The Benefits of Kale and Cabbage for Cholesterol

Dinosaur kale and red cabbage are put to the test.
Kale is a best-of-all-worlds food, low in calories and packed to the hilt with nutrition—vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory compounds, antioxidant phytonutrients—you name it. One study had people eat a bag of frozen kale and cabbage a day for just two weeks and got “significant reductions” of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and even blood sugar levels. And, the antioxidant capacity of their blood went up.

I love it when the videos don’t just convey interesting, ground-breaking science, but practice advice to change our day-to-day eating habits. I’ve got some more coming up like this—stay tuned!

Here’s some to chew on in the meanwhile:

Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

Captions for this video are available in several languages. To find yours, click on the settings wheel on the lower-right of the video and then "Subtitles/CC."
To view the subtitles in transcript format, click on the ellipsis button below the video, choose "Open transcript", and select the language you'd like to view them in.

Image credit: anandasandra / Pixabay

[mumbles]

I'm making another attempt to eat plant based after previously failing. Anyways, I've only been doing it for a little less than three weeks, and I had a health screening today. My bad cholesterol went down 40 points from this time last year. I've been eating a ton of steamed cabbage, over a pound a day for the past several days. I also eat old fashioned oatmeal daily.

[MrWicked]

Raw, organic red kale, and red cabbage are two of my salad staples. I try my best to eat massive amounts of both every day. I love them both raw. 😍

[johnbouttell]

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: eat kale -- by whatever means possible.

[bloodpurple]

So here's my problem with kale (and I hope you are able to respond): I wish I could eat kale regularly-I do eat it once in a great while-but I have a history of PVD (blood clots in my legs)As well as a P.E. (pulmonary emboli back in 2011). It's a remote history and dietary changes have largely helped me to get off of Coumadin, for example, but kale has so much vitamin K, that when I was on Coumadin and getting my INRs checked, one day my INR was extremely low and not knowing why at first, I realized that I had eaten a lot of kale in previous days leading to my Coumadin Clinic day! My nurse compared the vitamin k level in kale as opposed to spinach and while spinach was on the high side, kale was through the roof! I preferred to make the dietary change rather than increasing the drug dose, so I've pretty much been a spinach adherent ever since. Now I take Marine DHA, Tumeric and vitamin E supplements daily and eat a very low fat and (hopefully) high N.O. diet to keep my blood vessels free of clots. It's been close to a year since I stopped Coumadin, so hopefully this is working, however, I still hesitate to eat kale, even though I would love to eat it for it's incredible nutrition profile! So wondering if you think it still wise of me to avoid kale and stick with spinach or do you think I could include kale safely into my diet? Thanks in advance for any response.

[veg]

Kale is the healthiest food on the planet!

[swimbait]

I dropped my cholesterol from around 210 to 150 in six months by eliminating meat and dairy.

[eelkeaptroot]

Trying to grow my own Toscany kale on the balcony.

[AmirAbdullahCoach]

I've had quite a few brothers and sisters asking for help with high Blood pressure, high Cholesterol, and Diabetes. The meds that are given for their treatment make them feel bad and can be harmful in and of themselves! Here is a cheap and Tasty alternative!

[LonePigsyAndCub]

Here's my quick daily lazy get home from work home grown dino kale recipe: six or seven large leaves stemmed and chopped, one large onion chopped, a few splashes of soy sauce or Bragg's, a tiny bit of sesame oil, a little tahini and a squirt of Sriracha -all tossed in a large microwavable bowl. Nuke covered for seven minutes (silicone lids rock), let cool a bit and enjoy! Alternatively, add some chickpeas. It's so easy and really tasty. The kale doesn't get super cooked but it's more tender and much tastier IMO. I've been eating variations of this almost everyday. Don't knock it till ya try it :p

[synchrogrl]

Cool! I was very surprised to hear about fermented cabbage because I was under the impression that fermented cabbage actually increased the bioavailability of nutrients in the food! Looking for more videos you have on this topic.

[LegacyFarmandHomestead]

I've been eating half a pound of kale for the last year. It's delicious.

[charlesbale]

Enjoyed the video, found the information very helpful.

[rosanabarakat]

I want a tshirt "PUT IT TO THE TEST". Greetings from Brasil!

[regtomerlin]

Dr Greger
You’re a life saver!!
Thank you for all you do!
I’m 74 and diabetic
Total vegan for 3 years
I work full time and hate kale, but I make a drink/soup at work with dried kale, spinach, turmeric, ginger, and saffron
I love it!
Please comment on my approach
Kind regards
Reg

[alittax]

Hello Dr. Greger,
Do you think eating dried and ground (powdered) kale has the same or similar health benefits as fresh or frozen kale? So the actual vegetable only, and not any processed variation. If it is a healthy alternative, what doses do you recommend per day (in grams, if possible)? Thanks!

[jeffingels]

I like watching these videos while eating kale salad

[jeremiaha]

Awesome. I had 2 questions before wathing this video. 1 was about kale juice and 1 about sauerkraut. Both got covered. Thank You.

[lisengel]

That was as always so informative and so inspiring - and raw red cabbage is my favorite -

[JosephNJ]

I tried frozen chopped kale once, boiled it, and boiled it, and boiled it, and it was still hard as straw. What should I look for instead? Thx in advance for any advice.

[Skweepa]

I want to be friends with people who eat kale.