The enemy of my enemy...

It has been said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Cancer is my enemy. Not just my own cancer, but potential cancers in the bodies of my family.

As I'm learning about how the nutrients in the food we eat can help us fight cancer, I've discovered a new friend....cabbage.

I was never one to eat much cabbage before. I'd have cole slaw as a side dish sometimes. But since I was dieting last year, I'd even avoid that since it was usually swimming in mayonnaise. There was a good recipie on Jillian Michael's website for a Mexican coleslaw that I would make from time to time.

Get what great things cabbage can do: (taken from "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen" by Rebecca Katz)

Cabbage: Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial. Cabbage, along with cruciferous kin such as cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, and turnips is extremely high in anticancer phytochemicals. One such property, indole-3-carbinol (called I3C for short), nearly doubles how quickly the liver can break down estrogen so it doesn't remain in the body. Cooking cabbage for the right amount of time (in other words, not too long) is important to retain a compound called sinigrin, which reacts with an enzyme to release molecules that detoxify carcinogens and inhibit the division and growth of tumor cells.

Isn't that enough reason to give cabbage a whirl? I had a 1/2 head of red cabbage that I didn't know what to do with. In the past, it would have just rotted in the bottom of my fridge until I got around to tossing it out. I found an easy recipe online that I modified a bit. It called for sugar, which I didn't add. Simply slice 1/2 of a red onion (or a whole one if its small) and sauté it in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the sliced or shredded cabbage and about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and sauté until it gets a little wilted. Voila!

Now I need to get my family eating cabbage. Eric is a bit prejudiced against it, which doesn't help set a good example for the kids. I found a scalloped cabbage recipie online that he liked. I'm not sure how nutritionally sound it was, since it baked a long time. I'm going to keep trying, because cabbage is my new friend.