Natural Healing: Wasabi Health

Hold onto your hat and pile on the wasabi—new research indicates that it may be good for your health. Used for centuries by the Japanese on raw fish as a tasty antimicrobial, recent studies suggest that the incendiary green paste may help prevent blood clots, asthma, tooth decay and even cancer.

As a member of the Brassicaceae family, wasabi contains the same cancer-fighting phytochemicals (glucosinolates and isothiocyanates) found in cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Isothiocyanates, chemical compounds that plants rely on to protect them in the wild, are what give wasabi its distinctive smell and hot taste. They are also responsible for wasabi’s anti-aggregate and antihistamine qualities. Perhaps most important, isothiocyanates boost the body’s own elaborate antioxidant systems, including what are known as Phase II detoxification enzymes.

Phase II enzymes neutralize highly reactive, dangerous forms of cancer-causing chemicals before they can damage DNA. Paul Talalay, M.D., professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says, “Raising the levels of Phase II enzymes can offer a highly effective way to achieve protection against carcinogenesis.”

In a recent study from Japan, a team from Ochanomizu University found that the isothiocyanates in wasabi induced Phase II enzymes 1.9 times more effectively than the sulforaphane found in broccoli.

As its Latin name Wasabia japonica suggests, the plant is native to Japan. An evergreen perennial that grows to about 18 inches high, wasabi produces leaves on long stems from the crown of the plant. As the plant grows, the leaves fall off at the stem base to form a rhizome. It’s this part of the plant that is grated and used in Japanese cuisine.