Chinese cabbage: health benefits and harms, chemical composition

Peking cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. Pekinensis) is a leafy vegetable from the Cabbage family, a subspecies of common turnip. The benefits and harms of Peking cabbage have been known since ancient times - in Chinese written sources it has been mentioned since the 5th century AD, and the history of its cultivation goes back five millennia. The vegetable was not only a valuable food product, but also a source of healing oil. In the mid-70s of the last century, with the development of new, stem-resistant and high-yielding varieties, Western countries, including the USA and Europe, showed interest in the culture. The Russians also liked the special taste of Peking cabbage, its valuable nutritional properties and unpretentious cultivation.

Peking cabbage is often called Chinese salad, but it has nothing to do with a real plant from the Astrov family.

The chemical composition of Chinese cabbage

The rich biochemical composition of Peking salad makes it a valuable product used not only for food, but also for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Thus, the content of vitamin C in Chinese cabbage is 2 times higher than in white cabbage. And the amount of carotene in 100 g of the product satisfies the daily requirement of the body by 50%. Peking salad contains the following elements:

  • trace elements - iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium, sulfur, chlorine, iodine;
  • vitamins - B2-9, C, PP, P, E, alpha and beta carotene, A and extremely rare K;
  • alimentary fiber;
  • proteins, lutein, betaine, lysine;
  • carbohydrates, sugars;
  • fats and ash substances.

For all its nutritional value, Peking Salad is a low-calorie product that is great for a diet.

Comment! Peking cabbage has excellent fresh storage throughout the winter. Even by spring, the content of vitamins in it remains high, which distinguishes it favorably from other vegetables.

Why is Chinese cabbage useful?

Nutritionists recommend using the vegetable as a source of vitamins and dietary fiber. The beneficial effects of Chinese salad on the human body can hardly be overestimated. It is especially useful in the winter season, in the spring-autumn period of vitamin deficiencies and frequent colds. Chinese cabbage has the following properties:

  • removes toxins and toxic substances from the body, helps to cleanse and normalize the intestines;
  • stabilizes metabolism, hormones, rejuvenates;
  • stimulates the digestive tract;
  • has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, nails and hair, making them healthy;
  • has adaptogenic properties, relieves insomnia and chronic fatigue syndrome, relieves the effects of stress, depression;
  • strengthens and restores immunity, is an excellent prophylactic against colds;
  • in type 2 diabetes, Peking cabbage normalizes the amount of sugar in the blood, reduces the need for synthesized insulin, and eases the general condition;
  • normalizes high blood pressure with hypertension;
  • increases appetite, normalizes liver function;
  • removes excess water from the body, increases the percentage of hemoglobin in the blood.
Attention! The largest amount of nutrients and vitamins is concentrated in the white parts of the plant, so they should not be thrown away.

In Korea, Chinese cabbage is fermented with hot spices and herbs, resulting in a dish called kimchi

Why is Peking cabbage useful for a woman's body?

For beautiful women, this vegetable is a unique source of youth and beauty. The benefits of Chinese cabbage for weight loss are recognized by nutritionists around the world. In addition, Chinese salad can be used for the following purposes:

  • cleansing the body of toxins;
  • getting rid of edema;
  • giving the skin a healthy look, elasticity, getting rid of wrinkles;
  • strengthening hair, returning a glossy shine to it;
  • fresh juice perfectly rejuvenates and cleanses the skin, relieves acne;
  • frozen juice cubes can be used to wipe your face.

Cabbage slows down the absorption of fats and carbohydrates, which helps fight excess weight.

Why is Beijing cabbage useful for men

Peking cabbage restores the genitourinary system:

  • normalizes kidney and bladder function;
  • relieves inflammation, including of the prostate gland;
  • increases sensitivity during intercourse;
  • prevents premature ejaculation.

In addition, Peking cabbage perfectly relieves the "beer belly" and strengthens the body.

Peking cabbage harm

For all its benefits, Peking cabbage is capable of provoking an exacerbation of certain diseases. These include chronic gastrointestinal ailments - pancreatitis, gastritis with high acidity, peptic ulcers, the threat of intestinal bleeding. In addition, this vegetable should not be used in combination with drugs or foods that thin the blood, such as acetylsalicylic acid. You should refrain from dishes with Chinese cabbage with colic, flatulence. Cannot be combined with any dairy and fermented milk products - this is fraught with severe indigestion and diarrhea.

Important! The daily norm of a vegetable for an adult is 150 g 3 times a week, for a child - from 30 to 100 g, depending on age.

Contraindications to Chinese cabbage

Peking cabbage has a number of contraindications for food use:

  • acidity gastritis;
  • pancreatitis, colitis;
  • ulcers of the stomach and duodenum;
  • tendency to internal bleeding, menstruation in women;
  • poisoning, diarrhea, infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - dysentery, rotavirus.
Advice! You should choose whole heads of cabbage, bright green with white or slightly creamy meaty parts. The leaves should be firm, with a natural smell and taste.

Rules for the use of Chinese cabbage

Peking cabbage can be eaten fresh, for making salads, snacks, sandwiches. It is permissible to steam, boil, ferment and marinate, bake. All nutrients are retained during heat treatment.

Chinese salad goes well with herbs, lemon and apple juice, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, seeds, citrus fruits and apples. You can make stuffed cabbage rolls, soups, stews.

Cabbage juice is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. The recommended volume is no more than 100 ml per day, on an empty stomach, 30-40 minutes before meals.

Important! Do not season Peking cabbage with sour cream or stew with cream.

Superb Diet Dinner: Peking Cabbage Salad, Herbs and Apple or Lemon Juice

The use of Chinese cabbage in traditional medicine

Chinese salad has medicinal properties. Traditional healers recommend using it for the following ailments:

  • a decoction of 80 g of salad and 180 ml of water helps from insomnia, they should be boiled over low heat for half an hour and taken at night;
  • with bronchial asthma, you can prepare a decoction of seeds - 10 g per 125 ml of boiling water, keep in a water bath for half an hour and drink half a glass twice a day;
  • compress for inflammation and swelling of the eyelids from cabbage juice and cold-pressed olive oil in equal proportions for 20 minutes;
  • scabies and mastopathy will be cured by Peking cabbage salad with vegetable oil.

Regular consumption of this vegetable is the key to a long life and good health.

Chinese cabbage for pregnant women

Peking cabbage is recommended for pregnant women. It saturates the body with irreplaceable biologically active substances. Normalizes weight and relieves swelling. Improves mood, gives strength and vigor.

Important! Folic acid in Chinese cabbage prevents the risk of fetal abnormalities.

Is it possible to breastfeed Chinese cabbage

Drinking while breastfeeding improves milk separation, significantly increases its quantity and nutritional properties. Peking salad must be steamed or boiled for 7-10 months after giving birth. Such food retains all the beneficial substances, while not stimulating gas formation and colic in the baby. After this period, you can add small portions of fresh vegetables to the diet.

Important! The daily allowance for nursing and pregnant women is no more than 150-200 g.

Beijing salad does not cause allergic reactions, it helps to remove allergens from the body

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of Peking cabbage have been known to mankind for more than five thousand years. Modern research confirms that a green vegetable really has a beneficial effect on the body, stimulating metabolic processes, improving blood composition, and cleansing accumulated harmful substances. The presence of Peking salad on the family table at least 2-3 times a week significantly improves health and gives the body the strength to fight seasonal colds and stress. Also, the vegetable is recommended for pregnant and lactating women.

Reviews of the benefits and dangers of Chinese cabbage

Sergeeva Marina Vitalievna, 36 years old, Kostroma.
My husband and I began to grow Peking cabbage in our country house on the advice of our parents. We and the children really liked the vegetable with a delicate taste, almost completely replacing the usual white cabbage on the table. We also drank freshly squeezed juice, 1-2 times a week, not more often. We felt an improvement in our health already with the onset of winter - we began to get sick much less often, although the winter turned out to be rather cold. In addition, vigor appeared, they became less tired and nervous, which could not but affect the general condition. Now Chinese salad is always on our table, and by winter I ferment part of the harvest.
Nesasypny Vladimir Ivanovich, 59 years old, Nizhny Tagil.
I read about this leafy vegetable on the Internet. I decided to try to grow on my own plot, they were very much praised: it's good for the heart, and for the stomach, and for colds. I liked her taste very much, much more tender than that of the usual cabbage. The wife makes a stew from it, and cooks cabbage soup, and crumbles green leaves into a salad. I will say right away - the leaves helped me with my personal problems, I felt much better, frequent night trips to the toilet stopped, my muscles got stronger.
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