How To Use White Cabbage For Medicinal Purposes

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

There are about a dozen types of cabbage, but in our country, the most widespread cabbage is cabbage, primarily white cabbage, although red cabbage is also grown, but much less often. Large heads of cabbage with wide juicy bluish-green leaves can be found at the end of summer in many garden and summer cottages.

As a food product, white cabbage is widely used fresh, boiled, stewed, pickled, pickled, and also in the form of juice.

However, since ancient times, people have noticed the medicinal properties of this common vegetable, and it has been effectively used in folk medicine.

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What kind of plant is this and what explains all its beneficial properties?

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is a biennial plant with very large fleshy leaves, belonging to the Cabbage or Cruciferous family. In the first year, it forms a dense head of cabbage, consisting of numerous succulent leaves. Next year, if you plant a cabbage stump in the garden, it will give a peduncle, and by autumn pods with seeds will form from the inflorescences.

For food purposes, cabbage uses the leaves that form the head of cabbage. And for medicinal purposes in cabbage, the leaves of this culture are also mainly used. They are distinguished by their rich composition. For example, in terms of vitamin C content, cabbage surpasses lemon, and, in addition, it contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, P, D, K, as well as vitamin U and other vitamins.

Cabbage contains carotene, enzymes, minerals - potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, trace elements - aluminum, zinc, iron, manganese. Cabbage leaves contain basic sugars - readily soluble glucose, fructose and sucrose, proteins, fiber, fats, pantothenic and folic acids.

In official medicine, white cabbage, or rather, its juice began to be actively used in the second half of the last century, when studies showed that fresh cabbage contains an anti-ulcer substance - vitamin U. Now it is obtained synthetically, this drug is called methyl methionine sulfonium chloride. It is an activated form of methionine. It comes in pill form.

This drug stimulates the healing of damage to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, and also reduces gastric secretion, has an analgesic effect. It is used for gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, for chronic gastritis with normal, decreased and increased secretory function of the stomach, for gastralgia. It is taken orally, after meals, at 0.05-0.1 g for 30-40 days. Contraindications - hypersensitivity to the drug.

Side effects - allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting.

However, clinical observations of patients have shown that the use of these tablets has less effect than the use of fresh cabbage juice, since the juice of white cabbage also has bactericidal, bacteriostatic, fungicidal properties. And the phytoncides in cabbage have an antibacterial effect on harmful bacteria, for example, tuberculosis microbacteria.

It was found that vitamin U improves the metabolism of the gastric mucosa, increases its resistance to damaging factors. In the presence of an ulcer, it accelerates the processes of tissue regeneration. This vitamin has a positive effect on gastric motility, motor-evacuation activity of the intestine, a beneficial effect on the intestinal flora.

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Cabbage juice for peptic ulcer

Practice has shown that when prescribing the intake of cabbage juice in a warm form, half a glass 2-3 times a day in patients with gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, after a week, the pain disappeared completely or decreased, the state of health improved, vomiting, nausea, heartburn, constipation stopped, the ulcers began to scar. And if the patient followed the prescribed diet, then in a month and a half he could well recover.

The positive effect of cabbage juice in the treatment of liver diseases, for example, in hepatitis, was also noted. As a result of such treatment, the patients had less pain in the liver area and increased appetite.

Cabbage juice improves lipid metabolism and has a positive effect on patients with coronary atherosclerosis. The use of vitamin U is effective in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis, neurodermatitis.

In official medicine, cabbage is recommended in medical and dietary nutrition. It is included in the diet of patients with gout, cholelithiasis.

Since cabbage contains a lot of potassium salts, it is recommended to include it in the menu fresh, as well as its juice and dishes from this vegetable for heart and kidney diseases, since these products stimulate diuresis (urine excretion).

Doctors recommend including cabbage in the diet of patients with atherosclerosis, since the pectin compounds contained in it contribute to the neutralization of toxic substances, the elimination of cholesterol. In addition, cabbage fiber improves intestinal motor function.

Those people who are overweight should also definitely include white cabbage in their diet, because it contains tartaric acid, which inhibits the conversion of carbohydrates into fats and helps to achieve weight loss.

And diabetics shouldn't forget about cabbage. First of all, they should be attracted by sauerkraut, they should definitely include it in their menu, as it contains a lot of lactic acid. It helps to reduce sugar levels, supports the functioning of the pancreas, normalizes metabolism, and helps to reduce weight. And together with acetic acid, they suppress the development of putrefactive bacteria.

In folk medicine of Russia, white cabbage has long been used and is now used to treat diseases of the stomach, liver and spleen, digestive disorders, and various external inflammatory processes. For this, the leaves of white cabbage were crushed and squeezed out of juice. Take it in half a glass 2-3 times a day before meals in a warm form, possibly adding honey or sugar to it.

Juicy leaves of fresh cabbage were applied whole to the affected areas for burns, wounds, ulcers, eczema and neurodermatitis, or fresh juice was used for treatment in the form of lotions. This treatment can also help relieve or relieve pain from arthritis and gout. If a raw cabbage leaf is applied to the head for a headache, it will also relieve the headache.

It was noticed that fresh cabbage juice has antitussive, expectorant and emollient effects, and therefore folk healers recommended drinking it for bronchitis - 1 teaspoon several times a day for coughing and hoarseness.

Fresh cabbage juice diluted with warm water was used for gargling for inflammatory diseases of the mouth and throat.

White cabbage helped and helps to get rid of heartburn. To do this, it is recommended to drink its juice warm, 100 ml 2-3 times a day, half an hour before meals.

Found its application in folk medicine and sauerkraut brine. Probably everyone knows the benefits of taking it with a hangover syndrome. And this is not at all surprising, because many useful substances from cabbage have passed into this fragrant liquid.

The brine is also recommended to be taken in case of liver diseases, hemorrhoids, to improve appetite. It has tonic properties.

And cabbage brine is also useful with low acidity, flatulence and chronic constipation.

Contraindications

White cabbage also has some contraindications. For example, it is not recommended to consume its juice with increased acidity of the stomach, as it stimulates the secretion of the gastric glands, and the acidity may further increase. It is also not advisable to take it for colitis, enteritis, myocardial infarction, diarrhea. Reception of fresh cabbage is contraindicated in pancreatitis. Lovers of white cabbage also need to know that overeating it raw can lead to nausea, bloating, and heaviness in the stomach.

Therefore, if you are going to start treatment with cabbage juice or cabbage leaves, consult your doctor.

Anatoly Petrov

Photo by E. Valentinov