Cabbage, a relative of Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale, has a strong taste and odor and a crunchy texture. A range of cabbage varieties exist, including savoy cabbage, Chinese types and purple cabbage. The type most commonly found in grocery stores across the country is the large head of green cabbage with smooth leaves.
Nutrition Basics
A 1/2-cup serving of shredded, raw cabbage contains 8.3 calories and only 0.1 g of fat, making it an ideal food for low-calorie and low-fat diets. A fad diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, has even sprung up, promising to help you lose 10 pounds in a single week based on how little calories and fat cabbage contains. Cabbage has little protein -- 0.4 g per serving, leaving most of its calories to come from carbohydrates; one serving has 1.9 g. The carbohydrates in cabbage contribute toward your daily energy needs.
Vitamins and Minerals
Cabbage serves as a good source of vitamin C, providing 29.8 percent of the daily recommend intake per portion. Smoking can decrease the amount of vitamin C you have available in your body, so be sure to consume extra amounts of vitamin C even if you smoke one cigarette each day. One serving also contains 2.8 percent of the manganese and 2.5 percent of the potassium your body needs each day. Manganese helps your body regulate blood sugar and absorb calcium, while potassium assists in conducting electricity throughout your system. You will also get a small amount of vitamin B6 as well -- one serving of cabbage provides 1.7 percent of the daily suggested intake of this vitamin.
Benefits
Including cabbage in your diet may ward off cancer. Dr. Janice Stuff, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a Children's Nutrition Research Center nutrition scientist, says, "Vegetables in the cabbage family...contain protective phytochemicals called glucosinolates that help the body eliminate carcinogens." The Baylor College of Medicine website recommends consuming two servings of cabbage-family vegetables each day to decrease your risk of some types of cancer by 50 percent.
Warnings
Because cabbage contains high levels of fiber -- a 1/2-cup serving has 0.8 g -- eating this vegetable may contribute toward rectal gas. Cabbage is a trigger for flatulence, so if this is a problem, you may want to limit it in your diet. Natural ways to relieve flatulence include drinking mint, chamomile or fennel tea or chewing fennel seeds.
References
- Food.com: Cabbage
- CalorieLab: Cabbage, common (danish, domestic, and pointed types), freshly harvest, raw
- Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin C
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Manganese
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Potassium
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