Daikon: health benefits and harm

Root plant, which is distinguished by many names - Japanese radish, Chinese radish, baalobo - and belongs to the cabbage family, is known in the people as daikon. The benefits and disadvantages of the product, depending on the application, are evaluated in different ways. But in most cases, this root will give strong health to someone who will eat it regularly for food, although there are some contraindications.

Daikon: a brief description of the product

The motherland of this product is East Asia. It was here that the first wild-growing daikons appeared. The main distinguishing features of this root crop:

• A pleasant taste is ensured by the absence of mustard oil in the composition, unlike ordinary radish;
• A peculiar aroma;
• Low caloric content;
• Unique mineral composition.

If you translate from the Japanese language "daikon", then this word means "big root". In Russian literature there are such names of this product as "muli", "sweet radish" or "white radish".

The Daikon is distinguished by its high yield: during the year it is possible to harvest several crops. This is due to the vegetative mode of reproduction. The daikon grows to 60 cm (sometimes more) in length, and sometimes weighs more than a kilogram.

Nutritive value of the product

Multiple beneficial substances and trace elements are present in a product such as daikon. Benefit and harm, their ratio are determined precisely by its nutritional composition. In white radish contains the following components, which are especially appreciated by nutritionists:

• Vitamins: C, beta-carotene, group B;
• Mineral substances (calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper, sodium, iodine, selenium, chromium, phosphorus, iron);
• Protein and protein compounds - lysozyme, characterized by antiseptic properties;
• Fitontsidy - have antimicrobial effect, increase the body's resistance to a different kind of harmful fungi and bacteria, infectious diseases;
• Antioxidants - are indispensable in the fight against such a disease as atherosclerosis (they also clean the blood vessels of the body of cholesterol, make them more elastic);
• Fiber - helps to cleanse the body of various contaminants and slags;
• Isiodearic acid and ether interfere with the development of cancer;
• The absence of fat in the composition of the daikon makes it an ideal product for people who observe a variety of diets.

In 100 gr. This root vegetable contains only 21 calories. Therefore daikon perfectly suits as the main product on days off.

Application daikon

This root vegetable is widely used in cooking. Soft taste and pleasant peculiar aroma make it a universal vegetable in comparison with his relatives radish and radish. Russian cuisine prefers basically only salads from daikon. And in Japan, for example, there are many more recipes from this product: pies filled with this vegetable, kimchi (pickled (pickled) daikon for the winter in fragrant spices). Also, soup from this root is popular here. It is served with meat, fish, stew with seafood.

In dietology, the daikon has also found its application. Benefits and harm to health, their ratio, of course, is determined by the doctor, taking into account the individual characteristics of each organism. Dyke diet is prescribed strictly by the doctor, since this vegetable has a number of contraindications.

In alternative medicine, this root is also actively used. Its composition has a beneficial effect on human health:

• Cleanses the liver and kidneys, removes stones and dissolves the sand;
• Actively fighting respiratory and other infectious diseases;
• Accelerates the healing of wounds;
• Helps to cleanse the skin of acne;
• Prevents the development of cancer in the body;
• Eliminates hangover symptoms;
• Increases appetite;
• Activates the digestive system.

Daikon: benefit and harm, recipes

In Japan or China, there are many ways to prepare daikon. Benefits and harm, given the composition of this root, are obvious, so every housewife would be well served by having several recipes from this vegetable.

It should be noted that the daikon is delicious in any form. It is eaten raw (salads), stewed with other vegetables, baked, boiled, fried. But all the same it is better to use this root, without subjecting it to heat treatment, since a high degree destroys vitamin C, which is beneficial to the body.

Recipe for salad from white radish and carrots

Finely chop daikon and carrots (with the same strips), season with a special sauce. For its preparation, take 15 ml of vinegar (rice), 5 ml of oil (sesame), 5 ml of sauce (soy) and a pinch of sugar. All thoroughly mix and fill with this mixture of lettuce. Salad should be infused for several hours in the refrigerator.

Salad from daikon and meat

Boiled meat cut into thin strips. Wipe the raw daikon on a large grater. Eggs and onions cut into small cubes. Serve the salad with sour cream or mayonnaise.

Daikon: benefit and harm, timing of harvesting and storage

This root is very useful, despite some contraindications. And even in such cases, doctors recommend using daikon, but together with other products. For example, its juice should be diluted with water so that it is not so saturated, and then you can drink such a drink to people with digestive system problems. Since the damage to the vegetable is so insignificant, this root crop is very popular among the population.

Daikon has the following advantages:

• Unpretentious when growing;
• Has a delicate peculiar taste and aroma;
• Long stored;
• Helps get rid of many ailments.

Grow daikon as well as ordinary radish. Cleaning is carried out approximately 80 days after it was dropped into the ground. Keep the root vegetables in tightly closed boxes with sand.

In the refrigerator this vegetable is stored no more than 4 weeks.

Contraindications to the use of daikon

Not all people can eat such a vegetable as a daikon. The benefits and harms of it, based on the composition, are obvious, but there are still some contraindications to the use of such a root crop:

• Problems with the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, ulcer and other diseases), because the organic acids contained in the daikon cause gastric irritation and flatulence;
• Kidney disease;
• gout.

For a variety of daily diets, a vegetable such as daikon, whose benefit and harm is obvious, is excellent: the presence of a large number of nutrients and a minimal list of contraindications. This root is an excellent tool for maintaining the health of the body!