Coleslaw: a cabbage salad that is mostly its dressing

Coleslaw is raw cabbage and carrot held together by dressing, and the firmest evidence attached to it is about the cabbage rather than the dish. Pooling 23 dietary intervention trials that fed people large controlled amounts of cruciferous vegetables, cabbage among them, the activity of the drug-metabolising enzyme CYP1A2 rose by 20 to 40 percent and that of GST-alpha by 15 to 35 percent. The authors of that meta-analysis called the clinical meaning of the interaction unclear, and none of those trials served coleslaw. Where the dish itself has been analysed, it is a fatty salad. UK retail coleslaw with standard dressing holds 173 kcal and 16.3 g fat per 100 g, against 110 kcal and 9.1 g for the reduced-calorie version, both of them as the manufacturers make them. Sugars are close, 6.0 and 6.5 g, and the vitamin C is the same 1 mg measured on the pack. The dressing is not only calories. In a crossover trial in 7 adults, a mixed salad of spinach, lettuce, tomato and carrot eaten with fat-free dressing gave essentially no carotenoid absorption, 6 g of canola oil raised it, and 28 g raised it further. That salad was lettuce and carrot rather than coleslaw, so the principle is borrowed and has never been measured on the dish.

How much is actually in it

• In the UK CoFID tables, retail coleslaw with standard dressing has 173 kcal and 16.3 g fat per 100 g against 110 kcal and 9.1 g fat for the reduced-calorie version. Sugars are 6.0 and 6.5 g, folate is 56 micrograms in both, and vitamin C only 1 mg in both. — Coleslaw, not low calorie, retail (CoFID 15-635) and Coleslaw, with reduced calorie dressing, retail (CoFID 15-636), UK (n = 2 dataset entries) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 173 vs 110 kcal; fat 16.3 vs 9.1 g; saturated fat 1.65 vs 0.73 g; sugars 6.0 vs 6.5 g; fibre (NSP) 1.7 vs 1.8 g; sodium 296 vs 197 mg; folate 56 vs 56 ug; vitamin C 1 vs 1 mg

What a real portion looks like

• In US dietary survey portions a cup of coleslaw weighs 220 g, a single-serving container 150 g and the amount on a sandwich 55 g, so one cup at FNDDS values is about 257 kcal, 18 g fat and 616 mg sodium. — Coleslaw (FNDDS 75141000, FDC 2709815), US household measures (n = 4 portion measures) Evidence E source
  1 cup 220 g; 1 single serving container 150 g; guideline amount per sandwich 55 g; quantity not specified 110 g. Per cup at FNDDS values (card cslw-c3-02): 257 kcal, 17.6 g fat, 616 mg sodium, 59 mg vitamin C, 119 ug vitamin K

What your body absorbs

• In a crossover trial in 7 adults, a vegetable salad eaten with fat-free dressing gave essentially no carotenoid absorption, 6 g of oil raised it, and 28 g of oil raised it further. The salad tested was spinach, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes and carrots, not coleslaw. — 7 adults, each eating 3 identical salads (spinach, romaine, cherry tomatoes, carrots) with dressings containing 0, 6 or 28 g canola oil, in random order, 12-hour chylomicron sampling (n = 7) Evidence B source
  Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene in chylomicrons negligible with fat-free dressing; higher with reduced-fat (P under 0.04); higher again with full-fat than reduced-fat (P under 0.02)
• In 12 women eating salads with 0, 2, 4, 8 or 32 g of soybean oil in the dressing, absorption of alpha-carotene, lycopene and vitamin K1 rose in a straight line with oil across the whole range and was highest at 32 g. Some individuals absorbed almost nothing at any dose. — 12 women, each consuming 5 vegetable salads with dressings containing 0, 2, 4, 8 or 32 g soybean oil; chylomicron carotenoid and fat-soluble vitamin AUC (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Linear oil dose-response over 0 to 32 g for alpha-carotene, lycopene, phylloquinone and retinyl palmitate; beta-carotene linear over 0 to 8 g; all highest at 32 g (P under 0.002); wide interindividual variation with negligible responders

What cooking and storage change

• The US survey database lists coleslaw at 117 kcal, 8 g fat, 26.9 mg vitamin C and 54 micrograms vitamin K per 100 g, a recipe-based value, whereas the analysed UK retail product holds 1 mg vitamin C. No study has measured how much vitamin C survives shredding, dressing and days of refrigeration. — Coleslaw (FNDDS 75141000, FDC 2709815), USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 survey food (n = 1 dataset entry) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 117 kcal; fat 7.98 g; carbohydrate 10.4 g; fibre 1.9 g; sodium 280 mg; vitamin C 26.9 mg; folate 33 ug; vitamin K 54.3 ug. CoFID retail (card cslw-c3-01): vitamin C 1 mg

What it does to your health

• Across 89 observational studies, the highest intake of cruciferous vegetables was associated with 19% lower risk of gastrointestinal cancers than the lowest, and high cabbage and broccoli intake with 36% lower gastric cancer risk. A cabbage salad shares these associations, but no trial has confirmed them. — 81 articles covering 89 observational studies of cruciferous vegetable intake and gastrointestinal cancers (n = 89 studies) Evidence C source
  All GI cancers, highest vs lowest intake RR 0.81 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.87); per 50 g increase below 75 g/day RR 0.93 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.96); broccoli and cabbage, gastric cancer RR 0.64 (95% CI 0.47 to 0.87), gallbladder RR 0.46 (0.29 to 0.75); gallbladder overall RR 0.70 (0.38 to 1.27, ns)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Pooling 23 human dietary intervention trials, diets enriched with cruciferous vegetables including cabbage raised the activity of the drug-metabolising enzyme CYP1A2 by 20 to 40% and of GST-alpha by 15 to 35%. People on CYP1A2-metabolised drugs who eat large or variable amounts could see their drug exposure change. — Participants in 23 dietary intervention trials with drug-metabolism end points (broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, watercress), Embase, Medline and CENTRAL (n = 23 trials) Evidence A source
  CYP1A2 activity +20 to 40%; glutathione S-transferase-alpha +15 to 35%; clinical significance of diet-drug interaction judged unclear by the authors
• In a norovirus outbreak at a barbecue where 60 of 106 people fell ill, eating coleslaw was independently associated with 8.2 times the odds of illness, and the same virus genotype was found in a food handler who had prepared the salads. — 106 people surveyed after a barbecue (outbreak B) and 26 after a linked event (outbreak A), UK; multivariate logistic regression on food items (n = 106) Evidence C source
  Coleslaw aOR 8.2 (95% CI 3 to 22.2); green leaf salad aOR 3.2 (95% CI 1.4 to 9.9); norovirus GII-6 in cases and in the salad-preparing food handler

What people believe that the data does not support

• When 186 consumers served themselves from a 'healthier' and a standard coleslaw with identical energy density, they took larger portions of the healthier one and judged it lower in energy density. The two coleslaws were isoenergy dense, so the healthier label did not lower the energy that went onto the plate. — 186 adult consumers in Europe and the US, serving portions of three isoenergy-dense food pairs (cereals, drinks, coleslaws), estimating energy density and rating anticipated guilt (n = 186) Evidence C source
  Larger self-served portion of healthier coleslaw than standard; all healthier foods perceived lower in energy density despite being isoenergy dense; higher anticipated consumption guilt for standard foods; portions generally above recommendations

Who this works differently for

• In a long-stay hospital outbreak in which 80 of 460 patients and staff fell ill after a ward buffet, illness was associated with having eaten ham, coleslaw, bread rolls and cheese and pineapple sticks prepared on the ward. A small round structured virus was the suspected cause. — 460 patients and staff of an English long-stay hospital for people with learning difficulties; cohort of 47 who attended the ward party (n = 460) Evidence C source
  Attack rate 22% (80 of 460); illness in the party cohort associated with ham, coleslaw, bread rolls and cheese and pineapple on sticks; microbiology and virology negative
• In 17 patients with confirmed cabbage allergy, 5 had had anaphylaxis from eating cabbage, and the major allergen was a 9-kDa lipid transfer protein, Bra o 3, that cross-reacts with peach and mugwort pollen. Bra o 3 inhibited IgE binding to cabbage, mugwort and peach, so in these patients cabbage allergy overlapped with peach and mugwort sensitisation. — 17 patients allergic to cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata) recruited prospectively, Spain, with controls; skin prick tests and double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges (n = 17) Evidence C source
  5 of 17 reported anaphylaxis to cabbage; 5 more confirmed by DBPCFC; Bra o 3 skin test positive in 12 of 14 (86%); Bra o 3 has 50% identity with peach LTP Pru p 3 and inhibits IgE binding to cabbage, mugwort and peach

The bottom line

A cup of coleslaw weighs 220 g in US survey portions, a single-serving deli container 150 g, and the amount on a sandwich 55 g. At the survey values that cup works out at about 257 kcal, 18 g fat and 616 mg sodium, which is arithmetic on a recipe-based entry rather than a measurement of a tub from a shop. Vitamin C is where the two databases disagree. The US survey entry, calculated from fresh cabbage, carrot and dressing, gives 26.9 mg per 100 g, while the British retail packs, analysed as sold, give 1 mg. We found no study measuring how much vitamin C survives shredding, dressing and days in the fridge, so that gap is recorded here and not explained. Across 89 observational studies, people eating the most cruciferous vegetables had 19 percent lower risk of gastrointestinal cancer than those eating the least, RR 0.81 with a 95 percent confidence interval of 0.76 to 0.87. Those people differ from each other in many ways besides cabbage, and no trial has tested the question. The reduced-calorie tub carries a trap of its own. When 186 consumers served themselves from a coleslaw labelled healthier and a standard one of identical energy density, they served more of the healthier version and judged it lower in energy density. The study recorded the portions people served themselves, not what they ate. Two cautions here are real, and both follow from the dish never being cooked. The first is allergy. Among 17 people with confirmed cabbage allergy, 5 had had anaphylaxis from eating it, and the protein responsible, Bra o 3, is a lipid transfer protein with 50 percent identity to the peach allergen Pru p 3. Those were patients recruited because they were allergic, so the study says nothing about how common this is, and lipid transfer protein allergy is concentrated in Mediterranean countries. The second is that nothing in the dish is cooked after hands have mixed it. In a UK barbecue outbreak where 60 of the 106 people surveyed fell ill, coleslaw carried 8.2 times the odds of illness, 95 percent CI 3 to 22.2, and the same norovirus genotype was found in the food handler who had prepared the salads. In an English long-stay hospital, 80 of 460 patients and staff fell ill after a ward buffet, and illness went with the ham, the coleslaw, the bread rolls and the cheese and pineapple sticks prepared on the ward. Microbiology and virology there came back negative, so the organism was never named. If you take a drug cleared by CYP1A2, the meta-analysis above is worth raising with whoever prescribes it. That review listed no example drug, so neither do we.

Sources

1. cslw-c3-01 · reference dataset
   15-635 Coleslaw, not low calorie, retail | Energy (kcal) 173 | Fat (g) 16.3 | Total sugars (g) 6.0 | Sodium (mg) 296 | Folate (ug) 56 | Vitamin C (mg) 1 || 15-636 Coleslaw, with reduced calorie dressing, retail | Energy (kcal) 110 | Fat (g) 9.1 | Total sugars (g) 6.5 | Sodium (mg) 197 | Folate (ug) 56 | Vitamin C (mg) 1
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0 · checked 2026-09-23
2. cslw-c3-03 · reference dataset
   Coleslaw · FNDDS 75141000 · fdc_id 2709815 | 1 cup 220 g | 1 single serving container 150 g | Guideline amount per sandwich 55 g | Quantity not specified 110 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 · checked 2026-09-23
3. cslw-c3-04 · RCT crossover
   The subjects (n = 7) each consumed 3 salads consisting of equivalent amounts of spinach, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and carrots with salad dressings containing 0, 6, or 28 g canola oil...Essentially no absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads with fat-free salad dressing were consumed. A substantially greater absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads were consumed with full-fat than with reduced-fat salad dressing.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2004 · checked 2026-09-23
4. cslw-c3-05 · RCT crossover
   Women (n = 12) each consumed 5 vegetable salads with salad dressings containing 0, 2, 4, 8, or 32 g soybean oil...Across the entire 0-32-g range, soybean oil was linearly related to the chylomicron AUC and Cmax values for α-carotene, lycopene, phylloquinone, and retinyl palmitate...Absorption of all carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins was highest with 32 g oil (P < 0.002).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-09-23
5. cslw-c3-02 · reference dataset
   2709815 Survey (FNDDS) Coleslaw | Energy 117 kcal | Total lipid (fat) 7.98 g | Carbohydrate, by difference 10.4 g | Fiber, total dietary 1.9 g | Sodium, Na 280 mg | Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 26.9 mg | Folate, total 33.0 ug | Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 54.3 ug
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, Coleslaw, food code 75141000 · checked 2026-09-23
6. cslw-c3-07 · meta-analysis of observational studies
   In comparison to the lowest consumption categories, the highest consumption categories of CV were associated with a lower risk for all GI cancers [rate ratio (RR): 0.81, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.76-0.87]...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 2026-09-23
7. cslw-c3-06 · meta-analysis of intervention trials
   Twenty-three dietary intervention trials with drug metabolism end points were identified across Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL). Cruciferous vegetables represented in the literature included broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, and watercress...The meta-analyses performed demonstrated a significant effect on CYP1A2 and glutathione S-transferase-alpha (GST-α), with consumption of Cruciferae increasing the activities of these enzymes by 20-40% and 15-35%, respectively.
   Clin Pharmacol Ther, 2020 · checked 2026-09-23
8. cslw-c3-08 · case-control (outbreak investigation)
   In outbreak B, 60 of the 106 people surveyed fulfilled the case definition. Green leaf salad (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.2, 95% CI 1.4-9.9) and coleslaw (aOR 8.2, 95% CI 3-22.2) were independently associated with illness in the multivariate logistic regression model. NoV genogroup II genotype 6 (GII-6) was identified in cases of both outbreaks and a food handler who had prepared salads for both events.
   Int J Infect Dis, 2009 · checked 2026-09-23
9. cslw-c3-11 · cross-sectional
   Subjects (n=186) estimated larger portions of the healthier coleslaw than that of the standard version, and perceived all healthier foods to be lower in ED than their standard alternatives, despite being isoenergy dense.
   Int J Obes (Lond), 2014 · checked 2026-09-23
10. cslw-c3-09 · retrospective cohort (outbreak investigation)
    Eighty of the 460 patients and staff (attack rate 22%) in a long-stay hospital for patients with learning difficulties became ill in a general outbreak of gastrointestinal infection that followed a buffet style party on one ward. Illness in the cohort of 47 resident patients, relations, and staff who attended that party was associated with having eaten ham, coleslaw, bread rolls, and cheese and pineapple on sticks.
    Commun Dis Public Health, 1999 · checked 2026-09-23
11. cslw-c3-10 · prospective clinical study
    A prospective study was performed, recruiting 17 patients allergic to cabbage, and control subjects...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...A 9-kd cabbage IgE-binding protein, Bra o 3, was identified as a lipid transfer protein (LTP) with 50% of identity to peach LTP Pru p 3.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2006 · checked 2026-09-23