Cabbage May Reduce the Risk of Cancer

Powerful Natural Antioxidants Help to Prevent Breast Cancer

The lowly cabbage is more likely to evoke a meal for a character out of a Dickens novel or a diet fad gone wrong, than anything else. But the cabbage has a long and well-documented history as a nutritious food and a medicine.

Cabbage or Brassica oleracea is from the plant family Cruciferae which includes cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts and other vegetables with “heads.” In fact its name is derived from the Normanno-Picard word for “head,” caboche.

General Health Benefits of Cabbage

High in nutrients, plentiful and inexpensive, cabbage is surprisingly high on the list of power foods. Chrysippus, an ancient Greek scholar, wrote an entire volume on the medical properties of it and Pliny the Roman scholar listed 87 different remedies made from cabbage. Another Greek physician, Dioscorides recommended it for ailments including weak vision and snakebites and Hippocrates used cabbage to help treat dysentery, kidney disorders and insufficient production of breast milk. The Arab physician and sage Ar-Razi, even cited cabbage as a remedy for tumors and growths in his famous medical encyclopedia Kitab al-Hawi in the 9th Century AD.

Cabbage also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid, which has anti-inflammatory properties in the body and is beneficial to the heart and circulatory system as well as for treating stomach, skin and intestinal ulcers. In European folk medicine a paste made of raw cabbage leaves was used to treat inflammation and reduce pain and discomfort. Cabbage leaves are also effective in reducing breast pain in breastfeeding mothers.

Red or purple cabbage has even higher medicinal properties. Its bright color is from a chemical called Lycopene which is especially good for prostate problems in men, helps to reduce free radical damage that causes skin aging, wrinkles and even helps to repair sun-damaged skin.

Antioxidant Indoles in Cabbage Prevent Cancers

The sulphur smell of cabbage comes from phytochemicals called indoles that are released during cooking. These powerful antioxidants may play a role in the health benefits of cabbage, particularly cancer prevention. According to a study published in the International Journal of Cancer in 2006 (page 857-868, Volume 118), indoles may prevent cancers such as breast cancer by inhibiting excess estrogen and by triggering our bodies to produce certain enzymes which block new cancer cell growth.

This cabbage compound also helps to prevent and slow the progress of respiratory papillomatosis, a cancer of the head and neck caused by the human papillomavirus that can cause fatal growths in the airways. Medical researchers have also found that these phytochemicals have far greater effectiveness against cancer prevention in the whole food form, rather than in supplements.

Other Nutrients Important for Overall Health

Additionally, this cancer fighting vegetable is packed with vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, potassium and has no fat or cholesterol: plenty of reasons to pack along a coleslaw salad in your lunch (just replace most of the mayonnaise with yogurt for an even healthier snack).

Reference:

Inhibition of Breast Cancer Cell Invasion By Natural Indoles by Christine Brew PhD.