It’s been known as a weight loss food for a while, but now we are seeing that our healthy food of the week actually slows aging and helps stave off several of the diseases that hold terror for us as we grow older.  Alzheimer’s, cancer, and arthritis are all diseases this humble vegetable helps prevent.  I have to admit that it doesn’t often make an appearance at the Brown dinner table, but after doing the research, that’s likely to change.

This inexpensive and unheralded vegetable, cabbage, actually has more vitamin C than oranges.  That vitamin reduces free radicals in your body, which are the basic cause of aging.  It also helps reduce wear and tear on your body.  Are you prone to sicknesses like colds and flu?  Eating foods with lots of Vitamin C is more effective and safer than a flu shot.  It also contains sulphur, which fights infections and helps heal wounds.  Sulphur is especially helpful in healing ulcers.

A lot of our problem in our Western society comes from toxins in our food and environment.  The vitamin C and sulphur in cabbage have a great detoxifying effect.  Getting rid of toxins can help prevent conditions that lead to rheumatism, gout, arthritis, and skin conditions.

Iodine is another nutrient that is abundant in cabbage.  Iodine helps in proper functioning of the brain and nervous system and helps keep the endocrine glands in good condition.  Because it helps with the brain and nerves, iodine may have a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Cabbage is also rich in Vitamin E, which keeps the skin, eyes, and hair healthy and has calcium, magnesium and potassium, which are good for many things, including bones.

And, to top it off, it is high in fiber, which helps in digestion, lowers blood sugar, and helps prevent colon cancer.  In fact, because it is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, it has been proven to be a cancer fighter and inhibitor.  I can’t find the study to back it up, but I saw on several sites that eating cabbage just once a week can lower your risk of colon cancer by 60%.

If you were told that there was pill you could buy that would keep you younger, thinner, healthier, and keep you from getting age related diseases, wouldn’t you buy it — no matter if it was expensive, difficult to find, or hard to swallow?  Why not invest a few cents into a healthy  food that actually does those things — especially since it is inexpensive, easy to buy, and great in a number of recipes?

Tomorrow we’ll look at some recipes and ways to include cabbage into your diet.

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown