All the benefits of purple cabbage

Cabbage is a vegetable from the cruciferous family, a wonderful family of plants that contain anti-cancer and anti-oxidant substances. White cabbage and purple cabbage are very similar in terms of basic nutritional values: they are rich in dietary fiber, serve as a good source of vitamin C, contain important vitamins such as: K and folic acid, and various minerals such as calcium (which is absorbed twice as much as in milk and its products). And yes, they are also low in calories, but that’s really not the point.

What makes the purple cabbage special?

The colors in the plant world reflect different families of phytochemicals – active plant components with possible health effects. The main difference between green cabbage and purple cabbage is due to the presence of natural pigments called anthocyanins. These are antioxidants from the flavonoid family, which are also found in berries, purple onion and eggplant.

These anthocyanins give purple cabbage its unique benefits. In fact, these are unique active ingredients that have an antioxidant effect, which contribute to the health of the heart and blood vessels.

What happens during the cooking of the cabbage?

Like many other vegetables, exposure to heat during prolonged cooking leads to the loss of some of the vitamin C. Anthocyanins are also sensitive to heat and even to acidity. It is important to know that eating a fresh vegetable or steaming it for a short time preserves its nutritional values ​​better. However, when cooking purple (or green) cabbage, not all values ​​are destroyed so that it is completely possible to vary the form of preparation as well.

A few more purple vegetables you should know

Purple Cauliflower: Similar to the purple cabbage, this cauliflower also has the addition of color due to anthocyanins and the basic values ​​are very similar to the white cauliflower. Here, too, the anthocyanins provide an addition of unique antioxidant components.

Purple carrot: The orange carrot is rich in beta-carotene, which turns into vitamin A in the body and contributes to eye and skin health. The purple carrot contains both beta-carotene and anthocyanins, and provides a wider range of antioxidants.

Purple sweet potato: Orange sweet potatoes are also very rich in beta-carotene. Purple sweet potato contains less of it, but it contains more anthocyanins. Each of them provides a slightly different nutritional advantage, depending on the dominant pigments in it.

The bottom line

Although the color has meaning, there is no nutritional rating here, but an invitation to variety. Purple cabbage provides the body with an addition of unique antioxidants, but green cabbage is also a nutritious vegetable that “does the job”. The most important thing is to ask yourself if your weekly menu includes a wide and sufficient variety of vegetables, in different colors.

Shiral Tirosh is a clinical nutritionist at Maccabi Health Services, Southern District