SAUERKRAUT IS A SUPER FOOD!

Today I am copying a post from my diabetic blog.  This is the post from that blog today.  I have never done this before, but I feel this is important to share with both audiences.  If you are interested in the recipe mentioned, the link to that blog is listed in the right-hand column of this page.

SAUERKRAUT IS A SUPER FOOD!

Yesterday I posted a recipe for a Chicken Sauerkraut Panini. Well, lo and behold when I turned on my computer what should be there but the following statement about sauerkraut as an overlooked food we should be eating. I am passing this information on to you:
Sauerkraut
Considering cabbage is low-carb, high-fiber, and contains cancer-fighting 3-indole carbinol and d-glucarate, a compound that works to clear excess estrogen, the veggie is already a superfood. Fermenting it into sauerkraut, however, puts it on nutritional steroids. The probiotics that drive fermentation also help repopulate your digestive system with healthy, hardworking good bacteria that lower inflammation, improve digestion, and maybe even aid in weight loss. Plus, fermentation increases the bioavailablity of the antioxidants found in cabbage, and the longer cabbage ferments, the higher the levels of antioxidants become, meaning your body can better absorb and use them.

photo from eating well

IMPORTANCE OF GREENS IN THE DIET

It has been said that the greening of the diet may be much more important to survival than the greening of the planet!  Green vegetables are packed with a variety of compounds, ie carotenoids, cholrophyll, glutathione, folic acid, vitamin C, etc that are known to protect our cells from a whole list of damages.  So be sure you include green vegetables in your diet daily.  That doesn't mean you have to sit down and eat a bowl of greens everyday.  Toss some greens into soups, stir-frys, etc.  And a few salads a week is a good idea. 

As an example we will look at cabbage which along with its other cruciferous kin such as kale, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, etc, is extremely high in phytochemicals which are great protectors from cancer, etc.  Cabbage also works as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial.  One of the properties of cabbage and its kin is indole-3-carbinol, known as IC3 for short.  IC3 nearly doubles how quickly the liver can break down estrogen so it doesn't remain in the body.  (Estrogen is known to feed some cancers.)  Do not overcook as you will lose some of the important chemicals in doing so.