Green or red cabbage: where the two heads really differ

Red cabbage gets its color from anthocyanins. A meta-analysis of 29 randomized trials in 2006 people with metabolic syndrome risk factors found anthocyanins lowered LDL cholesterol by 7 mg/dL (95% CI 3.1 to 11; metric: 0.18 mmol/L, 0.08 to 0.28), with the pigments coming from various foods and supplements rather than from cabbage. So it says little about a side dish. The colors differ most clearly on the plate. Per raw cup of 3.2 oz (90 g), red gives about 49 mg vitamin C and green about 36 mg, while green gives about 54 micrograms of vitamin K against 29 for red. Heads vary a lot. Eight USDA samples of raw red cabbage ranged from 45 to 71 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g), and eight green samples from 35 to 56 mg. UK tables agree on vitamin C, 55 against 48 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g), and put green far ahead on carotene, 454 against 15 micrograms, and on fiber, 4.1 against 2.9 g.

Every statement here is tied to a source. The badge says what kind of evidence stands behind it: A is a meta-analysis or systematic review, E is the position of an expert body without its own analysis. How we verify →

We have no USDA entry for cabbage | red cabbage itself in this cohort. The evidence below stands on published studies rather than on a composition table, and we would rather say that than show you a number for something else.

How much is actually in it

Vitamin C varies a lot between heads: 8 USDA samples of raw red cabbage ranged from 45 to 71 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) and 8 green samples from 35 to 56 mg. — USDA Foundation Foods samples, 8 red and 8 green raw cabbage (n = 8 + 8) Evidence E source
Red mean 53.88 mg (45.4-71.4); green mean 40.34 mg (34.8-56.3) per 3.5 oz (100 g)
UK food tables also rank red cabbage higher for vitamin C (55 vs 48 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)) but green far higher for carotene (454 vs 15 ug) and fiber (4.1 vs 2.9 g). — Raw green and red cabbage, UK composition tables Evidence E source
Red vs green per 3.5 oz (100 g): vitamin C 55 vs 48 mg; carotene 15 vs 454 ug; AOAC fiber 2.9 vs 4.1 g; energy 21 vs 27 calories

What a real portion looks like

Per raw cup (90 g), red cabbage gives about 49 mg vitamin C versus 36 mg for green, while green gives about 54 ug vitamin K versus 29 ug for red. — Raw green and red cabbage, US survey database Evidence E source
Vitamin C 53.9 vs 40.3 mg/100 g; vitamin K 32.3 vs 59.4 ug/100 g (red vs green)

What your body absorbs

In a randomized crossover study of 12 volunteers, cabbage microwaved for 2 minutes led to more urinary allyl mercapturic acid, an isothiocyanate marker, than cabbage microwaved for 5.5 minutes. — 12 volunteers, cabbage meals microwaved 2 or 5.5 min (n = 12) Evidence B source
Urinary allyl mercapturic acid greater after lightly cooked cabbage (P < 0.001)

What cooking and storage change

In UK tables boiling cut vitamin C in red cabbage from 55 to 32 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g), while green cabbage went from 48 to 45 mg. — Raw versus boiled (unsalted water) green and red cabbage, UK tables Evidence E source
Red 55 to 32 mg; green 48 to 45 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g)
USDA retention factors for vegetables boiled in covering water and drained keep about 75% of vitamin C and 65% of folate. — Vegetables and Vegetable Products group, boiled, water to cover, drained Evidence E source
Vitamin C 75% retained; folate 65%; vitamin B6 85%

What it does to your health

Anthocyanins, the pigments that color red cabbage, taken from various foods and supplements, lowered LDL cholesterol by 7 mg/dL (0.18 mmol/L) across 29 RCTs with 2006 people with metabolic risk factors. — 2006 participants with metabolic syndrome risk factors in 29 RCTs (n = 2006) Evidence A source
LDL-C -7 mg/dL (95% CI -11 to -3.1; metric: -0.18 mmol/L, -0.28 to -0.08)
In a randomized crossover trial, eating beet and red cabbage microgreens daily for 2 weeks proved feasible for healthy middle-aged and older adults, with final n = 24 and 95.6% compliance. — Healthy middle-aged/older adults, final n = 24, 2 weeks per arm (n = 24) Evidence B source
Final n = 24; compliance 95.6% (feasibility outcome)
Observational data link high intake of broccoli and cabbage with lower gastric cancer risk, RR 0.64, in a meta-analysis of 89 studies. — 81 articles covering 89 observational studies Evidence C source
Gastric cancer RR 0.64 (95% CI 0.47-0.87) for high broccoli and cabbage intake

Safety, limits and interactions

Cabbage allergy can be severe: in a clinical study of cabbage-allergic patients, 5 reported anaphylactic reactions when eating cabbage, and in 5 more the allergy was confirmed by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge. — 17 patients allergic to cabbage plus controls (n = 17) Evidence C source
5 reported anaphylaxis; 5 more confirmed by double-blind placebo-controlled challenge
People on warfarin should keep vitamin K intake steady, which matters here because a cup of raw green cabbage has nearly twice the vitamin K of red. — People taking warfarin and similar anticoagulants Evidence E source
Consistency advised; no fixed limit

What people believe that the data does not support

The EU refused a claim that a mix including Tuscan black and savoy cabbage maintains normal blood cholesterol. — EU health claim assessment Evidence E source
Status: Non-authorized

The bottom line

Cooking narrows or widens the gap. In UK tables boiling took red cabbage from 55 to 32 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g) and green from 48 to 45 mg, but the raw and boiled values come from different samples, so the difference between colors may be an artifact of sampling. USDA retention factors for vegetables boiled in covering water and drained keep about 75% of vitamin C and 65% of folate, a figure for the whole vegetable group. In a randomized crossover study of 12 volunteers, cabbage microwaved for 2 minutes led to more of an isothiocyanate marker in urine than cabbage microwaved for 5.5 minutes. The abstract reports P < 0.001 and no effect size. Evidence on cabbage and disease is thin. Observational data link high intake of broccoli and cabbage with a lower risk of gastric cancer, RR 0.64 (95% CI 0.47 to 0.87) across 89 studies. That is an association, and it does not separate the colors. In a crossover trial, 24 healthy middle-aged and older adults ate red cabbage and beet microgreens daily for 2 weeks with 95.6% compliance. Microgreens are a different product from a mature head, and the trial tested whether people would eat them. The EU refused a cholesterol claim for a mix of Tuscan black cabbage, savoy cabbage, chard and spinach, which means the evidence fell short. Two cautions are real. If you take warfarin or a similar anticoagulant, the NIH advises keeping vitamin K intake steady, and a raw cup of green cabbage has nearly twice the vitamin K of red, so swapping one color for the other changes your intake. Cabbage allergy exists and can be severe. In a clinical study of cabbage-allergic patients, five reported anaphylaxis after eating it, in a non-randomized series that gives no population frequency.

Each food on its own

Cabbage: two minutes in a microwave beats five and a half — everything on this food
Red cabbage: a vitamin C vegetable with borrowed pigment research — everything on this food

Questions answered from the trials

Does cabbage soup help with weight loss?

Sources

cbvr-daily-r4-02 · food composition dataset
Cabbage, red, raw · Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 53.88 mg/100 g, range 45.4-71.4 (median 53.0), 8 samples; Cabbage, green, raw · Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 40.34 mg/100 g, range 34.8-56.3 (median 39.65), 8 samples
USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-03 · food composition dataset
CoFID 13-190 Cabbage, red, raw: Vitamin C 55 mg, Carotene 15 ug, AOAC fibre 2.9 g, Energy 21 kcal, Folate 39 ug; CoFID 13-510 Cabbage, green, raw: Vitamin C 48 mg, Carotene 454 ug, AOAC fibre 4.1 g, Energy 27 kcal, Folate 45 ug
CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), codes 13-190 and 13-510 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-01 · food composition dataset
FNDDS 2709775 Cabbage, red, raw: Vitamin C 53.9 mg/100 g, 1 cup 90 g 48.5 mg · Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 32.3 ug/100 g, 1 cup 29.1 ug · Energy 34 kcal/100 g · Fiber 2.1 g/100 g; FNDDS 2709773 Cabbage, green, raw: Vitamin C 40.3 mg/100 g, 1 cup 90 g 36.3 mg · Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 59.4 ug/100 g, 1 cup 53.5 ug · Energy 31 kcal/100 g · Fiber 2.5 g/100 g
USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, FDC 2709775 Cabbage, red, raw and FDC 2709773 Cabbage, green, raw · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-06 · randomized crossover trial
Cabbage was microwaved for 2 min (lightly cooked) or 5.5 min (fully cooked)... AMA excretion was greater following consumption of lightly cooked cabbage irrespective of prebiotic treatment (P < 0.001).
Br J Nutr, 2007 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-04 · food composition dataset
CoFID 13-190 Cabbage, red, raw: Vitamin C 55 mg; 13-540 Cabbage, red, boiled in unsalted water: Vitamin C 32 mg; 13-510 Cabbage, green, raw: Vitamin C 48 mg; 13-511 Cabbage, green, boiled in unsalted water: Vitamin C 45 mg
CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), codes 13-190, 13-540, 13-510, 13-511 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-05 · food composition dataset
USDA-RETN-R6:3775 VEG,OTHER,BLD,WATER COVER,DRAINED: vitamin_c_mg 75%; folate_total_ug 65%; vitamin_b6_mg 85%
USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), code 3775 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-07 · meta-analysis of RCTs
This meta-analysis included 29 randomized controlled trials with 2006 participants... LDL-C: decreased by 0.18 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.28 to -0.08, p = 0.000)
PLoS One, 2025 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-08 · randomized crossover trial
Daily consumption for 2 weeks of 'bull's blood' beet and red cabbage microgreens was found to be feasible as indicated by high participant retention (final n = 24) and overall treatment compliance of 95.6%.
Nutrients, 2025 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-09 · meta-analysis of observational studies
High intake of broccoli and cabbage was associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer (RR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.47-0.87) and gallbladder cancer (RR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.29-0.75).
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-10 · prospective clinical study
Five of them referred anaphylactic reactions when eating cabbage, and in another 5 patients, cabbage allergy was further confirmed by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge.
J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2006 · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-11 · agency fact sheet
People taking warfarin and similar anticoagulants need to maintain a consistent intake of vitamin K from food and supplements because sudden changes in vitamin K intakes can increase or decrease the anticoagulant effect [45].
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin K Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-10-01
cbvr-daily-r4-12 · EU claim register entry
POL-HC-8441 A combination of Tuscan black cabbage, ’tri-coloured‘ Swiss chard, ’bi-coloured‘ spinach and ’blu savoy‘ cabbage Maintains normal blood cholesterol concentration -/- Non-authorised
EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-8441, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-01

Review. Reviewed on 2026-10-01 for evidence level, dose and population context, and claims a reader could misread. Bioma Learn has no human medical reviewer at this time, and we say so rather than invent one. Methodology. This is information, not medical advice.