Cabbage Diet
Is A Cabbage Diet Any Good?
A cabbage diet is good, if you like cabbage, and if you want to lose weight. Different diets come and go. Some are good for you, and others not so good. The problem with most any diet, is once you depart from it, the pounds tend to return. If you find yourself in a weight loss-weight gain cycle, it's not really very good for your health. So whether you've been considering a grapefruit diet, a cabbage diet, or something else, keep that in mind.
Even if you love cabbage, the thought of a cabbage diet may not sound all that appealing. For one thing, if you are cooking cabbage day in and day out, your house will soon take on the scent of cooked cabbage, which can be rather strong. Of course there are many ways to prepare cabbage, rather than cooking or boiling it.
Whether you lose pounds or not, cabbage is a very nutritious and beneficial food. It's a rich source of vitamin C, fiber, and trace minerals. It's low in calories, about 15 calories to the cup, so you can eat it until you're feeling full, without consuming many calories.
Cabbage is also rich in vitamin A, which promotes healthy skin and good eyesight, vitamin E, also good for the skin, and vitamin B, good for reducing stress and boosting metabolism.
You can prepare cabbage several ways as a part of your diet, while avoiding the same old thing day after day. There are a number of different cabbage soups; almost every country seems to have their own version. There's sauerkraut of course, and cooked red cabbage, a German and Scandinavian favorite, also cabbage rolls, corned beef and cabbage, coleslaw, salads, and the list goes on.
Very often, what is referred to as a cabbage diet, is in effect a cabbage soup diet. As mentioned previously, the number of different variations of cabbage soup can be quite large. The reason for undertaking a cabbage soup diet, is that it offers a way to rapid weight loss. This being the case, once your weight goal is achieved, you should move to a diet designed to maintain that weight, and not simply go off and on a cabbage soup diet as you lose, and then gain back, pounds.
A typical cabbage soup recipe can consist of a half head of cabbage, plus green onions and peppers, carrots and tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, and soup mix or bouillon. Then just season to taste. The seasoning is probably essential, in that without it, the soup may be too bland, and become difficult to consume after a few days. You don't just have soup, you eat meat products and fruit as well, but the soup will definitely have a filling effect, and you won't be loading up on high caloric food items.
Some say, in spite of all the vegetables involved, cabbage soup is not particularly nutritious. Rapid weight loss, coupled with insufficient nutritional intake, can be harmful to your health. However, that argument can be made for many diets, but it is important that you plan the meals of your cabbage diet so they are nutritious, as well as designed with weight loss in mind.