Recently I biked home with a cabbage hanging from my handle bars (don’t try this at home). I participated in this risky behavior because I knew the reward would be well worth it……a bundle of cruciferous healthful goodness.
We often delight in cabbage in the forms of Korean style kimchi, Eastern European style sauerkraut, coated in mayo as coleslaw, and the ever popular Ukrainian cabbage rolls. It is tasty on all those forms as part of a meal and it also has many medicinal qualities that can aid in healing.
One of the most impressive qualities of cabbage is its healing properties for repairing the digestive tract. In one study, patients were given 1 litter of raw cabbage juice per day. Patients experienced complete healing of their ulcers in an average of 10 days! The exact mechanism for this action is unknown, however most evidence point to the ingredient L-glutamine, abundant in cabbage. L-Glutamine is the primary fuel source of the whole digestive tract and thus promotes growth, healing and repair.
Cabbage has the ability to promote detoxification in the liver. It contains certain chemicals known as indole-3-carbinole and sulforaphane, which support various antioxidant and detoxification processes in the body. These compounds have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumors and eliminate cancer-producing substances.
It would be difficult, time consuming and probably rather nauseating to try and eat a whole cabbage every day, though your jaw would get the work out of its life. Thus, the best way to consume cabbage for immediate digestive healing is as a juice. By juicing the cabbage we extract all of the healing properties into a concentrated beverage. As a liquid all of the components are highly absorbable. For a system that’s already compromised, it can use all of the help it can get.
Digestive Healing Juice
1/2 cabbage (red or green)
1 apple or pear (de-seeded)
Cut up cabbage into pieces small enough to fit into the juicer.
Process the cabbage and apple through the juicer.
Stir and enjoy.
Josh Gitalis is a recognized expert in the fields of clinical detoxification and therapeutic supplementation. He runs a private practice and enjoys sharing his professional experience while teaching clinical nutrition at The Academy of Culinary Nutrition. Josh has a gift for digging deep with his clients, getting to the root cause of their health challenges, and doing thorough research for customized approaches.
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