Eat This Zesty Bone-Building Veggie In Season Now - Save Our Bones

After an unusually long winter, spring is finally here. And as the weather warms up, it’s a great time to look for the season’s freshest produce that can also help you build your bones.

There’s a crunchy and alkalizing little vegetable that’s a bone health treasure trove, containing no less than nine Foundation Supplements, yet it’s often overlooked. It also happens to be at its best this time of year.

The Radish: A Good Source of Vitamin C… and Much More…

The alkalizing radish is a member of the mustard family, and it comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. The most common variety is bright red-and-white, but all varieties contain Vitamin C, a Foundation Supplement.

In fact, there are 8.6 mg of this bone smart vitamin and antioxidant in a half-cup serving of raw radishes. If you’ve been following the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, you’re familiar with the importance of antioxidants in bone health. And no less important is the fact that Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen and bone formation.

It’s Impressive How Much Nutritional Power is Packed Into These Little Veggies!

Below is the list of other Foundation Supplements found in radishes:

  • Vitamin K is a bone health superstar. Researchers were amazed to find out that Vitamin K is crucial in maintaining healthy bones. They discovered that Vitamin K is essential to the formation of new bone, playing a complex role in the process.
  • Magnesium is crucial to more than 300 body processes, and it’s vital for calcium absorption.
  • Calcium is “the” bone-health mineral, and while it’s not the only one, there’s no denying its importance. If you’re looking for a plant-based source of this mineral, radishes are a crisp, colorful option!
  • Zinc is often overlooked with regard to bone health. But it actually helps regulate bone turnover, or remodeling. Studies have shown that individuals with osteoporosis often have low levels of zinc.
  • Folate, Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine, and Riboflavin, all of which are B vitamins that act synergistically with each other and with Vitamin B12.
  • Flavonoid antioxidants, such as beta carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein.

Who knew that little radish on the side of your plate had so much to offer?

Not Among the Dirty Dozen

There’s another important characteristic of radishes: they are not on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list. So it’s not likely that they are contaminated with pesticides. Whether you get the conventional or organic kind, select smooth-skinned and firm bulbs with vibrant leaves (if still attached).

A Different Way to Enjoy Radishes

There is more to the radish than just a crunchy salad addition. For an interesting antipasto dish, try this delicious and easy to prepare recipe.

Roasted Radish Antipasto

4 Servings

Ingredients

2 bunches radishes, trimmed
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon rosemary, ground
2 teaspoons garlic, minced (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Slice radishes into halves (or quarters, if large).
In a bowl, stir the oil, rosemary, and garlic together; add radishes and toss to coat.
Spread radishes on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. 
Drizzle with lemon juice and serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!

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Comments on this article are closed.

  1. Alice O'Neil

    See if just the recipe arrives

  2. Caroline

    I am on Coumadin and have been “ordered” to avoid Vitamin K. How can I safely get around that? Does anyone else on Coumadin have a solution?

  3. tom burr

    THIS MAY SOUND A BIT OFF, MY MOTHER WOULD BAKE BREAD WHEN EVER WE GOT FLOUR. ANYWAY WE WOULD GO TO THE GARDEN AND PULL AS MANY RADISH,S AS WE WANTED, WE WOULD SLICE THE RADISH’S AND CUT SLICES OF HOT WARM BREAD AND MAKE A SANDWHICH. I DO THIS TODAY ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE A NEW GARDEN FULL OF OTHER VEG,S ALSO.

    • LynnCS

      I love radish sandwiches. Unfortunately we used the fluffy white bread of those days and lots of butter/margarine. Love onion sandwiches too and cucumber sandwiches. Yum! Glad we started out life loving vegis. We thought it was because we were poor and had to have a garden! Thus the evolution of America to the SAD diet and ill health. That’s what lobbies and advertising (brainwashing.)can do. The need for growing their bottom line has all but destroyed the health of society. We can be a positive force by eating as much REAL food as possible and helping others learn to eat high fiber, low fat, vegis and fruit, including those wonderful starches we have been told are so bad. Lots of great nutrition in potatoes, brown rice and other basic starch foods. We need good carbs to feed all our cells. Your brain will thank you and your depression will be gone. Nothing to lose except all your excess weight. Yay!

      • LynnCS

        Oh and, I digress, those wonderful radishes. Great in all sorts of salads, stir ‘fries’ and just out of hand. I understand they are a great source of iron too. If you have thyroid probs, iron problems often go with that. Eat them wonderful radishes!

        • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

          Love your attitude, Lynn! 😀

    • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

      I think that sounds really tasty, Tom! What a wonderful family memory. 🙂

  4. Lucia Shalon

    Thank you Vivian, I din’t know that radish have a Good Source of all these Vitamins and Antioxidants, now I will be eating more every day to build healthy bones. Thank you for the information about radish and for you good recipes that you always sent to as. God Bless You.

    • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

      You are most welcome, Lucia!

  5. Tanialee

    Hello Everybody. I would love to eat radishes for bone health but they give me bad heartburn so they are a no no for me. Anyone else have this problem too?

  6. Wayne Boswell

    I have been trying to follow the alkaline diet, but I don’t know whether I am succeeding or not. Is there some way to determine my body PH at home? Thank you for your wonderful program.

    • Sharon

      Yes, in the health food stores, they have ph testing paper. I’ve used it to test my urine ph.

  7. Veronica

    Thanks a lot for that informations I will definately try it.
    Veronica

  8. shula

    Thank you,Vivian, for the information about radish. Is it also true they contain silica for the bones?

    Shula

  9. myrtice simpson

    never would have thought these little red vegies had so many benfits

  10. Judy

    I would like to know does the white skin radish is as good as the small red radishes and contain the all those minerals?

  11. Chuck S

    I would guess that bugs don’t bother radishes much, therefore they don’t need much pesticide. Same with onions.

    • Csd

      No bugs on radishes? Something ate holes in all of mine this year. the beets too. 🙁

  12. Bonnie

    The radish recipe sounds delicious….but wondering if putting the radishes under a high heat of 450 degrees will destroy the vitamin C? Also will the olive oil turn carcinogenic because that temperature is beyond its smoke point?

    • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

      There certainly is a lot of conflicting information out there about raw vs. cooked vegetables! Some vitamins are more bioavailable when a food is cooked, while others decrease during cooking. That’s why I suggest variety. 🙂 This is just one way to prepare radishes; eating them raw or steamed are some other ways. If you incorporate a variety of methods into your food preparation, then you’re getting everything that food has to offer. 🙂

      If you’re concerned about the high cooking temperature and the olive oil, you can choose an oil with a higher smoke point, like safflower or canola, which are both alkalizing. 🙂

  13. lynn kemmeter

    Thank you.
    I love radishes, but am wondering if they lose some of their nutritional value when cooked (as with many fresh veges). Do you know anything about what percent of nutritional value might be lost by roasting?

  14. Sharon

    I’ve loved radishes since childhood — and am delighted to know that this tasty treat is as healthy as it is delicious. I like them best sliced on salads, but I will definitely try your recipe.

  15. Jane Hunting

    Thank you so much for your ever intesting posts Vivien. As one lady confirms, sometimes our Higher Selves know what we need at a certain time and my 81 year old father has suddenly started craving radishes…I wonder why? LOL I showed him your article on friendly bacteria helping with diabetes (as well as bone health) and he is now a convert to a daily dose of pro biotic Actimel. (I tried this myself but it gave me a very upset tummy so maybe once a week would suit me better>) Keep up the good word and THANK YOU! 🙂

  16. Betty

    Thanks for this info. I don’t usually use radish but will certainly try liking them again.

    • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

      Sometimes, learning a new way to prepare a food can help you re-discover its virtues! 🙂

  17. Rosemary

    I find I have certain cravings if I’m not to up par. The radish story goes along with my craving for the pith of oranges. It got rid of constant congestion after a cold by leaving as much of it on after lightly peeling an orange. The white pith tasted marvelous. Head to the fruits and veggie dept. and see what turns our head.

    • LynnCS

      Since I was a little kid, I’ve loved the white pith of oranges. Later I learned that it is full of bioflavanoids. Who cudathunkit?

    • Vivian Goldschmidt, MA

      Rosemary, it’s amazing what can happen if we listen to our bodies’ needs! Maybe that’s what was going on in Ghassan’s story below… 🙂

  18. Aaron

    Thanks, I will try upping my radish intake. But I think most of the nutrients are gone by the time I get them from the grocery store; they rarely taste pungent or have a “bite” – mostly watery-bland. So I am probably not getting all of those Foundation supplements you listed.

    On an off-topic subject, but still maybe related to bone health: is there anything to some on-the-web news that “oil of oregano” is effective for supporting bone health?

  19. Ghassan Mahir

    Once I read about a strange story involving these lovely radishes. A lady who has been suffering from arthritis (I think rheumatoid, not osto) and really fed up with it. Years after suffering and ineffective conventional treatment (as usual), one day she came out from her GP’s clinic (family doctor) and when she was walking in the street the following sentence jumped into her mind (or from her mind): ‘I can kill a raddish!’ This she did, she bought raddish from the supermarket and consumed the whole bag in one go. To her amazement, she felt considerable relief in her joints, something which encouraged her to bring more raddish and consume in the following days. The result was the disappearance of her arthtitis – complete disappearance. So which of these ingredients that our wonderful Vivian has listed, some or all, was behind this ‘miracle’ cure, is for anyone’s guess.

    • Janet UK

      This is one veg we can buy all year round in the supermarket over in the UK! My husband always has them every day on his sandwiches! I have one now and again, but will be eating more now! I have Polymyalgia rhematic and took bisphosphonates for 4yrs. Have bad osteoporosis, so being a veggie, I like to know about all these good things!

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