Sauerkraut or fermented cabbage, cabbage or broccoli are healthy and delicious foods. Women who eat them frequently can expect significant health benefits.
A scientific team with the majority of researchers belonging to Michigan State University (United States) has found that eating sauerkraut and cabbage regularly since adolescence reduces the risk of developing breast cancer.
Is sauerkraut the reason why there is less breast cancer in poland?
131 women with breast cancer between the ages of 20 and 79 volunteered to participate in the study. 284 women without breast cancer served as the control group, but otherwise met the same criteria as the diseased women for origin, age, and place of residence. All the women were originally from Poland but now lived in the United States.
In Poland, breast cancer rates are lower than in the United States, but when Polish women immigrate to the United States, their risk of breast cancer increases and eventually equals that of American women. What could be the reason?
In Poland, sauerkraut is eaten in abundance: 13.6 kg per person per year. In the United States, the consumption is 4.5 kg. Therefore, if Polish women in the United States adopt local dietary habits and eat less sauerkraut and cabbage, this could contribute to increased risk.
Sauerkraut and cabbage reduce the risk of breast cancer
So they looked at how much cabbage and sauerkraut the study participants had eaten, both raw and quickly cooked and long cooked, and found the following:
- The more cabbage and sauerkraut the women consumed during their youth, and also into adulthood, the lower their risk of breast cancer.
- However, if the cabbage or sauerkraut were cooked for a long time, the vegetables stopped positively influencing breast cancer risk.
- If women ate a lot of cabbage when they were young (4 times per week or more), their later risk of breast cancer decreased by 64% compared to women who ate little cabbage and sauerkraut when they were young.
- The risk of breast cancer was reduced by 50% if the women had eaten a lot of cabbage and sauerkraut, at least in adulthood.
- If the women had eaten cabbage and sauerkraut more than 3 times a week both in their youth and in their adulthood, either raw or briefly cooked, their breast cancer risk was reduced by 77% compared to women who only ate 1.5 times a week or even less frequently .
A serving of raw sauerkraut corresponds to about 95 g. That of a short-cooked cabbage dish is 60 g, and that of a long-cooked cabbage or sauerkraut dish ranges from 150 to 330 g.
Why cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables protect against breast cancer
Of course, sauerkraut isn’t the only vegetable you should eat. A high total intake of vegetables in general may also reduce the risk of breast cancer, especially hormone-dependent.
But cabbage and other vegetables from the cruciferous family (radish, arugula, mustard, watercress) contain very special active substances that make them more effective in reducing the risk of cancer.
These substances are indole-3-carbinol and a byproduct of its digestion, 3,3-diindolylmethane (DIM). However, these vegetables are often cooked, which leads to high losses of their anticancer active ingredients. It is best to eat cabbages and sauerkraut raw or briefly heated.
