Benefits of cabbage leaves on osteoarthritis knees
In one section of the British Medical Journal, entitled Minerva, where they collect interesting little excerpts, a photo of a woman was posted, that stuck cabbage leaf on your knee. She said that was the only thing a remedy that provided relief from symptoms of her osteoarthritis. Some doctors reacted with confusion; others paid attention, surprised at the look of the photo, not because the cabbage leaf was used, but because it was considered so important to be in the news.
The doctor reveals that she may have been a little biased, however, since she admits that she herself uses cabbage leaves. “There’s nothing new about this ancient medicine,” another reader writes, cabbage leaves have been used to cut of any kind of painful swelling. ” “Freshly washed cabbage leaves are familiar in European folk medicine such as ointment for the poor man.
” So nothing out of the ordinary or stupid on the placement of cabbage leaves on your knees! Okay. I didn’t realize it was such a scandalous topic. Of course, we will never know does it really work. I mean, there has never been a randomized controlled trial on “topical application of cabbage leaves for osteoarthritis”, and there will never be… so far. The effectiveness of cabbage leaf compresses in the treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Wait a minute, how was this funded at all? A family foundation just stepped forward and paid for it.
I like this. In fact, the former president and the First Lady of the German Foundation. After all, osteoarthritis of the knee is one of the most common chronic diseases among the elderly; so let’s test the effects of cabbage leaf compresses. Why not? Patients with confirmed osteoarthritis the knees were split randomly up to 4 weeks of treatment with cabbage leaves on your knees every day or local lubricant gel, which contains an anti-inflammatory drug, or nothing. It would be even better if there was one a fourth group to apply, for example, iceberg leaves, but I will put up with it.
Here is a chart of pain intensity during the 28-day experiment. Here’s how the medicine worked: not much better than applying anything. But the cabbage worked better.
Overall, the study found that 4 weeks application of cabbage leaves is more effective than usual treatment in terms of pain, functional impairment and quality of life. However, this was not present in the final analysis, superior to the 4-week application topical medicines. But hey, cabbage leaves are safe, can be used in the longer term; so why not try? It also won’t hurt if you eat a little, as the cabbage may also have internal ones anti-inflammatory properties.
Anti-inflammatory properties can explain the health benefits from vegetables from the cabbage family. Not only strong anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory conditions, but also in humans. Ten days of consumption of broccoli smokers reduce C-reactive protein levels by 40%! Okay, how about arthritis?
Sulforaphane in a test tube, the magic chemical in the cabbage, protects cartilage from destruction, suggesting a diet rich in vegetables from cabbage and broccoli family, can be a useful tool for both prevention and delay development of osteoarthritis.
But even if sulforaphane can protect cartilage cells in a petri dish, how do we know this compound it reaches the joints at all, when do we eat it? I mean no one has ever done any research so far, you make people eat broccoli and then you pierce the needle in their knee goes to check. No one … so far. And the sulforaphane was indeed discovered in the synovial fluid of 40 patients with osteoarthritis after consuming broccoli, which is followed by significant epigenetic changes in gene expression in the joint.
The next step is to see if this can actually improve the disease.
Read More: The Best (and Worst) Foods for Arthritis and Joint Pain