Radishes don't look so interesting on the vitamin mineral charts, but they have 'properties' that do amazing things. They are part of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae). I know what you're thinking: "you don't eat those things, do you?" The truth is: several times a week and here's why!
I discovered radishes in France because they taste good over there! The French breakfast radish is the most ubiquitous variety in France because it's not bitter and you can actually eat it! The only thing you can do with those nasty hot things usually sold in America is decorate a tray of other food with them! (Food is supposed to taste good. And it's usually more nutritious when it does!)
When I started eating these sweet radishes (with a mayonnaise dijon dip) they helped digestion and helped me stay thin, effortlessly, a little French secret not in the current diet books - though I didn't know why.
Now, study after study explains why and touts more radish benefits than ever imagined. If you can't get the tasty French kind at your grocer, Daikon radishes aren't bad or it's easy to grow your own French Breakfast radishes. They can grow indoors near a sunny window and have a short time to harvest - 21-31 days.
French Breakfast radishes are sweetest when grown in cool weather - hot weather makes all radishes more bitter. They are ready for harvest in 3 to 6 weeks!
Radishes Studies and Research
When you read about radish root, you are reading about radishes because the part we eat is the root, like carrots.
Radish root extract induced increased gastrointestinal motility, found researchers in Wonkwang University School of Medicine in December, 2005.
"Methylisogermabullone isolated from radish roots stimulates small bowel motility via activation of acetylcholinergic receptors." Wonkwang University School of Medicine in December, 2005.
Radishes Inhibit fungal growth? That's what a new study from Korea says. This could be great news for Candida yeast overgrowth sufferers. 2006 Jun 30 Seoul National University, Seoul
Radish extracts suppress tumor growth. Extracts of young radishes cultivated with sulfur suppressed pulmonary tumorigenesis, possibly due to increased activity of detoxification enzymes in the liver and lung, and partly due to cell cytotoxicity. 2006 Mar University of Ulsan, Korea
Black Radish Studies and Research
The black radish is famous in France for its diuretic and anti-constipation activities. It was always folklore before but new studies confirm it. It is thought to be much stronger in these respects than other varieties of radish. Black radish doesn't taste good by itself so I buy the juice which you can make yourself, if you can't find it.
I brought back black radish juice in vials to my friend and said, "Did it work?" and she said... "Oh.. my... gawd..." That means yes.
Black Radishes improve the metabolism of fats. (voila!) In a study in Budapest with rats, the squeezed juice from black radish root exhibited significant antioxidant properties on rats fed a high-lipid / fat diet. Before the test they noticed that the lipid peroxidation and fat metabolism was much worse in the rats fed fats than it was in rats not fed fats, but when they added the black radish juice to the diet of the fat-eating rats these processes significantly improved! A study in Budapest, Hungary 2005 July
Black radishes have significant antioxidant and detoxifying activity! In the same Hungarian study they found that black radish juice prevents the oxidation of fats. Budapest, Hungary 2005 July
French Breakfast radishes are the standard in markets everywhere but the U.S., it seems. We snack on these with mild Dijon Mayonnaise. You won't believe you're eating radishes for a snack! Willingly!
Author's note: I'm a fat fan. You can eat those radishes pictured here and want more food, or you can add the mayonnaise dijon and be full for hours. It's the job of fats to to enhance flavors and to give you a full feeling without your needing to overstuff yourself and stretch your stomach.
But adding too many of even the "nutritious" fats to your diet can cause a host of problems and this oxidation is one of them that's cancer-causing.
Also, toxins are stored in your fat cells - and for a loooong time, which we see (taste and smell, too) when we do a fast. So an anti-toxin regime is: don't give your body too many fatty places in which to store toxins. And eat radishes. Nature seems to have provided them precisely to help us process the other foods we eat.
Daikon Radish Studies and Research
The Daikon radish is one you can buy at the store, chop up and actually eat with a dip! It's big and white and because, like all radishes, it's a member of the cruciferous family, more and more studies are being done with it. Here are some of the latest findings and they probably apply to other radishes as well:
Daikon radish sprouts were shown to decrease fat levels, decreasing the hepatic (liver) levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL) in normal rats and decreased triglyceride levels in diabetic rats. Study on diabetics: 2006 Apr;20 Toita Woman's College, Tokyo, Japan
Prevention and alleviation of diabetes: the same researchers found that Daikon radish sprouts lowered plasma levels of fructosamine, glucose and insulin without changes in the plasma lipid parameters in diabetic rats.
More powerful antioxidant than Vitamin C: Extracts (methanol) from 11 different plants including Daikon radish sprouts were tested for their free radical scavenging abilities and Daikon radish sprouts proved to be the most powerful, 1.8 times more powerful than Vitamin C. I imagine most radish sprouts share this property. 2003 Dec 31 Nagoya, Japan
Drink your radish juices hot! Hot water extracts of Daikon radish have more antioxidant activity than room-temperature, found a study in 2003 in Japan. (I'll bet this holds true for other teas and infusions as well.)
Radishes for a good mood and better sleep: L-tryptophan in radishes! The ever-elusive tryptophan that everyone wants to take for its mood and sleep benefits (but which the government won't let anyone sell because a bad batch produced serious side-effects!) is present in radishes! In the above study of the Daikon radish, L-tryptophan was found in water extracts of any temperature.
They also, incidentally, found that the the tryptophan changed in the body to 5-hydroxy tryptophan - known as 5-HTP, a precursor to serotonin. A plant-based 5-HTP supplement is popular for its anti-depressant, appetite suppressant and sleep aiding properties and it's often used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, too.
