Are Radish Leaves Edible??

I am a self-proclaimed lover of garden vegetables. Spinach used to be my most favorite garden vegetable until a certain incident that happened in culinary school shifted my affections to Radish Leaves. Radish usually grows alongside most garden crops, and out of negligence, we uproot them as a weed. Don’t throw away the radish vegetables found in your garden. To throw it away is to miss out on the benefit of the nutritious powerhouse that is radish leaves.

However, the answer to the question, “are radish leaves edible?” is simply yes. Radish leaves are as common as spinach. It is widely known for its peculiar flavor and scents. Radish leaves are used in preparing mouthwatering dishes—both traditional and classic.

The ever-growing radish plant (botanical name Raphanus sativus) is an herbaceous root plant cultivated in most gardens around the world. The radish plants are of the family Brassicaceae. This plant is made up of its stem and rosette. Radish was grown mainly for its finely colored edible taproot before the plant use was later diversified to include its leaves.

Taproot colors vary widely but the most colors found are red and white. Radish can either be an annual or biennial crop, but most commonly annual. The origin of radish is not known but various studies linking its origin to the Mediterranean.

 The most common varieties of radish are; white icicle, sparkler, white beauty, fire and ice, Daikon long white, and the early scarlet gold. Beautiful names right? That should give you an insight into the stunning plant that is Radish.

What do Radish Leaves Look Like?

Radish leaves are found above the ground but on top of the tap-root. Radish leaves are usually smooth in texture and have rough edges; horizontal, heart-shaped, or cylindrical still in shape but the top leaves of the plant are smaller than the ground level leaves. Also, the top leaves are usually cylindrical and narrow-like. Radish leaves are green and turn yellow when it is wilting.

Are Radish Leaves Poisonous?

This is a question that usually bothers the mind of so many chefs. When I was still a student in culinary school, the chef instructor was to teach the rest of the students and l, how to cook a leaf pesto. So, he allowed each of us to pick a type of leaf for the leaf pesto. I was surprised that at the end of the poll, the radish leaves raked the most votes.

I was so surprised because before then I had never heard of radish leaf pesto. I knew radish leaves existed and I could even identify it as then but I thought it was poisonous. I cannot tell you how mortified I was when the chef instructor brought out the radish leaves with the tap-roots still attached to them.

My first thought was “this man wants to kill us” but I looked around me and could see the glee in every other students’ face. So I became curious and I waited patiently for the soup pesto to be cooked. Was it the savory aroma? The peppery flavor? I still don’t know up till today, but all I can say is that ever since then, I’ve wanted to include radish leaves to almost every food recipe. It’s amazing how a single experience can change your opinion about something.

So, the answer to this question is no! Radish leaves are as edible as they come. I had to read about radish leaves before I found out just how nutritious it is. Radish leaves are a nutritional powerhouse and are a nutritional herb. Below are some nutritional health benefits of radish leaves.

• Radish leaves contain minute quantities of potassium, riboflavin, niacin, sodium, manganese, copper, phosphorus, zinc, calcium, and vitamin k and B6. All of which are very vital to your health. Radish leaves contain no fat at all, so much so that it leaves you looking healthy and fresh.

The vitamin C contained in radish is also very important in our diet as it helps in the formation of collagen which is the major component of connective tissues in the body. Vitamin C and the other vitamins also work together to boost the immune system. So, instead of depending on some of these artificially made nutritional supplements, go natural, and eat radish leaves.

• Radish leaves have profound anti-cancer properties. For the fact that radish leaves are cruciferous vegetables, this gives them the ability to act against cancerous cells. Studies have found radish vegetables contain isothiocyanates, which helps the body get rid of carcinogenic materials in the body.
• The antifungal and antibacterial properties of radish leaves are profound. The leaves contain raphanin which possesses antibacterial and antifungal properties. Extraction of the active components of the leaves was found to be active against a myriad of microorganisms—both bacteria and fungi. This goes a long way to tell us that pharmaceutical industries can harness the active components to produce drugs that can fight against infections.
• Radish leaves are highly diuretic. It practically helps in destroying kidney stones and helps to get rid of unwanted materials in the urinary tract.
• I just feel like there’s no end to what radish leaves can do for humans. Did you know that it is scientifically proven that if you ground radish leaves, add a reasonable amount of sugar, and then water, you have automatically gotten a remedy for piles I know right? It’s amazing. This remedy also works for reducing swellings and inflammation through its antibacterial properties
• Another good news, radish leaves also helps individuals suffering from rheumatism. It frees the joints and eases movement. The paste described previously can be applied atop the affected joint and carefully massaged to ease the pain.

You might not be a vegetarian but do not underrate the value of garden vegetables.

Can Radish Leaves be Eaten?

Can radish leaves be eaten? Of course, it can. A thousand yeses should be used to answer this question. The taste of radish leaves might be described as acquired rather than innate. Mere looking at radish leaves, you might never have the intention of eating it. But in cooking it, from the scent alone, you already crave the taste of the food. Radish leaves are peppery, crunchy, and not that sweet. But, it is sweet all the same.

You can add radish to your salad to enhance the taste with its flavor. Check out this cool recipe for radish leaf soup.

Vegan Radish Top Pesto

Can I Juice Radish Leaves?

Everything about radish leaves including the root can be used and has nutritional value. Radish leaves are super quick and easy to grow no matter the weather they are grown in. Research has shown that up till now there is no side effect from the usage of radish leaves. Radish leaves are not only sweet in texture but also medicinal.

So to answer that burning question in your mind which is can you juice radish leaves? Is a definite yes! The radish leave in a liquid form is not only sweet but juicing it can give you that amazing flavor that would make you crave for more. But before you start juicing the radish leaves, one major aspect is selecting the right radish to be used for juicing, you can aim at selecting fresh radishes in-order for it to come out as expected.

Everything about the radish leaves can be juiced including the radish sprouts can also be juiced one method you can use is by wrapping them tightly in a lettuce leaf then passing it through the juicer. The juice flavor has a different flavor from hot to mild, but you can also mix it with other flavors to produce an amazing after taste.

When juicing the Radish leaves to be used within a day of purchase and can also be seen in different colors and shapes like red, pink, and white. We know the radish leaves are edible to eat and add nutritional value to the body but can juicing the radish leaves be beneficial to our health? Yes! Naturally, fruits and vegetable intake is good for the body and helps boost the immune system.

 There are a lot of nutritional benefits in the fruits and vegetables when eaten the body might not be able to break down well like Fibre but when juiced they are dissolved into liquid form and are broken down already for the body to have an easy digestive process. Both the radish leaves and stems are nutritious and edible. They can also be added to smoothies if required.

Are Radish Leaves Good for Diabetes?

Diabetes is an illness of global concern that is one of the leading causes of death. Diabetes is characterized by the patient’s inability to break down glucose. With the increase in diabetes cases and the rise in the price of insulin; there is a need for cheaper and effective alternatives.

The alternatives to synthetic are their counterparts from natural origins. Radish leaves have been seen to be an eligible alternative with its anti-diabetic properties. Even the world health organization suggested that antidiabetic drugs of natural origin—plants should be properly researched and harnessed.

The WHO gave this suggestion because of the dangerous side effects associated with chemotherapeutic drugs.

 Radish leaves and other plants with antidiabetic properties are therefore a safer means for treating diabetes except in cases where the patient is allergic.

What radish does is that it uses the insulin-like component contained in its water-soluble extract, to the advantage of hypoglycemic receptiveness of the diabetic patient. Consumption of radish leaves doesn’t have a major impact on the sugar level of diabetics because it is low on the glycemic index.

In order to keep your body in good shape and prevent further damage control of your health, you could make a healthy diet plan using radish leaves. Radish leaves are known to control high blood sugar in the body of diabetes patients.

The Inclusion of radish leaves to the diet of diabetics will go a long way in keeping them healthy and will also prevent their blood levels from rising. Remember, eating radish a day keeps the doctor away!

Uses of Radish

• Radish is an edible plant that is best harvested during their tender stage so that you can enjoy that amazing flavor. They can be used in different ways such as being used as side dishes and they can be used in cooking other types of food.
• They are not only known for their amazing taste and texture but majorly because of their nutritional benefits to the human body. Due to the presence of a different type of nutritional value in the radish leaves has made it the number one sourced herb used in treating some diseases.
• Further research has shown that radish helps not only the physical aspect of the human body but also the internal organs of the human body for instance the presence of nitric oxide in the plant serves as a regulatory of the coronary blood vessel to prevent heart disease and allow it to function well.  

In Conclusion, Radish leaves are highly medicinal in every aspect of the human body. Not only has the plant helped to cure fatigue, kidney problems, high sugar, piles, and any other ailments that occur in the body.

Lastly, Radish leaves act as a detoxifying agent due to the essential minerals and vitamins it contains. So, it is advisable for any individual that plans to use the Radish leaves to use both the seeds and leaves in whatever diet plan they plan to make use of when trying to maintain a healthy diet plan and they can also be used when cooking and are added to make various side dishes.

If you have been having difficulties with your health or you don’t know what to use after many failed attempts, then you can try Radish leaves although the cure is not 100% certain it is worth a trial.