Good for the heart, liver and digestion, this little summer vegetable has all the makings of a health ally.
What if the key to a strong heart and a cleansed liver was hidden on your summer plate? Good news: a crunchy vegetable, omnipresent in our summer salads, our aperitif platters and our picnics, concentrates precisely these protective virtues.
A member of the Brassicaceae family (like broccoli, cauliflower or turnips), this vegetable has many health benefits. Among its properties, the scientific journal Ciencia cites “a diuretic and digestive effect, a contribution to liver care, strengthening the immune system and protecting the cardiovascular system”. On this last point, a study carried out on mice whose arteries were partially blocked by fatty deposits – the famous atherosclerotic plaques at the origin of heart attacks and strokes – shows that the vegetable “improves vascular plaque and plasma lipid profile”with a “anti-atherosclerotic effect comparable to that of atorvastatin”a reference anti-cholesterol drug.
What is this 2-in-1 vegetable? Radish. It is “a root with high nutritional value and a notable content of antioxidants beneficial to health”explains Ciencia. Concerning its effects on the liver, a second study tested one of its compounds on mice suffering from fatty liver (or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, an accumulation of fat in the liver). By limiting the oxidation of hepatic fats, radish allowed the liver’s natural antioxidant defenses to recover. At high doses, it lowered the levels of fats and bad cholesterol (LDL) in the liver, while reducing insulin resistance. Which, the researchers conclude, clearly slows down the progression of the disease. Promising results, which however require confirmation by human trials.
Radish owes its benefits to its excellent composition. It is rich in iodine, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and folate, as well as “antioxidant compounds present in sprouts as well as in leaves and roots”. Radish also offers “high water intake and contains a low amount of fats and carbohydrates”and is distinguished by “its good fiber content, an essential element for the digestive system” : its consumption “can promote an increase in intestinal flora, thus contributing to better digestion”.
To fully benefit from it, it is better to eat it raw. A small bunch per week is enough to vary the pleasures: a few radishes as an aperitif, accompanied by unsalted butter to avoid excess sodium, slices in a salad, to which basil leaves are added, also excellent for the heart. And especially the tops (not to be thrown away) slipped into a soup or mixed into pesto. A reservation, however, for people suffering from thyroid disorders, for whom raw cruciferous vegetables, consumed in large quantities, are sometimes not recommended: do not hesitate to seek advice from a doctor. For everyone else, it’s a small gesture, fresh and seasonal, to adopt without moderation.
