Radish is an edible root crop that has a juicy, pungent or sweet taste. It is called daikon in some Asian markets. This healthy veggie is usually eaten raw with its young leaves being cooked like spinach.
Experts revealed that radishes are cruciferous vegetables that may help prevent cancer. Aside from being great detoxifiers, they are also rich in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, fiber and anthocyanins, a flavonoid with antioxidant effects that were found to have a protective effect against some type of cancer like stomach, oral, kidney, colon, and intestinal cancer. In addition to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, radishes also demonstrated chemopreventive effects.
Furthermore, according to Linus Pauling Institute, cruciferous veggies like radishes have compounds that are broken down into isothiocyanates (chemicals produced by plants) when combined with water.
Isothiocyanates have a major impact on the genetic pathways of cancerous cells since they alter the pathways so much, that they can cause apoptosis (cell death) thereby eliminating cancerous cells from reproducing and preventing tumor development.
According to studies, radish root extract contains several types of isothiocyanates that caused cell death in some cancer cell lines.
In a comparative study conducted in 2009 and published in Food Chemistry, researchers have found that radish can help stop tumor growth by 95-100 % for breast and stomach cancer.
Delicious Ways To Prepare Radishes
- Serve them raw–with butter and salt
- Roast them
- Give a tuna salad or chicken salad pep and crunch by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of chopped radishes.
- Make a delicious radish soup.
- Shave or slice them super thin then toss in salads
- Add thin radish slices to sandwiches.
- Pickle them.
- Use radishes as a healthy crudité for dips.
