Discover daikon: The Japanese radish with surprising health perks

You've probably seen this vegetable in the store many times, but perhaps you've never wondered what it is. It's worth catching up because daikon — the Japanese radish — is not just an empty curiosity from the Land of the Rising Sun but also a fantastic source of health benefits worth knowing.

Japanese cuisine is considered — alongside Mediterranean cuisine, with many similarities — to be the healthiest in the world. Japanese people eat healthily, live long, and stay fit into old age. Sea fish, to which the descendants of samurais have both a sentimental attachment and easy access, is just one component of this success. The second is the fermentation process often used in their cuisine, and the third is vegetables, among which we find the daikon radish.

Japanese cuisine is said to use no random ingredients. The master chefs there select products carefully, loving tradition and culture. Daikon radish has been consumed in Japan for centuries, and its taste and characteristic spiciness are believed to be a sign of having something akin to a soul. Well, that's what was said once. We now call it something else: nutritional values. And there truly are many.

But before we explain what you gain from regularly eating the Japanese radish, let's talk about the basics. Daikon is a vegetable that can grow up to 3 feet long, but its weight is very variable. The Guinness World Record has an entry for a radish that reached... over 68 pounds—a lot.

Growing Japanese radish is not difficult and can be quickly done in the US. Daikon has adapted remarkably well to the European climate, as shown by the numbers regarding its production. According to tridge.com, the largest exporter of radishes is... the Netherlands. Interestingly, Germany is the third largest importer of this vegetable. Only the United States and Poland surpass Germany in this ranking.

The Japanese radish, from which chefs in the Land of the Rising Sun prepare salads and pickles, and the so-called tsuma, a garnish for sushi, are engaging in taste and very nutritious. Daikon is high in B vitamins and ascorbic acid. It also contains calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, and iron minerals.

Japanese radish also exhibits antibacterial and antiviral properties. Phenolic compounds help maintain young skin and reduce cancer risk, and unique enzymes speed up the digestion of fats and carbohydrates. Considering this — and the substantial fiber content — a straightforward conclusion can be drawn: daikon is the ideal vegetable for losing weight!