Cabbage or Brassica Oleracea is not only for eating. It has medicinal properties that you can have at hand, whether you decide to ferment it or just use it as is. There is a wild variety that it is believed came from western Europe. It grows predominately on the white cliffs of the English Channel. It has been domesticated and replicated to many different forms of brassicas. The thick leaves of the wild and domesticated plants store water and are full of vitamins. The ancient Greeks and Romans documented it as a medicinal herb. Wild cabbage has been introduced around the world and the domesticated cultivar is grown around the world for use as a food source and others grow it for an ornamental addition to a garden.

1 cup of raw cabbage can provide over half of your needed vitamin K intake and about a third of your vitamin C intake. We have all heard how cabbage is good for your gut health but they never really tell us why. Cabbage is full of fiber, insoluble fiber keeps things moving through your system to solve constipation and soluble fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your system. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant so this is a good choice to introduce into your diet. If you ferment it then it is even more effective for intestinal help.

So the first thing that has been passed down through generations is that Cabbage leaves will reduce inflammation and pain caused by mastitis. I have even read stories of older farmers using them on cows, goats and sheep. I do not personally know anyone that has done that but it would make sense. 

Testing done in Korea funded by the NIH showed that eating cabbage is a preventive for heart cell death if you were to have a heart attack, and helped repair heart cells after a heart attack.

It protects your heart from free radicals and as the heart is very susceptible to oxidative stress the antioxidants in cabbage will target the heart cells for repair.

The cancer research team at the Francis Crick Institute in the United Kingdom did research and found that eating cabbage altered the lining of the intestines. Every 4-5 days the lining of the bowels and intestines regenerates, without the right diet these cells will grow out of control.

The active ingredient can only be accessed when you chew the food. Once it gets to the lower bowels it changes the behavior of the stem cells stopping them from growing out of control.

Even if you are predisposed to these types of cancers. Meaning if you have had a family history of colon, bowel or intestinal cancers eating a serving everyday will stop the cancer from happening. They found that even if you already have tumors Cabbage will stop the tumors from growing.

Since cabbage works in the digestive tract from stomach to colon, if you keep that healthy you are more likely to be able to keep your pancreas healthy and that leads to healthy blood sugar levels.