Cabbage, Brassica oleracea

The common cabbage is familiar to gardeners across the country, but many don’t realize how valuable it is as a medicinal plant. The plant is a biennial or perennial, forming a round head that can reach up to 8 feet (2.4m) when fully mature. Most cabbages are harvested long before they reach such a size. It is in the Brassicaceae (Mustard) Family. Identification: The leaves are gray with a thick stem. Yellow flowers with four petals appear in the spring. The leaves form a head during the late summer of the first year. Cabbage can also be reddish-purple, green, or white. All varieties have the healthgiving benefits detailed below. Edible Use: The cabbage is a common vegetable, especially in the winter because it keeps well in the root cellar. It is eaten raw and cooked.

Medicinal Use. Mastitis and Painful

Breasts in Nursing Mothers: This is my number one use for cabbage leaves. For painfully engorged breasts and mastitis, use a poultice made from cabbage leaves. Cut out the vein from the cabbage leaf and crush or pound the leaf with a hammer. You’ll want your leaf intact but badly bruised to access the healing sulfur compounds and the juice. Apply the bruised leaf to the breast or line the bra cup with the leaf. Repeat as needed until the infection clears.

Treatment for Wounds, Leg Ulcers, Joint

Pain, Arthritis, Skin Cancers: Cabbage leaves work well to clean wounds and prevent infection. They are also useful in reducing swelling in painful joints and treating skin tumors. Chop the leaves and crush them to release the healthgiving juices and heat them in a very small amount of water. Apply the leaves as a poultice over the affected area. The cabbage detoxifies the skin and underlying tissue, prevents bacterial growth, and reduces inflammation. Intestinal Problems: Cabbage is useful for treating intestinal problems due to its sulfurous compounds. Fermented cabbage in the form of sauerkraut is even more effective for treating intestinal problems of all kinds. Diabetes: Sauerkraut juice, mixed with a little lemon juice, helps people control their diabetes and stabilize their blood sugars. The sauerkraut juice stimulates the digestion and pancreas. Constipation: Cabbage, cabbage juice, and sauerkraut juice all have laxative properties. Treating Cancer: For treating cancer, especially cancers of the stomach, intestines, pancreas, and prostate, drink cabbage juice or sauerkraut juice twice daily. Finely chopped cabbage should also be eaten as tolerated. Both cabbage juice and sauerkraut juice have many different beneficial compounds that fight cancer and help heal the body. Recipes: Sauerkraut. Equipment: Large glass jar or crock. I prefer using a fermentation crock, but a glass jar will work, a fermentation weight or a plate that fits in the container, a large bowl or tub for mixing, a plate or tray. Ingredients for 1 gallon (4 liters) of Sauerkraut: 1 large head of cabbage, shredded fine, a few large leaves from the outside of the cabbage, 3 tablespoons pickling salt and 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, optional. Shred the cabbage finely and add 2 TBS of salt. Let the cabbage stand for about 10 minutes to draw out juices. Knead the cabbage for 10 minutes or more to bruise it and release more juices.

Cabbage, By Taken byfir0002, GFDL 1.2