I've become obsessed with wasabi. I love the stuff. I don't remember quite how it started, but after having something with the flavor, I've tasted everything with wasabi that I can buy or whip up, from delicious wasabi-covered almonds to wasabi mashed potatoes to tasty lumps of it with sushi. However, did you know that it's not only a spicy, tasty nose-cleaner, but something that can also improve your health?
That's Fit recently posted an ode to wasabi that gives the low-down. If you buy the good stuff, and not the cheap, fake substitute, the tasty condiment can offer a variety of perks due to it containing Isothiocyanates, powerful antioxidants, as well as Potassium and Calcium. It can help slow down cancer, fight teeth rot, help prevent ulcers and parasites, has antimicrobial benefits, might help heart disease, and is good for detoxing.
And here I thought it was just darned tasty.
7-10-2008 @7:58PM Berkana said... Too much wasabi is also bad for you; the active ingredient in wasabi is a hepatotoxin. Eat to much, and it will destroy your liver.
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7-10-2008 @9:39PM Alex Van said... Most (read all) wasabi outside of Japan (I believe in Japan as well) isn't wasabi at all. It is a mix of mustard and horseradish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasabi
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7-10-2008 @9:39PM Chris said... I don't know if I've ever had real wasabi. Most websites I've read say that if you've eaten in a Japanese-American restaurant, chances are, it wasn't real. This website supposedly offers the chance to have the real stuff: http://www.realwasabi.com/
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7-11-2008 @2:54AM Stanium said... I once tried what I think was real wasabi. It was in a tube broght from somewhere near Japan or from Japan itself. I took a smell of it and I felt like I was punched in my face. Never tried anything like this in any sushi restaurant.
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7-11-2008 @9:58AM Nova said... I've had the root ground up at the table in front of me before. It tastes greatly different from the green paste you get with sushi in almost all restaurants. I'm sure you'd have to eat a ton of the real stuff to actually get the health benefits.
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7-16-2008 @10:08AM Jesse said... Am a HUGE fan of Wasabi Peas....tiny dried peas covered with wasabi. Can get them at Safeway...great on salads or just a handfull at a time!
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