Cabbage

Cabbage is often seen as a safe food - rarely allergenic and, of course, good for you. The truth is that cabbage has been implicated in a range of health problems. Eriksson found that some adults who had an acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) intolerance were also intolerant of other foods including cabbage (1).

In 1985, Jones et al, induced remission in twenty patients with active Crohn's disease by dietary changes. In some of these patients symptoms were found to be triggered by the Brassica family of vegetables - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc... (2)

Elimination diets worked for migraine sufferers in a 1992 study by Mylek and although the food most usually implicated was cow's milk, other problem foods included cabbage (3).

Some people find they can tolerate cabbage only when cooked. In respect of food chemicals, cabbage is low in amines and Salicylate, contains natural sulphur which may be a problem for someone with a severe sensitivity to sulphites, is high in naturally occurring goitrogens, and pickled cabbage is high in histamine.

(1) Eriksson NE. Food sensitivity reported by patients with asthma and hay fever. A relationship between food sensitivity and birch pollen-allergy and between food sensitivity and acetylsalicylic acid intolerance. Allergy 1978;33(4):189-96.
(2) Jones VA, Workman E, Freeman AH, et al. Crohn's disease: maintenance of remission by diet. Lancet 1985;2:177-180.
​(3) Mylek D. Migraine as one of the symptoms of food allergy. Pol Tyg Lek 1992;20-27;47(3-4):89-91.