Radishes - their health benefits may surprise you

(NaturalNews) I remember the days when the typical American salad was a bowl full of torn, crisp, iceberg lettuce with a few tiny pieces of red cabbage and carrot, a wedge or two of tomato, a slice of onion, a slice of cucumber, and several slices of red radish.

The only other time I ate radishes was when I was trying to lose weight. Radishes and salt along with celery and carrot sticks were the favored, low-calorie option. I knew little about the health benefits from this noble plant until later years when Spanish black radish supplements became a common treatment option in our household for bacterial and viral infections. We used them for everything from strep throat to pneumonia, back in the days when we still got sick.

Radishes are a root vegetable; all parts of the plant are edible - raw or cooked. As a root vegetable, they absorb nutrients directly from the earth in which they are grown. They also absorb toxins. Be sure to choose organic root vegetables.

Radishes come in varying shapes and sizes from large to small, oblong to round, and in colors that include white, black, pink, red, yellow, green, and purple. All are a great source of vitamin C with a cup of raw radishes providing 29% of your daily recommendation along with many other nutrients.

Health benefits of radishes

The health benefits of radishes are truly impressive. They are good for the liver and stomach, the kidneys and bladder, the lungs, the cardiovascular system, and the immune system. They purify the blood and eliminate waste, detoxify the body, and are an anti-congestive. They are used to treat and prevent cancer, jaundice, constipation, urinary tract and kidney infections, skin ailments, and more.

For medicinal purposes radishes are eaten whole, juiced, or concentrated and used for supplements to treat a variety of illnesses and conditions. Oil from the seeds is also used for medicinal purposes.

According to Organic Facts, the vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins in radishes and the radish's ability to detoxify are responsible for its reputation for treating cancer - particularly "...colon, kidney, intestinal, stomach and oral cancer." They also state, "...the isthiocyanates found in radishes have a major impact on the genetic pathways of cancerous cells. They alter the pathways so much, in fact, that they can cause apoptosis, cell death, thereby eliminating cancerous cells from reproducing."

Use radish juice to treat bug bites or bee stings. It will help with itching as well.

Conclusion

In an 80% raw diet, radishes certainly hold their own as a daily diet staple. We grate radishes along with carrots and beets in a food processor to mix with our greens and other vegetables. Read the 80% Raw Food Diet to learn more about a truly healthy diet and The Benefits of Root Vegetables for a great radish recipe.

Sources:

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com

http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/issue/11-80-raw-food-diet/

https://www.naturalnews.com/031944_radishes_health_benefits.html

About the author:
Allene Edwards first became interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatment modalities when she successfully used diet therapy to manage her children�s ADHD. Later when she became chronically ill with an auto-immune disease that multiple doctors could not identify, much less cure, she successfully treated both the symptoms and the cause through naturopathic treatment and nutrition. She is the Managing Editor of Organic Lifestyle Magzine and a regular contributor.