Can Eating Cabbage Beat Bird Flu?

29 November 2005

New research indicates perhaps it can. If bird flu worries you, then consider eating lots of fermented cabbage – in particular Korean kimchi. If that’s not available then German sauerkraut may do just as well. Kimchi and sauerkraut sales are soaring after scientists found that a lactic acid bacteria in fermented cabbage helps poultry fight bird flu.

Kimchi and sauerkraut are both made from chopped cabbage which is fermented for at least a month.

When scientists at Seoul National University tested a patent-pending lactic acid bacteria strain derived from kimchi on chickens with the bird flu virus, 11 out of 13 recovered from the disease.

Kimchi has not yet been tested on humans, but in a lab experiment it showed a “very potent effect” against human flu, according to the Seoul researchers. Whether kimchi and sauerkraut contain the same lactic bacteria is not yet clear.

Whether or not sauerkraut does cure bird flu, the dish is said to have a number of other health benefits, including anti-cancer activity, and is also rich in vitamins.
Researchers in Finland have identified compounds in fermenting cabbage which in animal studies appeared to prevent the growth of cancer, particularly in the breast, colon, lung and liver.

During the fermentation process enzymes are released that completely decompose compounds in raw cabbage into the cancer-fighting compounds.

A recent study by the University of New Mexico supports the Finnish findings in relation to breast cancer in particular.
Researchers wanted to know why Polish women have low rates of breast cancer, so they compared Polish natives to Polish-American immigrants. They discovered that women who ate four or more servings of raw or barely cooked cabbage per week during adolescence were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than the women who ate 1.5 or fewer servings of sauerkraut per week.

As a result of the bird flu research sales of sauerkraut in the United States have soared, and now Britain is starting to catch on
One serving of sauerkraut contains only 32 calories and has four grams of fibre, provides 102 per cent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin K, of iron and 35 per cent of vitamin C.

Want to start the cabbage eating habit? We’ve put together several great options for making cabbage great eating. Try our Cabbage and Honey Slaw, Cabbage Stir Fry or Sauerkraut and Swiss Cheese Sandwich recipes.

Check Out Our Healthy Cabbage Recipes

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