Google informs:
“Cabbage is a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C and fiber. Cabbage is
also an excellent source of manganese, vitamin B6, and folate; and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, tryptophan, protein, and magnesium. Studies
suggest that it, as well as other cruciferous
vegetables, may reduce the risk of some cancers, especially those in the colorectal group. This is possibly due to the glucosinolates found in cole
crops, which stimulate the production of detoxifying
enzymes that remove carcinogens created during metabolism, or due
to the sulphoraphane content, also responsible for
metabolic anti-carcinogenic activities. Purple cabbage also contains anthocyanins,
which in other vegetables have been shown to have anti-carcinogenic properties. Along with other cole
crops, cabbage is a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical that
boosts DNA repair in cells and has been
shown—in experiments using cell cultures and animal models—to block the growth of cancer cells.
Research suggests that boiling
these vegetables reduces their anti-carcinogenic properties.
Food Born Illnesses
In addition to its usual purpose
as an edible vegetable, cabbage has been used historically as a medicinal herb for a variety of purported
health benefits. The Ancient Greeks recommended consuming
the vegetable as a laxative, and used cabbage juice as an antidote
for mushroom
poisoning, for eye salves, and for liniments used to help bruises
heal. In Cato the Elder's work De Agri Cultura ("On
Agriculture"), he suggested that women could prevent diseases by bathing
in urine obtained from those who had frequently eaten cabbage. The ancient Roman nobleman Pliny the Elder described both
culinary and medicinal properties of the vegetable, recommending it for
drunkenness—both preventatively to counter the effects of alcohol, and to cure hangovers. Similarly, the Ancient Egyptians ate cooked cabbage at the beginning of meals
to reduce the intoxicating effects of wine. This traditional usage persisted in European
literature until the mid-20th century.
The cooling properties of the
leaves were used in Britain as a treatment for:
· Trench foot in World War I
· As compresses for ulcers and breast abscesses.
Accumulated scientific evidence corroborates
that cabbage leaf treatment can:
· Reduce
the pain and hardness of engorged
breasts
· Increase the duration of breast feeding.
Other medicinal uses recorded in Europe folk
medicine include:
· Treatments for rheumatism,
· Colic
· Melancholy.
In the United States, cabbage has
been used as:
· A hangover cure,
· To treat abscesses,
· To prevent sunstroke,
· To
cool body parts affected by fevers.
So..... You may want to cool off
on a bed of cabbage leave?
The leaves have also been used to:
· Soothe
sore feet
· When
tied around the neck of children, to relieve croup.
Both mashed cabbage and cabbage juice have
been used :
· In poultices to remove boils
· Treat warts,
· Pneumonia,
· Appendicitis,
· Ulcers”.
If you have a swollen joint,
