NUTRITION FACTS FOR RAW PURPLE CABBAGE

From Livestrong.com LINK
by: Peter Mitchell

Purple, or red, cabbage is a brightly colored member of the brassica family. It’s often braised, pickled or added raw to coleslaw and salads. Though a relatively low energy food, raw purple cabbage is a good source of nutrients, particularly vitamins. For example, a cup of cabbage is rich in vitamin C and vitamin A. The cabbage contains almost no fat at all.

Water and Energy

Like many vegetables, purple cabbage contains a lot of water — around 90 percent of its total mass. The cabbage needs the water to transfer nutrients through the vessels in its leaves and core. For humans, water doesn’t provide any energy, but you use it in a similar way. It’s essential for nutrient transfer, as well as countless other biological functions. Food energy is measured in calories. A cup of raw chopped purple cabbage contains just 28 calories, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. As a guideline, a man of normal weight and activity levels needs 2,800 daily calories and a woman 2,000.

Major Nutrients

Aside from water, the most abundant nutrient in raw purple cabbage is carbohydrates. Carbs make up just over 7 percent of a purple cabbage’s edible parts. This partly explains the low calorie count. Fiber accounts for almost a third of the carb content, with the sugars fructose and glucose making up the bulk of the remainder. The Harvard School of Public Health suggests that men aim for 30 grams and women 20 grams of fiber per day. A cup of chopped raw red cabbage provides almost 2 grams.

Vitamin Content

Chopped raw purple cabbage contains around a fifth of your daily vitamin A requirements, with 993 international units per cup. It also contains 80 percent of your recommended daily vitamin C value in one cup. Vitamin A promotes good eye function and healthy skin. Vitamin C helps fight off infection. Raw purple cabbage also contains vitamin K, an essential vitamin for blood coagulation during bleeding. Much of the purple cabbage’s coloring comes from high levels of beta-carotene, a nutrient the body converts to vitamin A and that also helps keep eyesight sharp.

Considerations

In general, raw cabbage contains more nutrients than boiled cabbage, as none of the minerals and vitamins leach into the water. Red cabbage also appears to contain more substances called anthocyanins than white cabbages. Early research links anthocyanins with a range of health benefits, including better brain function and possible anti-cancer properties. The body does find it easier to absorb anthocyanins from cooked cabbage, but raw cabbage still offers a rich natural source.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/542565-nutrition-facts-for-raw-purple-cabbage/#ixzz1mOE4n5u5