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What is the role of cabbage in traditional Chinese medicine?

Sep 22, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Sun Lianqing
Introduction
Cabbage is cool in nature and can clear heat and toxic pathogens from the body. It helps alleviate discomforts such as irritability and dry mouth caused by internal heat, restoring the body to a balanced state. Rich in dietary fiber, cabbage is believed in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to promote gastrointestinal motility, relieve intestinal stagnation, improve constipation, and facilitate smoother flow of qi in the digestive system. With its sweet taste and high moisture content, cabbage also nourishes body fluids.

Generally speaking, Chinese cabbage plays several roles in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including clearing heat and relieving irritability, promoting gastrointestinal function, promoting the production of body fluids to quench thirst, facilitating urination, and harmonizing the spleen and stomach. The details are as follows:

1. Clearing Heat and Relieving Irritability: Chinese cabbage is cool in nature and can clear internal heat. For discomforts such as irritability and dry mouth caused by excess internal heat, its cooling property helps alleviate symptoms and restore the body to a balanced state.

2. Promoting Gastrointestinal Function: Chinese cabbage is rich in dietary fiber. In TCM, it is believed to promote intestinal motility, help relieve intestinal stagnation, improve constipation, and facilitate smoother flow of Qi in the gastrointestinal tract.

3. Promoting Body Fluids and Relieving Thirst: With a sweet taste and high moisture content, Chinese cabbage nourishes body fluids. It helps replenish depleted fluids and relieve thirst caused by heat-related conditions that damage body fluids.

4. Promoting Urination: Chinese cabbage helps regulate water metabolism by promoting the smooth passage of fluids and increasing urine output. It can assist in relieving difficult or reduced urination caused by dampness accumulation in the body.

5. Harmonizing the Spleen and Stomach: Chinese cabbage has a mild nature and a sweet taste. When consumed in moderation, it nourishes the spleen and stomach, helping to improve poor appetite due to weakened digestive function and gently regulating the digestive system's transformation and transportation functions.

Although Chinese cabbage has many beneficial effects according to TCM theory, it should be consumed according to individual body constitution. People with deficiency-cold in the spleen and stomach should avoid eating too much raw cabbage. In daily diets, it can be combined with other ingredients to enhance its regulatory effects. If experiencing significant health issues, consumption should be based on specific symptoms and patterns of disharmony, and professional medical advice should be sought when necessary.

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