid, B9 - 21, 346 μg.

In addition, a rare vitamin K, called phylloquinone, is found in cabbage. 100 g of the product contains about 76 μg of this nutrient.

Useful elements in white cabbage

Macro elements in 100 g of white cabbage:

  • magnesium - 15, 719 mg;
  • phosphorus - 30, 463 mg;
  • potassium - 299, 061 mg;
  • sulfur - 36, 816 mg;
  • chlorine - 36, 862 mg;
  • calcium - 47, 412 mg;
  • sodium - 12, 914 mg.

Trace elements per 100 g of product:

  • iron - 0, 512 mg;
  • molybdenum - 9, 631 mkg;
  • cobalt - 2, 893 mkg;
  • selenium - 0, 234 mkg;
  • aluminum - 569, 077 mkg;
  • chrome - 4, 922 mkg;
  • manganese - 0, 161 mg;
  • nickel - 14, 211 mkg;
  • boron - 199, 211 mcg;
  • zinc - 0, 388 mg;
  • copper - 79, 091 mkg;
  • iodine - 2, 909 mkg;
  • fluorine - 9, 692 mkg.

Caloric content of white cabbage

100 g of fresh white cabbage contains 26, 782 kcal. On average, one cabbage weighs 1, 5 kg. This means that its caloric content is 401, 73 kcal.

The energy value of a 100-gram serving of sauerkraut - 19, 433 kcal, pickled - 18, 721 kcal, boiled - 18, 104 kcal. 100 g cabbage soup contains 33, 617 kcal. Calorie cabbage stewed in tomato sauce - 43, 912 kcal.

Useful Properties

  • Cabbage - a product with low energy value. People who want to get rid of excess weight, can safely diversify their diet dishes from this vegetable.
  • Cabbage juice is a natural laxative. For the treatment of prolonged constipation using a mixture of this drink with a pickle brine from sauerkraut (the ingredients are taken in the same volume). Means drink 200-230 ml twice a day.
  • The green top leaves of cabbage are a rich source of folic acid. Regular consumption of them in food can prevent the development of megaloblastic anemia in adults, and reduce the risk of disturbances in the immune and circulatory systems. Pregnant women, including food from this product in their diet, minimize the likelihood of the formation of neural tube defects in the embryo.
  • White cabbage is a widely available source of vitamin C. In order to fill the daily need of the body for this nutrient, it is enough to eat about 200 g of the product fresh. With moderate heat treatment, the concentration of ascorbic acid in the vegetable increases. It is proved that late-ripening cabbage varieties contain 3 times more vitamin C than early ones.
  • In alternative medicine, cabbage juice is used to treat stomach ulcers, gastritis, and liver diseases. Patients are advised to drink half a glass of this drink four times a day.
  • Tartonic acid contained in fresh white cabbage has anti-sclerotic properties, prevents the appearance of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels, helps to eliminate excess cholesterol from the body. During heat treatment, the concentration of this nutrient in cabbage leaves decreases.
  • Substances present in fresh cabbage juice, help to remove excess fluid from the body, cope with strong edema.
  • Juice released during the souring of white cabbage, is used to reduce the concentration of sugar in the blood. The liquid is diluted with warm water 1: 1 and taken four times a day and 1/4 cup.
  • Cabbage juice with the addition of honey helps alleviate the condition of people suffering from tuberculosis.
  • Choline and other B vitamins, which enter the digestive tract when eating white cabbage, help speed up the metabolic processes in the body.
  • Cabbage juice helps stabilize the nervous system, cope with irritability and anxiety, and normalize sleep. People who are faced with these problems, it is enough to drink half a glass of this drink daily.
  • Dishes from white cabbage help provide the body with fiber, improve digestion, remove toxins, toxins and other toxic compounds from the gastrointestinal tract.
  • The substances contained in cabbage juice, normalize the process of blood formation, help to improve the composition of blood.
  • In case of stomatitis or increased bleeding of the gums, it is helpful to rinse the mouth with fresh cabbage juice.
  • Ground cabbage, combined with raw 1: 1 chicken yolk, is used to treat skin ulcers, purulent wounds, and burn injuries. The mixture, wrapped in sterile tissue, is applied to the diseased area for 30-40 minutes.
  • Cabbage juice has expectorant properties. Traditional healers recommend drinking this drink for bronchitis, tracheitis and other inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. Warm cabbage juice helps to get rid of dry unproductive cough.
  • The substances contained in white cabbage help to prevent fatty tissue degeneration of the liver tissue.
  • Fresh cabbage juice is used to treat diseases that have developed on the background of a decrease in the acidity of gastric juice.
  • In alternative medicine, cabbage is used to relieve pain in diseases of the joints, migraines, and soft tissue injuries. Fresh leaves of the plant are kneaded in the hands and applied to the diseased area. Compress change every 1, 5-2 hours.
  • White cabbage juice is an effective remedy for purulent tonsillitis. Liquid rinse the throat at least 4 times a day until the complete disappearance of the symptoms of the disease.
  • Folk healers use white cabbage to prepare a means to quickly get rid of hematomas. Crushed leaves of the plant are boiled in milk for 3 minutes and applied to the affected area for 35-40 minutes.
  • In ancient times, cabbage juice, combined 1: 1 with red grape wine, was used as an antidote for snake bites and poisonous insects.

Cabbage application in cosmetology

  • Cabbage juice has anti-aging properties, tones the skin, makes it supple and elastic. The agent is impregnated with a cotton disc and wiped with a face twice a day.
  • Fresh cabbage juice is used to prepare a mask that allows smoothing fine lines and getting rid of unwanted pigmentation on the skin. The liquid is combined with oatmeal 1: 1, mix thoroughly and distribute the resulting composition in problem areas. After 40 minutes, rinse off with warm water.
  • There is a cabbage mask that allows you to eliminate disturbances in the work of the sebaceous glands, to provide full and proper care for oily skin. Oatmeal pour sauerkraut pickle (1: 1) and allow the mixture to infuse for 35 minutes. The resulting composition is distributed over the problem area of ​​the skin. After 20 minutes, the product is washed with chamomile extract.
  • Fresh cabbage juice is rubbed into the scalp in order to strengthen the hair roots, make the curls strong and shiny.

Contraindications and harm to white cabbage

  • Abuse of white cabbage can cause stomach upset, bloating, nausea, flatulence, intestinal colic.
  • Numerous studies have confirmed that excessive consumption of raw white cabbage can provoke goiter and other disorders in the thyroid gland. During heat treatment or souring of this vegetable, the concentration of goitrogens (compounds that cause endocrine system malfunction) is reduced by 85-90%.
  • Contraindications to the consumption of this vegetable are diarrhea, increased acidity of the digestive juice, pancreatitis, acute enterocolitis, a tendency to spasms of the bile ducts, excessive contractile activity of the intestines, allergy to vegetables of the cabbage family, surgical interventions in the peritoneal or chest areas.
  • It is forbidden to eat raw cabbage cabbage stumps. It is in this part of the plant that toxic substances accumulate - nitrates, copper salts, cadmium.
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