Benefits of Burdock

By Elissa Carraciolo

While studying to become a Holistic Nutritionist, burdock root seemed to come up very often in my herbal medicine class. This root vegetable can do wonders for our health and has easily become one of my top favorite vegetables of all time. Here’s why –

Burdock Root is one of the only vegetables that can stimulate lymphatic drainage since lymphatic pumping requires physical movements such as rebounding and exercising in general. It’s chemical composition makes it a great cancer fighter, liver detoxifier, skin cleanser and is an ingredient in the top parasite cleansing formulas.

In Chinese medicine specific organs are associated with various emotions. For example, the liver is the seat of anger, irritability and restlessness. As burdock goes to work on the liver, it is able to clear heat and the emotions associated with it. This has beneficial effects on gout, arthritis, infections, and other inflammatory conditions which are stem from anger.

Furthermore it has a gentle diuretic action on the kidneys which aids in clearing the blood of harmful acids and aids in relieving lower back pain, sciatica and fluid retention.

When juiced, burdock root helps lessen cravings for sweets. It’s slightly bitter qualities also help improve digestion. Some other health benefits include; it contains high amounts of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. such Vitamins makes it great for preventing colds and flus during this time of year by giving the immune system the tune up it needs during the change of season. It also helps stabilize blood sugar levels making it incredible for treating diabetes. It is also a great source if essential minerals such as zinc, silicon, iron and magnesium. Ladies, this is for you – it’s high magnesium content and diuretic action is also great for soothing cramps and relieving bloat related to PMS.

Lastly, it is a natural source of insulin which is a probiotic. Probiotics are typically only found in fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi to name a few, and are critical for keeping our guts healthy.