RED CABBAGE, WEIGHT LOSS & BODY DETOX

Recently another edition of Victoria Boutenko’s Raw Family newsletter popped into my in box. I was delighted to see she had done a post on Red Cabbage. I have been enjoying this root veggie a lot this past summer creating great detox salads, drinks and even using it as one of the ingredients in my fermented veggies that I make using Donna Gates Body Ecology Diet Recipes and products, apparently this antioxidant powerhouse has more treats for us that we first thought.

According to Boutenko…..” red cabbage posses a huge amount of antioxidants, comparable to blueberries, goji berries, and even to acai berries. It’s amazing to discover that the antioxidants in cabbage are equal to these antioxidant berry superstars, especially when you consider the costs”.

The antioxidants found in red cabbage are powerful enough to make harmful free radicals neutral and quickly flushes them from the body. Red cabbage is known to be one of the highest ranking if not the highest ranking cruciferous vegetable on the ORAC list (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). Boutenko points out that researchers have only measured the amount of available antioxidants in cooked red cabbage, it would be nice to see the available nutrient number calculations for raw red cabbage, Boutenko feels the available nutrient density number will probably be double!

Cabbage has been known in the past to be a great support player in weight loss, this is because red cabbage increases your body’s production of two hormones adiponectin (fat-burning) and leptin (appetite-suppressing). Along with filling you up with fiber and natural water found in this veggie, this powerhouse is full of essential minerals: Potassium, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium , Phosphorus , Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Selenium, and others.

Not to be outdone, the vitamin list in red cabbage shines as well and doesn’t want to be left behind, it reads like a who’s who in vitamins with Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6 showing up on the list.

In addition to vitamins, minerals and natural water, we also need to be reminded that vegetables contain healthy fats as well, and red cabbage is not exception containing healthy Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids

To try red cabbage and get it’s healthy benefits into your body, grate some of it into your salads  or roughly chop it and toss it in or cut it into strips you can crunch on all day. You can even add it to veggie juices to emphasize detoxing when juicing, there are many ways to enjoy red cabbage pick one and reap the benefits, your body will thank you.

THE HEALTHY DIVA

xoxo

WOW WORKOUT WEAR

Listen as Terese tells THE HEALTHY DIVA why WOW Workout Wear is great!

SIMPLY RAW

Raw Foodist Natasha Kyssa shares information about her new detox book out now. I got the chance to catch up with her at the Women's Show in Toronto at the end of October.

I hope you enjoy our time together. (that's NOT me with the cough in the background)

For those of you who would like, we will be starting a Detox group using Natasha's book and may even get her to do a class with us in person, teaching the do's and don't's of detox and some raw food tidbits.  I am still trying to put this together so if you would be intrested let me know :o)

Keep it Raw~Ripe~Fresh & Organic

THE DIVA

xoxox