Kayla, my granddaughter, in our cabbage patch with one of the 8 lb. cabbages we just harvested.
Cabbage Trivia
Ancient medicinal uses .....
• Egyptian pharaohs would eat large quantities of cabbage before a night of drinking as they believed that cabbage consumption would allow them to drink more alcoholic beverages and not feel the effects. This is perhaps why many still consider cabbage with vinegar as a good hangover remedy.
• Greeks and Romans placed great importance on the healing powers of cabbage. They held that the vegetable could cure just about any illness. Roman mythology holds that cabbages sprung from the tears of Lycurgus, King of the Edonians.
• Scrolls from 1000 BC uncovered in China mention white cabbage as a cure for baldness in men.
• The Romans cultivated it and some of them, like Cato, ate it before and after meals, a practice he advised to his countrymen: "It will make you feel as if you had not eaten," he assured them, "and you can drink as much as you like."
• Captain Cook swore by the medicinal value of sauerkraut (cabbage preserved in brine) back in 1769. His ship doctor used it for compresses on soldiers who were wounded during a severe storm and thus prevented the development of gangrene.
• At the turn of the last century Cabbage was considered to be the lowly vegetable of poor people. It is now highly regarded as one of the most nutritious vegetables available today, and is thought to have strong anti-aging and anti-cancer properties.
Current Medicinal Uses for Cabbage....
•Uncooked Cabbage is high in glutamine, an amino acid that is essential for intestinal health.
•Cabbages are a good source of Vitamin K, which is essential inthe production of blood clotting proteins.
•Cabbage is high in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure, promotes a steady heartbeat, and can lower your risk of stroke.
•Savoy Cabbage is among the highest in beta-carotene.
•Bok Choy and Chinese Cabbage are highest in calcium.
•Cabbage contains quercetin, an antioxidant that is a natural antihistamine that can benefit allergy sufferers.
•Red Cabbage provides the most Vitamin C.
•Cabbage juice can be used to treat stomach ulcers and help stop any bleeding.
•All Colewyrts are high in vitamins A and C, and in the mineral iron.
• Cabbage juice is used to relieve constipation. However it may cause flatulence as the juice breaks down putrefying matter in the intestines. Cabbage leaves are considered ideal roughage.
• A chemical (isothiocyanates) found in cabbages may lower the risk of lung cancer in smokers by as much as 38%.
http://www.cheriestihler.com/CC/trivia.html
