The ancient Chinese and Greeks valued black radish very highly: it was believed that it costs as much gold coins as the root crop itself weighs. It was no less popular in Ancient Egypt, as evidenced by the inscriptions on the pyramids and ancient excavations.
The homeland of this vegetable is Egypt, from which it fell on the shores of ancient Hellas, and then began its march through Europe. Most likely, this variety of radish came to Russia along with numerous caravans of merchants coming from Asia. The Russians quickly realized what kind of treasure came into their hands and found a worthy use for it.
In ancient recipes, black radish was used as the main component of the turkey - dishes for the poor, in Russia, traditional healers juice of radish treated many diseases of the respiratory system, stomach and intestines, struggled with copious hair loss. Northerners, or rather Pomors, usually took her with them on a long voyage - she helped them cope with scurvy and other diseases at sea.
Doctors from many countries in the Middle Ages almost equally used this vegetable, which is a natural antibiotic.
Black radish is an unpretentious medicinal plant that is part of the cruciferous family. She already in the first year forms a socket, sometimes reaching a height of one and a half meters and a fetal weight of up to almost 3 kg.
For medicinal purposes, this vegetable uses root vegetables and seeds, which are harvested in the summer for future use and stored in vegetable stores until spring.
The taste of black radish is very burning, the reason for which is the essential oils and glycosides that make up its composition. Its rhizomes contain sugar, fats, fiber, vitamins, potassium, calcium, as well as lysozyme, known for its strong bactericidal properties.
This root crop has no side effects, its enzymes dissolve the cell walls of many varieties of existing bacteria, which is why radish juice is so effective in the treatment of purulent and inflammatory processes, ulcers and wounds, it is very useful in diseases of the liver, heart and bronchi.
The reason for such a beneficial effect on the gastric and intestinal tracts is that this vegetable increases the secretion of gastric juice, enhancing the digestion process, its juice is an excellent choleretic, which normalizes the metabolic process in people suffering from inflammatory ailments of the bile duct and gall bladder.
Healers believe that the juice of this plant has strong diuretic properties, so it can be drunk as a healing drink with stones in the gall bladder and kidneys.
However, black cough radish is most helpful. The peoples of Central Asia eat it in the chronic form of this disease in boiled form or just drink a decoction. This remedy helps a lot with whooping cough, tuberculosis and bronchitis, acting simultaneously as an antispasmodic.
Black radish with cough honey is considered the most common medicine among Russian medicine men: for this, its juice is mixed with honey in equal proportions. The resulting mixture can be drunk one spoon several times a day as a soothing and expectorant.
Fiber contained in radish helps to remove cholesterol from the body, preventing the development of atherosclerosis, while also enhancing intestinal motility.
However, with such many beneficial properties, black radish also has a number of contraindications: it should never be used by those people who suffer from erosion or stomach ulcers, gastritis, and also from various organic heart diseases.
Many people like the taste of this extremely useful vegetable, and it seems that even after centuries it is unlikely that in nature there will be the same natural and natural medical folk remedy that will be an adequate replacement for black radish.