Cabbage is among one of the most recognizable leafy vegetables in the grocery. Despite its appearance resembling lettuce, cabbage belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family. In short, cabbage is related to cauliflower, kale, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. But how many calories are in head cabbage?
Just like other members of its cruciferous family, cabbage is likewise chock full of beneficial nutrients as well. Cabbage can come in multiple color variants like red, purple, and dark green; its leaves are either smooth or crinkled. You can find cabbages in almost every grocery. Just make sure to check the label as they are very similar to lettuce in appearance.
If you are just starting on the road to a healthy diet, consider adding cabbages. The cabbage has been grown around the world for thousands of years and used in different cuisines. From Korea, its kimchi to Germany, its German braid Red Cabbage.
Cabbages are grown all year round, if the region has no winter, of course. So take advantage of the cabbage’s versatility and try cooking cuisines from around the world!
Cabbage Taste And Texture
Cabbages don’t alter the taste of cuisines it is mixed with, so put it in any dish you want. But, if you are going to eat cabbage raw, expect a bitter taste. Some different varieties also offer different tastes, but most are bitter to the palate. However, rarely, you can find some cabbage that is a bit sweet.
Despite the appearances resembling lettuce, cabbages are very different in texture. Lettuce is soft, while cabbages are crunchy and tough. So if you want to eat cabbage raw, slice it thinly. That way, cabbage is easy to chew and eat.
On the other hand, cooking cabbages will make them soft and tender. While it does retain its crunchy texture, it is not as tough as raw ones.
Despite the different colors of cabbages, they all relatively taste the same. The taste might be the same, but there are some minor differences. Some minor differences are that colored cabbages contain more antioxidants than the usual green cabbage. Plus, they are crunchier, tougher, and will take a longer time to cook.
Benefits Of Eating Cabbage
Eating fruits and vegetables has been proven to benefit your overall health. Cabbage can likewise improve your overall health, specifically, lowering the risk of chronic illnesses. Plus, it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals. Here is how eating cabbages can benefit your health.
Packed With Nutrition
Here is a list of what vitamins and minerals you can expect in a cabbage.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, which means your body does not produce it naturally. You need to obtain vitamin C through dietary means. Vitamin C can help lower risks of chronic diseases, manage high blood pressure, and prevent iron deficiency.
- Vitamin K: Vitamin K plays a role in blood clotting, regulating blood calcium levels, and bone metabolism. Without vitamin K, your body won’t be able to produce a protein called prothrombin, a protein that does the job of blood clotting.
Vitamin K deficiency is rare, but if it does happen, an increase in clotting time, excessive bleeding, and hemorrhage is the result.
- Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6, or also known as pyridoxine, is an essential vitamin not natively produced within the body. B6 does the job of processing the fat, carbohydrates, and protein you ate and creating red blood cells.
- Protein: Every muscle building enthusiast knows how important protein is to their diet. But, don’t expect cabbages to have significant amounts of protein enough to compensate for weight lifting. Nevertheless, protein is still important regardless if you are building muscles or not.
Protein is an amino acid that is the building blocks of your body. Protein does the job of connecting itself to other substances forming a chain. This series of chains is what builds the enzymes, hormones, muscles, and skin. Without it, the body cannot have a continuous chain to build itself up, and it would start wasting itself away.
If you are a vegan yourself, you can instead eat cabbages and other vegetables that are chock full of protein. Protein is a need for the human body since the body cannot produce its own.
- Fiber: Fiber is a good reason why eating vegetables is beneficial to you. Studies have shown that intaking fiber benefits your digestion and reduces the risks of chronic illnesses. Rather than fiber affecting you directly, fiber is more beneficial to the gut bacteria.
When people hear of bacteria, negative things immediately come to mind. However, not all bacteria is bad for you. In fact, some bacteria have a mutual relationship with you, specifically, the bacteria that live in your digestive system.
You, the human host, provides shelter for these bacteria. In return, these bacteria support your digestive system. Here is where fiber comes in. Fiber will serve as the food for the bacteria, and in return, they produce acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which will help lower the risks of stomach problems.
- Potassium: Potassium is a mineral that is considered an electrolyte. Sadly, many have undervalued its importance. Potassium plays a key role in different bodily processes such as nerve functions, fluid balance, and muscle contraction.
Some benefits of potassium include reducing blood pressure, helping prevent stroke, prevent kidney stones, and prevent osteoporosis.
- Magnesium: Magnesium is not something people see as important. Despite that, magnesium is actually the fourth most abundant element in the body. In fact, every cell within the body has magnesium and needs it.
However, since magnesium is not highly known, about 50% of Americans and Europeans lack it. Some signs of magnesium deficiency are depression, fatigue, high blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat.
On the other hand, some benefits of magnesium are lower high blood pressure, can help fight depression, and boost exercise performance.
Low On Calories
You might wonder, how many calories in a head cabbage? After all, the benefits of cabbage are plenty, so surely it must have a lot of calories, right? Fortunately for you, there are only 25 calories per 100 grams of cabbage.
A meager walk is enough to burn the calories that you have taken when eating cabbage.
Conclusion
Cabbage is an all-in-one package of different vitamins and minerals. Feel free to eat cabbages as much as you want. However, for those taking blood thinners, such as warfarin, it is important that you not add cabbages immediately to your diet. Cabbage contains Vitamin K, which can cause effects on your warfarin. So consult your doctor first before you make any drastic changes.
