Home Health & Wellness Nutrition Tips
Updated: Jan. 12, 2024
You already love the sharp bite a fresh radish adds to salad. But did you know about the radish health benefits that work wonders for your general wellness, too?
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Help prevent cancer
What are the health benefits of radishes? Where do we start! Like other cruciferous vegetables, radishes contain compounds that help purge cancer-causing substances and prevent the development of tumors. The crunchy detoxifiers are thought to help protect the body against colon, kidney, intestinal, stomach and oral cancer, in particular.
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Fill you up (at 1 calorie per radish)
Are radishes good for weight loss? The numbers say yes. Each radish has just one calorie, no fat and virtually no carbs. And that calorie isn’t empty—radishes are a good source of vitamin C.
This is the best time of year to get fresh radish from your local grocer.
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Wipe out fungus
Radishes are a natural antifungal agent. Radish juice contains enzymes that kill a common fungus normally found in humans. This fungus—Candida albicans—can cause yeast infections. Try a Spring Pea and Radish Salad to add some antifungal snap to your diet.
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Improve the look of your skin
The vitamin C in radishes, along with zinc and phosphorus can help you fight skin dryness, acne and rashes. The high water content in radishes (and other fruits and vegetables) also helps hydrate the skin. To create a natural cleanser or mask for your face, use smashed raw radishes.
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Keep you hydrated
Hydration is good for more than skin, though. Radishes keep your whole body hydrated because of their high-water content. Good hydration can give you more energy, boost your mood and even help inhibit infections in the kidneys.
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Support a healthy heart
Radishes are also a good source for anthocyanins. These flavonoids not only give radishes their red color, they also help keep our hearts pumping. Radishes aren’t the only superstars in the produce section, though. Look for all seven superfoods that will keep you feeling healthy.
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Keep your digestive system moving
Radishes are packed with roughage and fiber, so they’ll help keep your digestive system moving. (A half-cup serving of radishes contains 1 gram of fiber.)
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Lower blood pressure
Radishes are high in potassium, which can help lower your blood pressure. They also support the generation of collagen, which helps keep blood vessels healthy. Radishes are also thought to control damage to red blood cells and help increase oxygen supply to the blood.
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Detoxify your blood
Are radishes good for your liver? You bet. Radishes can be very good for the liver and stomach as they act as a powerful detoxifier. Radishes reduce the destruction of red blood cells caused by jaundice by increasing the supply of fresh oxygen to the blood.
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Boost immunity and energy
A half cup of radishes daily has almost 15 percent of your daily intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C not only boosts your immune system, it also helps regulate the metabolism and is key to the body’s process of changing fat into usable energy.
