Winter is here and in most Indian households Patta Gobi(cabbage) has already taken over our day-to-day winter menu with its unique taste and texture. While this common vegetable has been an essential part of desi Indian cuisine, despite its popularity, this vegetable may be the most dangerous vegetable you are consuming! Here’s all you need to know about this vegetable and is it actually good or bad for health?





Why is this veggie dangerous?

There’s no denying that Pata gobi also known as cabbage is a common vegetable consumed in almost every Indian household, but according to many experts and health enthusiasts this veggie is believed to be one of the most harmful veggies, when consumed without taking proper measures to clean. This is because Pata Gobi is also a cruciferous vegetable, which is believed to pave the way for tapeworms to enter the body and cause deadly ailments like Neurocysticercosis . Here’s all you need to know about cabbage and whether it is safe to eat it raw?








Can eating cabbage turn fatal?

Apart from cabbage other cruciferous veggies like cauliflower and broccoli are also prone to contamination of tapeworms, which is Cabbage is believed that eating raw cabbage can lead to the development of tapeworm, which can alter the nervous system and infect the brain with Neurocysticercosis. However, experts suggest that Neurocysticercosis causing tapeworms usually enter the body and brain due to improper and unhygienic conditions like open defecation in the farms and consumption of uninspected pork, which may turn fatal in case of ignorance.



What is Neurocysticercosis?

Neurocysticercosis is basically a parasitic infection of the central nervous system that enters the body due to the pork tapeworm Taenia solium . This tapeworm may infect humans in case of eating undercooked food and observing poor hygiene practices. As per a report by the WHO, Neurocysticercosis is a preventable cause of epilepsy worldwide, but in absence of proper treatment, it can turn fatal.



What study says

According to a study on published in the journal of National Library of medicine it was mentioned that around 82% of tested cabbage samples from local markets were contaminated with various parasites like Taenia solium and Entamoeba coli that highlighted the high risk associated with poor sanitation around the cultivation impacted these veggies. The study highlights that contamination of raw vegetables with pathogenic parasites in markets might represent a vector for transmission of intestinal and water- borne parasites to consumers.





According to a report by digital daily the Tribune citing Prof Gagandeep Singh Head, Department of Neurology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana it was mentioned that “The tapeworm is, in fact, caused by sanitation issues, lack of toilets and meat (pork), if inspection is not done. It is a prolonged treatment in which epilepsy can be controlled through medicines. In rare cases, surgery is done. Of late, we have noticed a decline in Neurocysticercosis cases due to initiatives such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan due to which open defecation has been checked.”



To conclude

In a nutshell, it can be noted that open defecation in farms is one of the main reasons that can lead to tapeworms and the easiest way to deal with this is by cleaning the veggies and leafy greens thoroughly and cooking them properly. It can be concluded that eating cabbage does not lead to breeding of tapeworms in the brain and body. However, this may happen with any vegetable cultivated under unhygienic conditions, thus it is essential to thoroughly clean the veggies and then consume. In the context of pork make sure you consume farm raised and clean and properly cooked pork to avoid such health hazards.





Note: There’s a lot more study needed to establish these facts around cabbage and other vegetables.