Radish is known to have some amazing effects on your health. It is a good source of folic acid, vitamins, and anthocyanin. In ancient days, the Romans used it as a medicine. People in Britain consume it to treat unhealthy skin, kidney stones, and worms.
The oil extracted from the seeds too is extremely beneficial for the health. It is calorically low, has a low glycemic load, saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also known to fight bacterial and fungal infections.
It is full of antioxidants and rich in fiber. Radish has numerous health benefits such as help in weight loss, cure jaundice, fights cancer, lowers high blood pressure, maintains metabolism, treats leucoderma and many more.
Table of Contents
Health Benefits Of Radish
Let us have a look at some more health benefits derived from this plant:
1. Helps To Cure Jaundice
Radish is known to be excellent for the detoxification of stomach as well as liver. It keeps the generation of bilirubin steady and also helps to eliminate it.
This slows down the destruction of the red blood cells and increases the supply of oxygen. Black radish and radish leaves have proven to be more beneficial in this condition.
2. Helps To Fight Cancer
Research has shown that radish helps to destroy the cancerous cells by preventing the damage to the DNA present in the cells. And this is possible because it is a rich source of vitamin c, anthocyanin, isothiocyanate, and antioxidants.
It also contains a component called sulforaphane which protects from prostate, colon, ovarian and breast cancer. It helps to prevent intestinal, colon, kidney, stomach and oral cancer.
Consuming radish or its leaves are beneficial. You may choose to eat them raw or cook it, as per your taste.
3. Clears Congestion
Eat radish to get relief from sinus, asthma and congestion problems. Due to its anti-congestive property, it helps to relieve a cough and cold and builds your immunity.
4. Maintains Metabolism
100 g of radish contains 1.6 g of dietary fibre. It helps in smooth digestion and corrects the metabolism.
5. Lowers High Blood Pressure
Radish helps to lower the blood pressure because it has anti-hypertensive properties. It keeps the sodium and potassium balance in the body thus maintaining the blood pressure.
6. Rich Source Of Vitamin C
Around 25% of the daily requirement of Vitamin C can be met by consuming one bowl of radish. It helps to maintain the immunity and acts as an antioxidant. It aids in fixing blood vessels and tissues. It keeps the bones and teeth healthy and strong.
7. Helps To Purify The Blood
It helps to remove the toxins and waste products in the body through urine.
8. Relieves Piles
Constipation is the main cause of piles. Radish helps to increase the fibre content and relieve constipation. Due to its detoxifying properties, it helps to minimise the symptoms of piles.Consuming the juice of radish is known to soothe the digestive and excretory systems.
9. Help In Losing Weight
Consuming small amounts of radish makes you feel satiated. Radish is calorically low as it contains high amounts of moisture and fibre.This helps to keep the bowel movement normal and metabolism healthy.
10. Keeps Urinary Tract Healthy
Being diuretic in nature, consuming radish increases urine output. Also, it acts as a detoxifier and removes the toxins and infection causing agents and cleanses the kidneys. It helps to reduce the burning sensation experienced by some during urinating.
11. Diabetic’s Choice
As mentioned earlier, radish has a low glycemic load and therefore consuming it doesn’t elevate the blood sugar levels. This makes it a desirable ingredient for salads.
12. Amazing For The Heart
Radish helps to manage diabetes, lowers cholesterol and maintains the blood pressure. It is an abundant source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Patients suffering from arrhythmia are recommended to include radish in their diet.
It, therefore, plays an important role in maintaining the heart health.
13. The Abundance Of Antioxidants
Radish is at par with the citrus fruits and vegetables in terms of antioxidant value. It helps to prevent the damage caused due to the oxidation reaction.
14. Bountiful Nutrients
Radish is a source of a number of nutrients like folate , magnesium, fibre, copper, vitamin B6, riboflavin, manganese, potassium, and calcium. Therefore, consuming it helps to get rid of deficiencies.
15. Helps To Treat Leucoderma
In leucoderma, there is an appearance of white spots and patches on the skin. Radish is known for its detoxifying and anti-carcinogenic properties and it helps to treat leucoderma.
You may eat radish every day or take a few radish seeds and powder them. Now in this powder add ginger juice, vinegar or cow’s urine and make a paste. Apply the paste over affected areas.
16. Decreases Inflammation
Radish has anti-inflammatory properties which help in lowering the burning sensation during any illness, infection or fever.
17. Help To Optimize Oxygen Supply
Consuming radish helps to increase the supply of oxygen to the blood and it also helps to reduce the futile destruction of red blood cells. Black radish is proven to give better results.
18. Curb’s Constipation And Diarrhoea
As discussed earlier, radish is an excellent source of dietary fibre and it adds bulk to the movements of the bowel. By doing so it reduces the chances of constipation. However, it also helps to make loose stool firm and therefore can be consumed if suffering from diarrhoea.
Radish also promotes bile production, which is very important for good digestion. It also helps to protect vital organs like gallbladder and liver.
19. Helps To Keep Your Skin Age Young And Healthy
Grind raw radish and apply it on the face to get a cleansing effect. Since it contains Vitamin C and antioxidants, it helps to prevent your skin from oxidative damage and any bacterial or fungal infections.
In addition to this radish also has zinc and phosphorus which help to keep the skin fresh for long. Because of the high fibre content, it clears your skin by removing all the toxins and waste.
It helps to get rid of rashes, boils, and other skin problems. Radish also has some other nutrients like phosphorus, zinc and vitamin b members, which work well for the skin.
20. Gives You Healthy Hair
As we know that radish has high water content, so it helps to keep the body hydrated and cool. It gives your hair strength at the roots and keeps the scalp healthy. Applying black radish topically helps to combat the problem of hair fall.
It is also believed to trigger hair growth. To get rid of dandruff, apply some radish juice on your scalp and cover your head with a towel for an hour. Wash off well with water. Another added benefit is that it imparts shine to your hair and gives it a nice texture.
21. Detox Your Kidneys
Being a detoxifier it cleanses and washes the toxins away. It prevents the occurrence of kidney stones and urethral stones by increasing the urine output.It also protects the kidneys from getting infected. Consume radish juice regularly to maintain the overall health of your kidneys!
22. Relieves Insect Bites
Known for its soothing and disinfectant properties, radish is beneficial in case of a bee sting or insect bite. Apply the juice of radish to affected areas to get rid of the burning sensation and pain.
23. Keeps The Body Hydrated
Since radish contains a high percentage of water keeps your body hydrated. It helps to keep dehydration at bay. It is excellent for digestion and also helps in good absorption of nutrients.
24. Good Source Of Iron
Radish contains iron which keeps your body cells, hair and skin healthy and strong. It, therefore, helps to improve your appearance.
25. Good Source Of Protein
Radish has protein which helps in muscle repair and rebuilding of tissues. It should, therefore, form an essential part of your diet.
26. Strong Immune System
This is probably the most important health benefit derived from the radish. 15% of vitamin c intake comes from ½ cup radish.
By consuming radish regularly, you get a daily dose of antioxidants and the old white blood cells get replaced by the new healthy ones. This makes your immunity strong.
27. Helps To Regularise The Menstrual Cycle
Another perk of consuming radish is that it helps to get your periods back on track and helps to keep the cycle normal.
28. Beneficial During Pregnancy
Pregnant women should include radish in their diet as it is a good source of iron and folate which are important nutrients for the mother and the baby.
It also keeps the blood sugar levels and blood pressure under normal values and helps to maintain the count of the red blood cells.
29. Miscellaneous Benefits
There are numerous other benefits of consuming radish which involve good blood circulation, natural mouth freshener, and laxative.
It is a good remedy to get rid of a headache cough, acidity, nausea, gall bladder stones and indigestion.
These were some captivating and interesting health benefits of radish. It is wise therefore to include this amazing veggie in your daily diet.
Nutrition Value Of Radish
Following are the values of various contents Per 100g of Radish:
- DIETARY FIBRE-1.6g
- CALCIUM-25mg
- VITAMIN A-7IU
- SODIUM-39mg
- CARBOHYDRATE-4g
- PHOSPHORUS-22mg
- VITAMIN K-1.3mcg
- POTASSIUM-233mg
- PROTEIN-1g
- IRON-0.34mg
- VITAMIN C-15mg
- FAT-0.1g
- MANGANESE-0.06mg
- PYRIDOXINE-0.071mg
- ENERGY-16kcal
- MAGNESIUM-10mg
- FOLATE-25mcg
- CHOLESTEROL-0mg
- ZINC-0.28mg
- NIACIN-0.254mg
How To Add Radish In Your Diet?
A few ways to which you can add radish in your diet are:
- You can add raw radish along with other vegetables and seasonings in your salads.
- Radish leaves can be added to soups, stews, salads, curries.
- You may also make some interesting dips and chutneys out of radish.
- Use radish as one of the vegetables in pickles.
- You may also use it as a filling in wraps, rolls or sandwiches.
So go ahead and make radish a part of your diet and see its amazing benefits of your overall health.
