• Home
  • General Gardening
    • Flowers
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Garden Diseases
    • Garden Pests
    • Gardening 101
    • Specialty Gardening
    • Soil & Composting
    • Product Reviews
    • Landscaping
    • Trees & Shrubs
  • Growing Vegetables
    • Tomatoes
    • Fruits By Name
    • Vegetables By Name A-M
    • Vegetables by Name N-Z
  • Nutrition

Gardening Channel

Advice and Tips on How to Garden

You are here: Home / Fruits & Vegetables / Nutrition / The Health Benefits of Radishes

The Health Benefits of Radishes

9 Comments

Health Benefits of Radishes

Most of us know radishes as those red outlined white discs in our salads. But radishes come in a variety of shapes and colors. These root vegetables can be red, purple, even blackish in color. Most are roundish in shape with a thin stringy root at the end. But some are more cylindrical in form. There are over 250 different types of radishes.

Growing Radishes

Radishes, believe it or not, are cousins to kale, Brussels sprouts and cabbages as part of the cruciferous vegetable family. They are one of the easiest and fastest edible plants to grow either in the garden or indoors in pots. If you are growing the plants by seed, some varieties can be planted in winter as long as you plant them a good two inches down in the soil and two inches apart. More commonly, the seeds are planted in the early spring at 3/4 to 1 inch depth. Once they begin to leaf out, the plants should be thinned to six inches apart. But don’t discard them. Wash and tear the leaves up in your next salad.

Winter radishes can survive the first frosts and will actually be a bit sweeter is left in the ground. But be sure to pull them before the first big freeze.

Spring radishes need six hours of light a day and a pH in the soil of 5.8 to 6.8. They should be planted a good month to six weeks prior to the last expected frost. The optimum weather for these radishes is 50-65 degrees, otherwise they will wither and become bitter tasting. Mulching around the stems is necessary so the plants can retain water and thwart weeds.

Nutritional Benefits of Radishes

Radishes are most often served raw and sliced into salads. Some are carved into rose bud petal shapes as a garnish. But in many cultures, radishes are also known as daikons. They are cooked or boiled into stews and other dishes. The oil from the seeds has medicinal purposes for the liver and skin in folk medicine.

The scientific name for the radish is Raphanus Sativus and it comes from the Brassicaceae family. Radishes are beneficial for the digestive system, especially the liver because of its sulphur base. Because they are so rich in roughage, otherwise known as indigestible carbohydrates, they assist the intestines and colon in eliminating waste. The black radish bulb, as well as the leaves, are used as an herbal treatment for jaundice because it promotes the flow of bilirubin and bile. People eat radishes as a detoxifier.

Radish leaves contain ten times more Vitamin C than the root bulb, so often radish leaves are served in salads as well. Both the leaves and the root are rich in calcium, potassium and copper. The Red Globes contain molybdenum which nutritionists are discovering is an essential enzyme all life requires to thrive.

For 100 grams of radishes, or about 3.5 ounces:
Calories 12-16
Carbohydrates 3.4 g
Fiber 1.6 g
Protein 0.68 g
Fat 0.10 g
Calcium 25 mg
Potassium 233 mg
Vitamin C 14.8 mg
Vitamin B complexes:
(Riboflavin, Niacin, Thiamine, B6, Folate) 0.541 mg

Radish Cautions and Concerns

There is a great deal of talk about the prevention of cancer benefits of radishes. Many people claim it to be a cure-all for rashes, fevers and inflamed muscles.

More substantiated are studies that show, because of the potassium found in such great quantities, radishes may be beneficial for those suffering from high blood pressure. However, if you are on anti-coagulants, check with your doctor before eating them.

Black radishes may also be a cholesterol reducer, but so far the studies have been done on rats and not humans. If you have thyroid problems, consult your physician before adding radishes to your diet as the goitrogens in them can affect the thyroid’s function. And, of course, all radish root bulbs and leaves should be thoroughly washed prior to consumption.

Want to learn more about the health benefits of radishes?

For more information about radishes, how to grow them and their potential health benefits, check out these websites:
Radish Nutrition from the CDC
Growing Radishes in Your Garden from University of Illinois Extension

health benefits of radishes

Related

Filed Under: Nutrition, Radishes Tagged With: growing radishes, health benefits of radishes, radish nutrition

Comments

  1. George says

    June 19, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Thanks for the wonderful information. I just wanted to point out one thing on this page that is not quite accurate. You said:

    “The Red Globes contain molybdenum which nutritionists are discovering is an essential enzyme all life requires to thrive.”

    Strictly speaking, molybdenum itself is not an enzyme. It is a co-factor for many types of enzymes (i.e. catalytic proteins) and without it the enzymes themselves can not perform their catalysis properly.

    Cheers.

    Reply
    • lars says

      June 20, 2011 at 11:22 am

      @George

      Thanks for the clarification!

      Reply
    • $ofies mom says

      April 16, 2016 at 7:58 am

      Entire article informative, and your information just added clarification. . . Thank you

      Reply
  2. Marie Charlesworth says

    March 16, 2015 at 5:16 am

    I wonder if this varietyyy(pinkish color) will grow here in the Philippines as well, the same as the elongated white as this is the only one that I’ve seen grown around here. And if so, where could I order the seeds of this variety? This pink colored radish is really good for salad, I used to have them for our salad when we were living in England.

    Reply
  3. PHYLLIS WATSON says

    November 24, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    NO COMMENT BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION” HOW DO YOU ”COOK” REDISHE’S

    Reply
  4. ahsan Baig Mughal says

    March 2, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    Highly appreciated to provide fruitful knowledge about this radish (Pink). I also add more information that there is much more qty. of Potassium, which absorbs the Oxygen in the body which means your memory is increased.

    Reply
    • RJ says

      March 29, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      Ahsan, How does oxygen in the body reduce your memory? When your brain lacks oxygen you lose your capacity to function normally.

      Reply
  5. Mary says

    April 16, 2016 at 2:40 am

    Thank you for sharing about radishes,good to know the health benefits, will get some in the garden thanks again

    Reply
  6. Rifat says

    March 2, 2018 at 3:35 am

    Great information . Love this page so much to learn ????????

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join 1.5 million Facebook Followers!

Join 1.5 million Facebook Followers!
Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

Our gardening obsessed editors and writers choose every product we review. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you.

Gardening Channel. Copyright © 2025. All Rights Reserved.

 

Loading Comments...