I've finally decided to embark on a short juice feast to speed up the detox and healing process a bit and step into the next phase of my raw food journey. In my research on healing thyroid imbalances with raw foods, radish juice has come up a fair amount, so I've decided to include about 1/2 cup of it daily to ensure I get all the benefits. It's good to juice the green tops, which contain calcium, riboflavin and carotene, as well so you don't miss any key nutrients.
I have only used red radishes and rainbow radishes so far, but am going to splurge on black radishes this week. Russian studies have proven them to be extremely effective for treating thyroid imbalances. The radish has an element called raphanin in it that balances thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Raphanin is what you might call an adaptogen, meaning that it will bring your thyroid into balance whether it is under- or over-active.
Radishes are very beneficial to our overall health - they are good sources of Potassium, Magnesium, Vitamin C, Iron, and amylase. The radish is also high in sulfur, which is a mineral that helps build and maintain youthful skin, and has proven to be good for treating acne. Radish juice has been used for treating skin conditions, asthma and sinus problems.
The power of the radish has been recognized in traditional oriental medicine for centuries. It has been used to help remove hardened accumulations in the intestines as well as reduce phlegm. It has also been found recently that radishes contain xylogen, which promotes phagocyte activity which helps in breaking down cancerous cells.
Radish-carrot has been the tastiest combination I have tried so far. The radish gives a nice fiery tang to the sweetness of the carrot juice, and as long as you are getting your radish fresh from the ground with a higher water content, they won't be bitter or too over-powering.
