Leafy Cabbage

Cabbage is a common vegetable, one that is easily available in the market, and at a fairly cheap price. This is a plus, for it’s benefits cannot be understated.

Before pregnancy, what a woman eats is important for the healthy development of her baby upon conception. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is paramount. A diet that includes a generous amount of cabbage helps protect the unborn child from cancer—after birth, the baby is cosseted from it. in infancy and later on in life.

Vegetables from the cabbage family (broccoli. brussels sprouts and cauliflower) are exceptional sources of vitamin A. vitamin C. and calcium. They are also rich in phytochemicals that have anticancer properties. Cabbage contains important vital substances like calcium, magnesium, iodine and iron.

Cabbage family vegetables also provide important nutrients that help to promote a plentiful milk supply for your baby. Research has revealed that cabbage is important in lowering cholesterol. It also helps to detoxify the body.

The most interesting property of this vegetable is its power to reduce the risk of developing colon cancer. Studies have shown that populations who eat large amounts of cabbage have a low rate of colon cancer. This is due to its high content in fibers and chemicals. Fibers help our intestines to stay healthy by increasing our transit movements.

Cabbage also contains chemicals that inhibit tumor growth and protect cells against free radicals. Some of its chemicals are believed to speed up the body’s metabolism of estrogen and therefore reduce the incidence of breast, uterus and ovary cancer.

Eaten raw. cabbage is a good source of folic acid, which lowers I he risk of having babies with Spina bifida. Juiced cabbage promotes the healing of some ulcers.

PREPARING CABBAGE

While raw. shred into small pieces, and add to your salad. It can be a salad by itself with a few pieces of apple, raisins or cheese. When shredded you might want to fry it on its own or with a cereal: it can be boiled or steamed. There is not limit to creativity.

Avoid cutting the cabbage in advance otherwise you are bound to lose its vitamins, especially vitamin C. The leaves in the inside are usually tight and clean.

You do not have to wash them. jut( remove the exterior leaves that might be spoiled and rinse the whole cabbage under running water. You can then prepare it.

The simplest way to cut it is with a large and sharp knife. Cut it in half and then in quarters. You might want to remove its core from each quarter since this part is usually hard. Depending on what you want to do with it. you can slice it in small pieces, leave it in quarters or cut it again in half. Do not cook cabbage in an aluminum pot which causes chemical reaction that discolours the vegetable and alter its flavour. The most nutritious way to serve cabbage is when it is raw or lightly steamed, to protect vitamin C.

BUYING CABBAGE
Look for cabbages that feel heavy for their size. The leaves should be tightly closed and attached tightly at the stem end. Green cabbages that still have their dark-green, vitamin-rich outer leaves are to be favoured. Avoid cabbage with yellow or wilted leaves.

The yellow carotene pigments show through only when the cabbage has aged and its green chlorophyll pigments have faded. Wilted leaves mean a loss of moisture and vitamins.

STORING CABBAGE
Handle cabbage gently; bruising the leaves tears cells and activates ascorbic acid oxidase, an enzyme in the leaves that hastens the destruction of vitamin C.

Store cabbage in a cool, dark place, preferably in a refrigerator. In cold storage, cabbage can retain as much as 75 per cent of vitamin C for as long as six months. Cover the cabbage to keep it from drying out and losing vitamin A. Cabbage is one vegetable that keeps well. In the refrigerator or a cold place, a whole cabbage can be fresh for at least two weeks. If the cabbage has already been cut. the rest cannot be stored for more than two or three days. Buy fresh, organic vegetables whenever possible and eat at least one serving every day.

Store cabbage in a cool, dark place, preferably in a refrigerator. In cold storage, cabbage can retain as much as 75 per cent of vitamin C for as long as six months. Cover the cabbage to keep it from drying out and losing vitamin A.

END: PG17/51-52