A famous Chinese proverb states that in order to keep your child healthy you must feed him/her with Chinese radishes and cabbages. These Chinese radishes, also known as daikon, have proved to provide numerous health benefits for children over the years. Starting from treating indigestion and bloating to smoothening bowel movement for toddlers, daikon has many positive impacts on the overall health of a child. This popular Chinese radish has also proven its worth in curing phlegm from your child’s lungs. Some recent researches also have revealed that daikon has excellent antibacterial and antivirus properties thereby making it the ideal food supplement for your child.
Introducing Daikon in your Child’s Diet:
Daikons radishes are one of the largest radishes found in the market and only the firm and the crisp ones are good for your child. Rich in Vitamin A, C, E and B-6, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and fiber, daikon radish or Chinese radish are perfect health supplements for your child. These radishes are easily digestible and can be introduced to your child when he/she is 6-8 months old and is capable of chewing. You can start by offering your little one a daikon & ginger soup and then once he/she is used to the taste you can offer a mildly stir-fried radish and carrot mix.
Know How Daikon Improves Your Child’s Health
Boosts Digestions & Bowl Movement:
Sometimes due to the fact that your toddler’s digestive system is not fully developed, he/she might suffer from food stagnation. Food stagnation tends to cause much discomfort to your little one as it triggers many other side-effects among children. However, the good news is that Chinese radish or daikon has the power to smoothen bowl movements thereby helping your child remove all the excess roughage stored his/her the system.
Daikon is also known for boosting the overall digestive capacity of your kid. It is known to aid the digestion process to make it quicker and also helps in the movement of the food down the intestine of your little one. Also at the same time, if you are worried about your child’s overwhelming inclination towards junk food and that it might trigger some early trends of obesity, a regular diet of daikon can provide a proper solution. Apart from improving your little one’s digestive system and helping in the movement of food down his/her intestine, daikon is also known for prevent fat from being accumulated in the body.
Helps to Clear Phlegm
Seasonal changes often triggers chances of your child suffering from common cold and also at the same time the unhealthy exposure to the increasing rate of air pollution threatens the health of your child’s lungs. Daikon as a vegetable is known for its phlegm cleansing process thereby making sure that your child’s lungs stay clean and healthy.
Acts as Antibacterial and Antivirus Agent:
Scientists at Japan’s Kyoto Prefecture University’s Department of Food Sciences and Nutritional Health have proved that the presence Myrosinase in daikon, makes it a strong antibacterial and antivirus agent. Thus if you feed your child with daikon, then his/her immunity will automatically improve thereby providing them with the capacity to fight the germs which causes much harassment in the early years of development. Pediatricians across the world unanimously agree to the fact that toddlers require immunity boosters, preferably from natural sources like radishes, in order to combat the constant changes in their environment. Since your child’s body is not equipped with the resources to withstand the regular changes of weather and exposure to dust and pollutants, it is important that you find a natural source boost the immunity. Daikon offers the perfect solution.
Aids Kidney Functions & Removes Body Toxins:
Daikon juice is very rich in digestive enzymes in the form of amylase, diastase and esterase which essentially triggers positive diuretic effect in your child’s excretion system. The enzymes present in daikon helps in the conversion of fats, proteins along with complex carbohydrates into much simpler compounds for your child to digest. Daikon being a natural diuretic will work wonder for your developing kidney and will help in the process of purifying the urine.
Precautions: It is always being advised that daikon is not fully skinned and always sliced and grated before cooking. By keeping the partial skin you just make sure that all the nutrients stay intact and your toddler gets the maximum benefit from it. Also make sure that the vegetable is cooked on the same day of its purchase and if it comes with some green stems, remove it immediately upon purchase as the leaves draws out all the nutrients from the radish.
There is no reason to believe that daikon is in anyway harmful for your child, but over consumption or raw consumption of the vegetable can cause certain irritation in the digestive track of your child. Moreover, since daikon is known for its capacity of producing bile in human body, it is also better to take advise of the pediatrician, that too only if you plan to feed your child with daikon, on a regular basis.
