Cultured Cabbage Juice
Dec 21st, 2007 by Matt S
Recently I have been experimenting with Cultured Cabbage Juice, and although I seem to be getting less interest from the ladies after drinking it 
– it does make me feel better.
I got the idea from this web page . What I basically do is chop up cabbage, fine enough so your blender can handle it. Toss it in the blender along with enough water to fill the blender about 2/3 of the way full and then blend until there is just cabbage liquid. I then add the cabbage liquid to a large 2L ice tea jug. I fill it with two more blenders full of the cabbage liquid, cover the top with a paper towel secured by a rubber band, and then wait. After 3 days, I take the paper towel off the top and pour the cabbage liquid through a fine strainer into another pitcher. The cabbage pulp is fine so you need a fine strainer to catch it. Sometimes it takes a while for the liquid to drain, so I will help it by slowly pressing my fist on top of the cabbage juice/pulp mixture. After a decent amount of liquid has been forced out, I toss the pulp in the trash can and pour more of the pulp through the strainer. Once all of the cabbage liquid/pulp has been poured trough the strainer there is just juice left in the other pitcher.
I drink the juice mixed half/half with water. It is pretty strong stuff in both taste and effect. I don’t drink coffee, but the zing it gives has got to be similar to the zing that comes from a doubleshot expresso or whatever the latest coffee drink is.
Make sure the cabbage is fresh and organic. The fermentation process is similar to making sourkraut, except there is no salt to knock back some of the bacteria. Good fresh, organic cabbage should have all of the bacteria it needs to ferment OK already hosted on its leaves. I have made 3 batches so far and they have all turned out OK. The last batch I was a little iffy about, the cabbage had been sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks and there were those black spots of the edges of some of the leaves. I chopped off all of the bad parts and went for it, not wanting to waste 4 pounds of cabbage and everything was OK… your mileage may vary.
A couple things. I have Crohn’s. I stepped my way through about 10 different diets after the standard drugs proved downright harmful. Backed into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet – though MORE restricted. Essentially: 95% of calories come from protein(plain fish,chicken,turkey,beef,etc), 5% from cooked veggies. I’ve been on it for 5 years. Brought me from the brink to nearly full health (still have stomach and mild small intestinal soreness). Getting to my point, I’m starting to re-introduce foods – plain cabbage juice being added for stomach & duodenal ulcers/erosion. It’s working well so far – sharp pains have all become very limited soreness. Was wondering your results after the above post. Also curious if you tried Kefir as other sites recommend it and it’s more of the same culturing concept.
Charlie – Glad to hear that you have found something that brings you to almost health. I don’t know if we will ever get to perfect health, but maybe – read on.
I am doing excellent right now. I’m drinking around a total of one cup per day of fermented cabbage. Around 1:4 ratio of juice to water makes a refreshing drink that is sour and cabbage tasting, but light and refreshing at the same time. It takes a little getting used to, but is something I look foward to now.
Just last night I went for a mile walk which would have been hard for me to do before. Pre-cabbage juice – if I had to go to the bathroom I had to go within 1-2 minutes, otherwise I would have an accident. This meant hesitation to do lots of things that involved unknown / no bathroom environments. Around a month and a half ago (end of April/beginning of May) I noticed that if I had to use the bathroom I could hold it. Big big change for me. I have had urgency issues for the last 7 or 8 years and they are almost gone!
A couple of caveats, I have been doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation a few times a week for the past 3 months are so. My stress levels right now are low, but were high a bit ago and I did OK through it. Usually would have had to limit diet a lot, but didn’t need too. I’m taking no conventional medicine.
I didn’t realize I had started the cabbage juice way back in December. I’ve been doing it for a while. I know it helped soon after taking it, but it took around 4 months to really get me to the next level. I’ve been enjoying Bojangles’ chicken biscuit combo with seasoned fries and iced tea – something that would have been unthinkable 5 months ago.
Regarding Keifer – I did try it around 4 years ago. Got the Keifer grain in the mail from a recommended source, fermented it with milk and got a very yeasty drink that didn’t sit well. I’ve always felt like I’ve had some yeast intolerance and felt it big time after drinking the keifer. The rest of the drink went down the drain and the grain went it the compost pile.
can anyone else to the fermented juice!!!. I would love to ry it. I also know that the red cabbage is very good for health… I wonder I f i could try it with the red one???
II have a colon problem. Don’t know if its crohn’s but know gluten intolerant for sure. Some foods irritate the gut badly. Can I just use the water off of ground up cabbage with whatever juice is extracted to get fresh cabbage juice? I really need to try the juice for my stomach pain and colon are keeping me down and I am losing 7 lbs a month without trying. I have to eat or the gut hurts..then if delayed the colon will act up and make for a miserable time.
thanks for any help..but do reply soon. I don’t want to dig a grave just yet.
Jen – I’ve never tried making cabbage juice with red cabbage, but I bet it would work. Try it and then post back here with your results.
Kathy – It sounds like you need to see a doctor. As much as I don’t like doctors it will be good to see one to get an initial diagnosis of what is going on. As far as the cabbage juice goes – try following the instructions I post here exactly – especially initially. I’ve tried my method and know it works. Once you know what the final results should be like you’ll have something to compare your experimenting to.
I have had Ulcerative Colitis for 7 years now…without one minute of relief. I feel like the walking dead (some say I look the part too!). I’m on 50mg of Prednisilone and 2000mg sulfasalazine a day and I HATE IT!! Interrupted sleep, mood swings, hallucinations, acne, lethargy, increased symptoms of U.C. (believe it or not), without mentioning the toll it takes on my wife, kids, sex life, social life, etc…..one can’t blame me for being a bit apprehensive. With all due respect, all the websites I’ve been on with the juices and organic foods, S.C.D., promised cures/treatments and so on have had a disclaimer the size of the Great Wall of China!!
How do I know this will help? So many people have questions, but very little people have written in support…can you offer any? Any testimonials? Will you even write back as so many others haven’t?
Thanks for your time
Kris – I understand your frustrations, but you’ve just got to try new things and see if they work. Fermented Cabbage juice might not work for you, but is it worth trying – yes. It’s cheap and easy to make. Give it a shot for a month and if it doesn’t work move on. Cut out all artificial sugars – sweets and soft drinks, and start getting in a good dose of Omega 3 fatty acids. I eat a couple cans of kipper snacks daily and that gets me a good dose of those good fats.
I’ve been there, and I know how crappy a big dose of pred is. I’ve had all the same side effects you’ve had – the mood swings and acne, a moon face.
It may be time to find a new doctor. It sounds like things haven’t gotten better with your current one. Really – try the cabbage juice. I can’t promise a cure, but I really think it will help. Drink a cup mixed with water everyday for a month and come back here and tell us how it went.
I think I am ready to try your cabbage juice recipe but I had a question. Do you keep the juice that is fermenting in the fridge for those 3 days?
Thanks so much for your help!
Removing my mercury fillings greatly improved my Chrohn’s symptoms (following a thorough chelation and sauna program). I saw a dentist who specializes in mercury removal and made sure they used a special air-sucking device and rubber dam. Chrohn’s is often caused by high toxin load (mercury) in the gut that causes inflammation. So a good diet with lots of healthy foods and low sugar/wheat is a great help in the detox process.
Oops, and I meant to say that cabbage juice really helps the symptoms during the detox stage.
Wondering why fermented cabbage juice and not just regular cabbage juice? I have never heard this before so I was interested
Thanks
@ Amy – Nope. While the Cabbage is fermenting for 3 days you want it to be room temperature, so leave it on the counter.
@Cheryl – When the cabbage is fermented lots of beneficial bacteria are generated. The beneficial bacteria add to the healing properties of the drink.
I made some red fermented cabbage juice, and it has now been in the fridge for 2 weeks…. it has a few globs of white on top, that look like mold….. has any one had this experience??? is this type of mold healthy???