Chemical composition and calorie content
Chemical composition of cabbage and its calorie content per 100 g:
- proteins - 1.8 g;
- fats - 0.2 g;
- carbohydrates - 4.7 g;
- dietary fiber - 2 g;
- water - 90.4 g;
- calorie content - 28 kcal.
Vegetables contain many minerals that have a general strengthening effect on the body. The high potassium content helps remove excess fluid from the body, strengthening the cardiovascular system and muscles. Calcium and iron salts are needed for the formation of bone tissue. Phosphorus and sodium help normalize blood pressure and regulate water metabolism. Magnesium strengthens the nervous system and improves myocardial performance.
Did you know? Cabbage is a negative calorie food - this means that the human body spends more energy digesting the vegetable than it receives when eating it.
The value of the vegetable also lies in its citric acid and fiber content. Citric acid is responsible for ridding the body of toxins, and also affects visual acuity and helps increase calcium levels. Fiber is involved in the digestion process, and also prevents the accumulation of fats and significantly reduces the risk of atherosclerosis.
Cabbage contains sufficient amounts of vitamin C, which is responsible for strengthening the immune system. Pantothenic acid improves the functioning of the adrenal glands, stimulating the production of glucocorticoid hormones, which improve the overall clinical picture of arthritis, colitis, and allergic reactions. Thiamine improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and nervous system.
Benefits of cabbage
- Strengthens the immune system, replenishing the lack of vitamins and other substances.
- Improves blood circulation and reduces cholesterol levels.
- It has a good effect on the nervous system, providing a calming effect.
- Cleanses the body of waste and toxins.
- Helps improve the condition of the intestinal microflora and its peristalsis, as well as the entire gastrointestinal tract.
- Can fight microbes such as tuberculosis bacillus or Staphylococcus aureus.
- Can reduce sensitivity and bleeding of gums, and also relieve toothache.
- Helps get rid of excess weight.
- Relieves fatigue, improves brain function.
- Cabbage masks have whitening properties, it moisturizes the skin well, and has anti-aging properties.
- Rubbing the skin with a cabbage leaf can get rid of pimples and blackheads.
- Cabbage is not just a tasty and healthy product, it is also very low in calories. 100 g contains only 30 kcal.
Cabbage for stomach ulcers: can you eat it or not?
During the period of exacerbation of the disease, cabbage is contraindicated due to the high fiber content in its composition. During the acute period of the disease, fiber can cause severe irritation of the mucous membrane, which will only aggravate the inflammation.
For peptic ulcers, the vegetable is consumed systematically and only during the period of remission. A patient with an ulcer should discuss his diet with his doctor and, based on his recommendations, determine which variety of culture can be eaten.
Cabbage contains vitamin U, which heals wounds and accelerates the scarring of ulcers, which is very important for gastric ulcers.
White cabbage
White cabbage can be consumed by patients with ulcers only during the period of weakening of the disease and in small quantities, and it must undergo heat treatment.
Whether to include this type of vegetable in your diet should be determined by your doctor, who will take into account the following factors:
- stage of the disease;
- frequency of exacerbations and their manifestations;
- the patient has concomitant stomach diseases;
- patient's age.
Colored
Cauliflower can be included in the menu of an ulcer patient. Thanks to the protein that is part of the vegetable, food is easily digested, due to which the mucous membranes are less irritated.
This type of culture has pronounced antitumor and antispasmodic effects, so eating the product helps reduce stomach pain and also prevents tumor formation.
Broccoli
Eating fresh broccoli for ulcers is prohibited, due to the fact that the vegetable provokes a strong release of hydrochloric acid, which causes heartburn and nausea. The vegetable is consumed only in heat-treated form.
Marine
Seaweed leads to increased acidity and also increases the load on the walls of the stomach, so it is better to refrain from consuming it if the pain intensifies. During the easing of the disease, the use of this product should be strictly as prescribed by the doctor.
Did you know? In fact, cabbage is a huge bud, and its stalk serves as a stem.
Properties of cabbage juice
This product has many useful manifestations:
- laxative;
- wound healing;
- restorative;
- improvement of cholesterol metabolism;
- anti-inflammatory;
- choleretic.
The most important manifestations of juice for ulcers are anti-inflammatory and wound healing.
Preparing cabbage juice
The simplest option is to prepare it in a juicer - you just need to put pieces of cabbage in there and turn on the device. But it should be remembered that the vegetable is far from sterile - it would be better to prepare it first. To do this, you need to thoroughly rinse the pot and put it to soak in warm water. An even better idea is to add apple cider vinegar to the water, which will kill bacteria and pesticides.
It is better to drink juice half an hour before meals three times a day.
If pure cabbage juice is not your thing, you can experiment by adding, for example, an apple to the juice. You will get a wonderful cabbage-apple drink. Drinking cabbage juice paired with carrot juice will also be of great benefit.
If there are black spots on the head of cabbage, it is better to avoid making juice due to the high nitrate content in the vegetable.
Such drinks must be drunk immediately after preparation, otherwise they will lose all their beneficial substances.
When ulcers and heartburn recede, you can also drink fermented cabbage juice. Don't forget to consult a specialist!
In order to prepare this drink you will need:
- grate three cups of cabbage;
- three quarters of a cup of cool boiled water;
- 1 tsp. sea salt.
The ingredients are loaded into a blender and cooked at low speed until the mass is homogeneous. The resulting mixture must be poured into a jar, but without filling it entirely. Let sit for three days at room temperature.
Before use, filter the resulting mixture and mix half a cup of the mixture with half a cup of cold water. Drink right away.
If you have never drank such drinks before, it is better to start with small doses - a tablespoon is enough.
When is it prohibited to drink cabbage juice:
- lactation;
- kidney and pancreas diseases;
- after a heart attack:
- after operations, especially in the abdominal area;
- gastritis with high acidity;
- during the period of exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease.
Beneficial properties of cabbage for digestion
Eating cabbage by a healthy person has a positive effect on digestion. The fiber contained in the vegetable has a strong stimulating effect on the gastrointestinal tract, activating muscle peristalsis.
Children
In children under 2 years of age, it is not recommended to include fresh cabbage in the diet, due to the fact that hard fiber fibers can damage the baby’s fragile digestive system. But in boiled or stewed form, the product is introduced into the diet of children from 10 months. In heat-treated form, the product has a mild laxative effect and improves muscle contractions in the stomach.
Adults
For an adult, cabbage is an indispensable product for problems with difficulty defecating. Due to the high fiber content, as well as B vitamins, the secretory function of the intestines is enhanced, which promotes rapid bowel movements.
Sauerkraut or stewed cabbage, on the contrary, is used to eliminate the symptoms of dysbiosis, manifested by symptoms such as loose stools, stomach cramps, and flatulence.
Also find out whether you can eat cabbage if you have gastritis and diabetes.
Is it possible to eat sauerkraut if you have gastritis?
In a state of remission, cabbage is allowed in any form: fresh, stewed, pickled. But you need to monitor the body’s reaction, and if this dish causes discomfort, heartburn, you need to stop using it. Otherwise, you can provoke an exacerbation.
List of foods that cause heartburn
Acute and subacute gastritis require a different approach. Gastritis with high acidity means that until the doctor gives the go-ahead to expand your diet, you cannot eat cabbage and other vegetables. An exception can only be made for stewed and baked vegetables.
Sauerkraut and gastritis with low acidity “interact” differently. It just needs to be added to lunches or dinners, but in small quantities. It will cause the stomach to produce more secretions, and then the patient will:
- digestion will improve;
- appetite will increase;
- the intestinal flora is normalized, the process of bowel movement will be easier.
Why you can’t have sauerkraut for gastritis with high acidity
Hyperacid gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach, in which the concentration of chloride ions in the gastric juice increases. It causes:
- pain;
- heartburn;
- intolerance to many foods.
Gastritis with high acidity is often accompanied by reflux esophagitis, when food from the stomach along with gastric juice is thrown back into the esophagus. As a result, the inflammatory process spreads to the esophagus.
Including sauerkraut in the menu can increase unpleasant symptoms and slow down the healing process, since the stomach will be constantly irritated and the acidity of gastric juice will be increased. Thus, to the question: “Is it possible or not to have sauerkraut for gastritis?” patients with the hyperacid form receive the exact answer: “No, until remission occurs.”
The benefits of sauerkraut for gastritis with low acidity
Hypoacid gastritis does not allow the stomach to digest food normally. Vitamins and nutrients are not fully absorbed, which means that the body does not receive enough nutrients.
Low acidity often accompanies atrophic and subatrophic gastritis (due to atrophy of acid-producing cells). Sauerkraut for gastritis of these two forms is an indispensable product. It stimulates the work of the walls of the stomach and intestines, saturates the body with vitamins, microelements, and fiber.
The main rules for choosing fresh cabbage
To choose a fresh vegetable, you need to pay attention to its appearance, which should be:
- hard to the touch;
- leaf plates must be intact, without cracks, creases or signs of wilting;
- the head of cabbage should be white;
- there should be no traces of insect activity on the surface of the vegetable.
The vegetable should emit a pleasant aroma characteristic of the variety. If there is a rotten or musty smell, it is better not to purchase such a product.
Features of eating cabbage for stomach ulcers
In its raw form, the vegetable can put too much stress on the pancreas, and also provokes belching and flatulence, so gastroenterologists recommend refraining from eating the raw product.
Stewed cabbage is consumed only when the disease is easing, using it as part of the following dishes:
- soups;
- side dish for meat and fish products;
- vegetable stew.
Important! Drinking 50 ml of sauerkraut juice before meals normalizes the functioning of the intestines and also destroys pathogenic microorganisms.
Sauerkraut should not be consumed during a worsening peptic ulcer. But during periods of weakening of the disease, its use resists the occurrence of erosions on the walls of the mucous membrane, so the patient is allowed to consume 100 g of the product per day.
Juice from fresh vegetables can be consumed up to 300 ml per day during the period of remission of the disease, because it does not contain coarse fiber. To make juice, choose fresh and strong vegetable leaves, and the finished product should be drunk within 2-3 hours after preparation.
Contraindications and possible side effects
- Side effects from consuming the product are expressed by the following symptoms:
- heartburn;
- nausea;
- belching;
- the occurrence of stomach spasms.
The vegetable should not be consumed during exacerbation of enterocolitis, which is accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting. The appearance of bleeding ulcers in the stomach is also a contraindication. Despite the numerous beneficial properties of cabbage, it can only be consumed during remission of a peptic ulcer. In this case, the treatment and diet menu should be drawn up by the attending physician.