Why is burdock good for you

Older research from found the burdock root has tons of antioxidant activity. Antioxidants are substances that help your body to actively fight off disease, and they're also found in foods like blueberries, cherries, and coffee.

Perhaps for that very reason, many traditional Asian soup recipes containing beef and pork will also call for burdock roots to balance out the fat of the meal, she says. A small study conducted on rats suggests that burdock root may serve as an aphrodisiac : a food that may make you ready to get it on. So in case you're looking for a plant-based alternative to oysters, burdock root might just be your thing.

A gram serving of burdock root contains about three grams of fiber , about 12 percent of your daily recommended intake. Not too shabby! Fiber, of course, is crucial for digestive and gut health because it feeds good gut bacteria while helping move food through your system smoothly and efficiently.

Although burdock root is mostly harmless, herbalists say that it's not necessarily the best medicinal food for everyone—and that's completely okay. Burdock root has also been found to lower blood sugar , so it's not a good supplement for people with diabetes. Of course, where you get the root is also important. Bacharach stresses that you'll want to buy the stuff from reputable growers who don't pick the root from the wild where it could possibly come into contact with dangerous plants or plant byproducts that you don't want in your body.

According to Ko, the main nutritional benefit of burdock comes from its fiber content, specifically the type of fiber that serves as prebiotics, known as inulin. Burdock root is often used as an herbal supplement and has some anti-inflammatory properties to treat skin conditions like acne and eczema, as well as antioxidant properties, which may help to alleviate chronic inflammation in the body," Brigitte Zeitlin, RD, founder of BZ Nutrition in New York City.

One study found that burdock root decreased the inflammation in people suffering from osteoarthritis in the knee. Burdock root has also been used as a holistic solution in medicine, both as a diuretic and to ease digestive issues. Diuretics aid in removing water from the body aka help you pee. Early research has pointed to burdock root's antitumor activity and potential ability to help fend off, or at least decrease, the risk of certain cancers.

According to one study from , "burdock has been utilized in treatment of breast tumor, ovary, bladder, malignant melanoma, lymphoma and pancreatic cells. The root also contains tannin, an important chemical found in some plants being studied for its cancer preventive properties like stimulating white blood cells that fight infection and limiting cancer propagation.

Because of its dense texture, the most common way to prepare burdock root is to shred it, as the fiber and antioxidants mainly exist near the skin of the root, Ko says. Just be sure to scrub and rinse it before cooking, though. We'll go into detail, and…. Prebiotics are types of fiber that feed your friendly gut bacteria, leading to all sorts of benefits.

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