{"id":92106,"date":"2025-09-29T06:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T06:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/92106\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T06:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T06:42:11","slug":"the-eye-watering-spice-that-prevents-cavities-and-fights-inflammation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/92106\/","title":{"rendered":"The eye-watering spice that prevents cavities and fights inflammation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sushi lovers may think they know everything about wasabi<\/a>. But, the eye-watering condiment comes with some life-lengthening health benefits that are often unknown.<\/p>\n

Used on the Japanese dish for hundreds of years, the chartreuse-colored spice can fight harmful inflammation and even help to prevent cavities.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the pungent staple has antimicrobial properties, Dr. Hideki Masuda, a former research director at Ogawa and Company of Japan, previously told The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said the wasabi plant contains compounds known as isothiocyanates that give it is stinging taste and stop bacteria growth. The plant must be grated into a pulp to release them.<\/p>\n

”Some scientists believe these compounds break down the enzyme of the bacteria’s protein, or it might actually kill the bacteria itself by suffocating it,\u201d Masuda explained.<\/p>\n

\"Eating<\/p>\n

Eating wasabi can help fight harmful bacteria and inflammation that leads to chronic disease (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The same compounds have also been associated with<\/a> lowering the risk of cancer, according to researchers, and have anti-inflammatory properties.<\/p>\n

Chronic inflammation has been tied to developing autoimmune, neurodegenerative, gastrointestinal, and heart diseases, as well as certain cancers.<\/p>\n

Maintaining a healthy immune system is crucial to staving off disease and eating wasabi can help keep immune health strong.<\/p>\n

It “contains a lot of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that protects your cells from free radical damage,” Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital bariatric dietitian Audra Wilson told USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just a pea-sized dab of wasabi goes a long way for many, and that\u2019s all you need to reap the rewards of the spice.<\/p>\n

Eating any more could actually irritate the nose, stomach, or mouth, registered dietitian Julia Zumpano also told the site.<\/p>\n

But beware: you may be getting faked out.<\/p>\n

Imitation wasabi is mass produced in the West and usually just has horseradish, mustard powder, and green food coloring.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The benefits of wasabi come out when the plant is grated into a pulp (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

People can get the real stuff, which is farmed in Asia, at most markets. The plants look like long, skinny pineapples.<\/p>\n

You can serve it with sushi, but it also goes well in a salad dressing or as a marinade for meat or tofu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Adding it to your next meal may even give you a brain boost.<\/p>\n

Japanese researchers have found consuming wasabi is linked to improved short- and long-term memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe improvement was really substantial,” Rui Nouchi, an associate professor at Tohoku University, told CBS News.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sushi lovers may think they know everything about wasabi. But, the eye-watering condiment comes with some life-lengthening health…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275],"tags":[43906,18,59830,135,16184,475,474,59829,19,99,17,59831],"class_list":{"0":"post-92106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-chronic-inflammation","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-harmful-bacteria","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-health-benefits","13":"tag-health-care","14":"tag-healthcare","15":"tag-hideki-masuda","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-inflammation","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-wasabi-plant"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}