What is the difference between cabbage and bao cai, what are their benefits, and can they be eaten raw?

Cabbage, scientific name headed cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), also known as juanxincai, yangbaicai, gedabai, baocai, yuanbaicai, baoxincai, lianhuabai and so on. So what is the difference between juanxincai and baocai? Can cabbage be eaten raw? And what are the benefits and effects of cabbage?

1. What is the difference between juanxincai and baocai?

Cabbage, which is what everyone calls yuanbaicai, is a vegetable commonly used in people's daily lives. Westerners also quite like to make dishes with it, believing these dishes are not only tasty but also nutritious, and most importantly have anti-cancer effects. Cabbage, like Chinese cabbage, has a very high yield, because the heart of the vegetable is wrapped up while the outside stays half open, so after refrigeration cabbage may be even more nutritious. Baocai originated in Europe and was introduced to China for cultivation as early as the Ming Dynasty, and baocai belongs to the cabbage (Brassica) varieties.

Although in form both juanxincai and baocai are round in shape with the heart wrapped inside, there are still some relatively small differences. Baocai's leaves are wrapped rather tightly, and the leaves are relatively thick with more layers, whereas although juanxincai's heart is also wrapped, the inside is in fact very loose, and its core is shaped like a heart.

2. Can cabbage be eaten raw?

From a nutritional point of view, cabbage has a high water content (about 90%) and is low in calories. It is a food rich in water-soluble vitamins, and eating it raw is better, because during heating, vitamin C, vitamin B and minerals are lost along with the water that seeps out.

So how do you eat cabbage raw? The method is very simple: we can wash the cabbage and make it into a cold dressed dish, or make a vegetable salad, and it can also be used to make vegetable juice. If you cannot eat raw or cold food, you can heat it slightly, but do not heat it for too long, so as to avoid losing nutrients.

3. The benefits and effects of cabbage

1. Its anti-aging and antioxidant effects are at a similarly high level as those of asparagus and cauliflower.

2. Rich in folic acid, pregnant women and patients with anemia can eat a little more of it as appropriate.

3. It can improve human immunity and prevent colds. Among anti-cancer vegetables, cabbage ranks fifth.

4. Fresh baoxincai contains plant bactericides, which have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and have a certain effect on sore throat, swelling and pain from trauma, mosquito and insect bites, stomach pain and toothache.

5. Baoxincai contains a certain ulcer-healing factor, which has a very good therapeutic effect on ulcers, can accelerate wound healing, and is an effective food for patients with gastric ulcers.

6. Cabbage is also an ideal food for patients with diabetes and obesity.