Red Cabbage Salad

I have a special Meat Free Monday post for you today – a guest post from Neta. To share her passion for food and healthy living, Neta runs the  Heal with Food website, which provides information about the nutritional approach to preventing and treating common diseases and conditions. The Nutrition Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer hosted on the website is dedicated to providing information about nutrients and foods with breast cancer fighting properties. Today Neta shares with us some information on the cancer-fighting properties of cabbage and one of her favourite cabbage salad recipes.

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Indoles in Cabbage Have Cancer-Fighting Properties

Research suggests that the breast cancer fighting properties of cabbage are primarily linked to its high concentration of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural compound found in the Brassica vegetables when they are chopped, crushed or chewed. Studies suggest that I3C can help detoxify carcinogens and destroy free radicals, unstable molecules that can cause DNA damage. Furthermore, I3C appears to be able to trigger the release of enzymes that promote the breakdown of estrogen precursors into harmless substances rather than into substances that are associated with breast cancer. Research also suggests that I3C can directly interfere with the reproduction of cancerous cells.

Extra Benefits for Pre-Menopausal Women?

Cabbage provides a hearty helping of dietary fibre, a macronutrient that passes the intestines largely intact but that is known to offer great health benefits. A follow-up of the U.K. Women’s Cohort Study from 2007 suggests that a high-fibre diet can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. The researchers, who monitored the diet of 35,000 women, found that those pre-menopausal women who consumed 30 grams of fibre a day had half the risk of those whose daily dietary intake of fibre was below 20 grams. However, this protective effect was not observed in post-menopausal women. Fibre has been shown to affect the way the body processes and regulates estrogen, which may be among the possible mechanisms for its cancer preventive activity.

White Versus Red Cabbage

 As you make your foray into cooking with cabbage, don’t limit your experimenting to cooking with the white variety. Red cabbage, the unsung star of the Brassica family of vegetables, may offer even more health benefits than its white counterpart. The antioxidant potential of red cabbage, when measured by the vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity (VCEAC), has been shown to be six to eight times higher than that of white cabbage. In addition, red cabbage is brimming with anthocyanins, with 100 grams (about ¼ pounds or 3 ounces) of raw red cabbage delivering nearly 30 milligrams of anthocyanins. In comparison, white cabbage provides 0.01 milligrams of anthocyanins per 100 grams. Anthocyanins are the same plant pigments that are largely responsible for blueberries’ reported cancer fighting properties.

Neta’s Nutritious Red Cabbage Salad

 One way to enjoy the health benefits of cabbage is to make it into a salad. Here’s a recipe for one of my favourite cabbage salads to boost your health and to brighten up a grey winter’s day:

Ingredients
1 small head of red cabbage, thinly shredded
2 pears, sliced
3 mandarins, peeled and sectioned

 
For the dressing
2 tbsp walnut oil
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp demerara sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

For garnish
Dried cranberries and chopped walnuts

Method
1. Mix all the salad ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least two hours.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the salad. Toss gently.
3. Garnish with dried cranberries and chopped walnuts and serve immediately.