Daikon Health Benefits And Nutrition Facts

Daikon is a cruciferous vegetable and variety of radish that are native to China and Japan. It is a mild flavoured winter radish that has a long, white, napiform root. There are many different types of daikon that vary in appearance, color and the flavor. Daikon generally has a pungent aroma with crunchy texture and slightly spicy flavor. The common daikon resembles a lot like a carrot in appearance and has a woody texture. The daikon comes in different varieties of hues including red, green, and purple. Some of the types of daikon radish are Miyashige white, KN-Bravo, Alpine, japanese Minowase, shunkyo and watermelon radish. It is grown in various shapes that are cylindrical, oblong and spherical.

Origin

It mainly originated in Asia and Europe. Some of the common names of the daikons are white radish, winter radish, oriental radish and long white radish. It is generally cultivated to feed the leaves of the daikon to the livestock, later the daikon is added to many dishes.

How To Enjoy Daikon

Daikons are used mainly in asian cuisine. It is pickled, boiled, grated and made into stew to add to the dishes. It is often seasoned with salt and garlic to bring more flavor. The young leaves of the daikon are boiled and mixed with spices to be eaten as a salad. It makes an excellent side dish for many dishes. It can be easily incorporated into soups and stew to bring out more aroma and flavor.

Nutrition Facts of Daikon

Daikon is a low calorie vegetable with an excellent nutrient content. The daikon are particularly rich in vitamin C, which gives you 124% of the daily value. The other components like vitamin B9, calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, fiber, protein and carbohydrate are present in daikon to add more health benefits.

Benefits of Daikon

Daikon with high nutritive content has the potential to treat many diseases. The plant compound present in the daikon helps to improve heart health and protects you from certain diseases. The biologically active compounds glucosinolates that are broken down to form isothiocyanates may reduce the risk of certain diseases. The extract from the daikon that contains the polyphenol antioxidants, ferulic acid and quercetin has the anti-inflammatory, anticancer and immune boosting properties that will be used to benefit our immune and muscular systems.

The low calorie vegetable with high fiber content will promote weight loss as it gives a feeling of fullness with small bites. People who consume high starchy vegetables can witness the reduction of body fat. It also helps to lower the levels of insulin. The daikon is a vegetable that has the potential to treat many chronic conditions like heart diseases, diabetes and certain types of cancer. It is proven that eating cruciferous vegetables like daikon will extend your life span in a healthier way. Daikons that are rich in folate will highly benefit the woman during the pregnancy, as it plays the crucial role in growth and development of the baby.