Food & Nutrition, Health
9 Benefits of Radish | Reasons To Include It Into Your Diet | Possible
May
Medically reviewed by Darshita Thakkar, Masters in Clinical Nutrition
Scientifically known as Raphanus Sativus, radish belongs to the Brassicaceae family. It is found in a variety of colours, depending on their time of cultivation.
Radish is famous in Indian kitchens when it comes to “mooli ke paranthe“, however, we are still unknown to many health benefits of radish.
So, in order to help you know radishes better, I bring to you its different benefits, facts and recipes.
Table of Contents
5 Amazing Ways To Use Radishes
- White radish can be used to cure insect bites.
- It can also be used as a mouth and breath freshener.
- Radishes can be used as a detoxifier as it purifies blood and removes body toxins.
- Radish works great at cooling down our body temperature.
- Red radish helps in curing jaundice.
Radishes can be eaten in raw forms as well as cooked forms. They can be eaten with butter coatings, can be roasted, you can sneak them into your sandwiches as well as prepare their soups.
9 Health benefits of radish that you should definitely know
1. Radish can be helpful in treating cancers:
Radishes are known to fight oral, stomach, intestinal, colon and kidney cancers. They are rich in vitamin c, anthocyanins and folic which help in treating cancers.
Also, they are rich in antioxidants and isothiocyanates which make the cancerous cells die and stop their multiplication. Radishes can treat as well as prevent this deadly disease.
2. Radish improves urinary issues:
Radishes are known for their high water content. And this makes them great for correcting disorders in urination. A disorder like burning sensation during urination can be treated with radish juices.
Its water content cleanses the entire urinary system as well as the kidneys, improving urine excretion. They also escalate urine production.
3. Radish improves Hypertension:
The leaves of radishes are rich sources of potassium while having low levels of sodium. This makes them amazing for controlling the high blood pressure levels in people who have hypertension.
Do you know?
Radishes grow very quickly. Their seeds need just 3-4 days to germinate.
Bunny Tail, Sicily Giant, French Breakfast and Plum Purple. Wondering what these names are? These are few odd names given to radish verity. There are Radish varieties that are as big as size of a baseball
Radishes were given as wages to the Ancient Egyptians who built pyramids. Radishes were first cultivated in China.
There’s a festival called the Night Of The Radishes Festival. It is celebrated in the city of Oaxaca in Mexico on every 23rd December. Oilseed radish is a special type of radish cultivated for its oil.
4. Radish benefits during constipation:
Besides being helpful in treating urinary issues, radishes can be helpful in constipation too.
Since it has fiber content, it helps in digestion of food effectively and also improves the excretion process.
Moreover, its high water content helps in the secretion of different digestive juices and makes the elimination of wastes from the body, easier.
5. Radish benefits the respiratory system:
If you are asthmatic or having sinus issues, including radishes in your diet, can help. Radishes are well known to be effective in clearing mucus from the respiratory tracts and hence helps in overcoming breathing issues as in asthma.
Radishes are known to provide protection to the inner lining of the respiratory organs, preventing it from allergies and respiratory infections.
6. Radish Juices benefit Thyroid Patients:
Radish juices are found to have a sulfur component raphanin. This component keeps a balance in the production of the hormones thyroxine and calcitonin. This balance improves the hypothyroid conditions
7. Radish benefits weight loss:
Yes, one of the benefits of radishes is that it promotes weight loss. How?
- Radishes have low GI: Low GI foods keep control on the blood sugar level. This, in turn, keeps the insulin level balanced in the blood which is necessary for proper fat burning. Hence having radishes can help in weight loss.
- The fiber content: As mentioned earlier, radishes have high fiber content. Fibre makes you feel full for a long time, hence it will make you less hungry and prevent you from eating more.
- Have low calories: If you look at the nutritional facts about radishes, you will know that they are low in calories. Hence, eating them won’t make you gain more calories and at the same time can prevent your hunger pangs. All the above three points can be helpful in losing weight.
So that replacing many of your unhealthy snacks with a radish salad or soup can actually help your diet for weight loss.
Can radishes be juiced?
Yes of course! In fact, there are many benefits of radish juices. Consuming radish in juice form can be easier for the body to absorb its different nutrients.
Radish juice is often preferred to be consumed with other fruits like apples and carrots. Also, radish juices are used as detoxifier that cleanses kidneys, bladder, prostate, testicles, and digestive track etc.
8. Radish benefits diabetic patients:
Although research has been limited to humans, radish has shown sugar lowering signs when tested on diabetic rats. Moreover, they are low on carbs and GI, which is a good factor for them to be included in diets for diabetic patients.
9. Radish benefits skin:
Radishes provide hydration to the skin cells which make them keep the skin hydrated. Also, radishes are found with components like vitamins, phosphorous, zinc that keep the skin healthy. Raw grated radishes can be applied as face packs to fight problems like rashes, dry skin etc.
I’m sure after knowing these surprising benefits of radishes, you can’t help but want to include more of radish into your foods. Don’t worry, we bring to you Jowar Onion Radish Phulka, Stuffed Mooli Roti recipes to help you kick start.
In Possible, we believe foods are the armours that can help us fight different health concerns. To know more about healthy foods and diets, you can always consult a Possible Nutritionist right away. Click here to avail a consultation for FREE!
I really like your article. I have started my whole dieting and exercise two months ago. I am a big fan of fried foods so it was really difficult for me to control this love for fried foods. But my friend suggested me a product which helped me a lot in controlling this urge for fried foods.
Hi William,
Yes, it will be difficult to suddenly replace your favourite foods with healthy ones. However, that is the first step in leading a healthy life. We’re glad that you are trying to start and new healthy living. And we’re sure after reading these 9 benefits of radishes, you are thinking of including it into your diet too. Eat healthy live healthy 🙂