Red Cabbage and Beets:

Red Cabbage and Beets for Health

Both red cabbage and beets are delicious, nutritious, and low in calories. In addition, the compounds found in red cabbage and beets are thought to play an important role in the prevention of many forms of cancer.

Some research has placed the focus on the benefits of red cabbage and beets on the many phytochemicals these foods contain. These compounds are thought to play a role in the activation and stabilization of the detoxification and antioxidant processes in the body.

In particular, indole-3-carbinole (I3C) is thought to play a role in reducing the risk of breast cancer, and one small study showed a remarkable 50% reduction in the incidence of breast cancer. These compounds, found abundantly in red cabbage and beets, are thought to play a role in how estrogen is produced and utilized in the body, and this is thought to contribute in reducing the incidence of breast cancer in those who consume these foods.

Red cabbage and beets are thought to play an important role in the prevention of lung cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer. Additionally, red cabbage and beets are known to be rich sources of vitamin C, an antioxidant which plays a vital role in reducing the presence of free radicals in the body.

All types of cabbages and related vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts and bok choy, are rich sources of calcium. In addition to calcium, however, red cabbage and beets are also rich sources of flavonoids. It is these flavonoids which are responsible for the rich purple coloring of both red cabbage and red beets, and they give both red cabbage and red beets their strong antioxidant health benefits. As a matter of fact, red cabbage and red beets are among the richest sources of flavonoids in the vegetable world.

Red cabbage and beets both are also being studied for their possible role in the treatment of peptic ulcers. For many years the juice of the red cabbage has been used as a very effective way to treat peptic ulcers. It is thought that the high concentration of the amino acid known as glutamine is responsible for the ability of red cabbage and beets to treat this common stomach condition. Glutamine is used to provide nutrients to the cells that line the small intestine and the stomach, and this fact may be responsible for the effectiveness of cabbage juice at treating ulcer conditions.

When shopping for red cabbage, it's a good idea to choose heads with the richest, reddest leaves, since the compounds that give red cabbage its rich flavor also provide its nutritional benefits. Likewise, those red beets with the richest and heartiest color are thought to provide the greatest nutritional value.