BURDOCK ROOT & LEAF

Description

BURDOCK

Burdock root is safe to eat as a food, and it’s thought to have some pretty good health effects,” Peart explains. “But, as is often the case, it’s a ‘buyer-beware’ situation when it comes to taking it as a supplement. We really don’t know if it retains its health benefits when it’s in processed form. And its safety isn’t well established as a supplement.”

Peart shares some possible health benefits of eating burdock root and why those benefits may not translate when taking burdock root supplements.

Burdock root benefits (as a food source)
Burdock has been used for centuries in traditional medicine practices, particularly for relieving cold and cough symptoms and as a diuretic. Outside of Europe and Asia, you’re most likely to find burdock root at specialty health stores and imported food markets. It can be prepared and eaten similarly to other root vegetables, like carrots or radishes.

And while there’s minimal scientific research on burdock root’s health effects, it does show some promise as a healthy food to include in your diet.

“When it’s eaten, burdock root provides good nutrition as part of a healthy diet,” Peart notes. “But it hasn’t been studied extensively, so it’s not known how much of it you’d need to eat to get long-term health benefits.”

Fiber
Burdock root is a good source of a type of fiber called inulin. It’s a dietary fiber that aids in digestion.

Like all fiber, inulin can help you feel fuller longer. It may also lower LDL cholesterol (the “bad” one), help stabilize your blood sugar, and may even reduce your risk of colon cancer.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
Burdock root is a good source of antioxidants, which are chemical compounds that help protect your cells from damage. As an anti-inflammatory, burdock root may also help reduce your risk of chronic diseases, like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and maybe even some cancers.

“Because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, burdock root also has a history of being used as a topical ointment for skin conditions and shows potential as a possible burn treatment,” Peart says.

Diuretic
Perhaps one of burdock root’s most well-known qualities is its use as a diuretic. That means it may help you pee more, which could be helpful for people who retain water, including people with certain heart, lung, or kidney conditions.

Herbs like parsley or dandelion are also natural diuretics, as are water-based fruits and veggies, like watermelon, lemons, cucumbers, and grapes.

The problem with burdock root supplements
For all its potential health benefits as a food, Peart advises treading carefully when considering burdock root supplements, especially if you’re living with any chronic health conditions.

“A lot of people will look at herbal supplements and think, ‘Oh, it’s natural. Nothing to worry about here,’” Peart says. “But that’s absolutely not the case. There are a lot of natural things that are highly unsafe.”

And, really, supplements are — by definition — not natural. They’re highly processed, they may contain added ingredients you don’t want, and they don’t need to undergo any rigorous safety testing or quality control. So, Peart explains, you don’t really know what you’re getting, how much of the active ingredient you’re getting or whether it’s going to have any effect on you — positive or negative.

Weaker when isolated
Think of it like this: Whole Foods is kind of like a football team with a really good quarterback. A future Hall of Famer. But the quarterback isn’t likely to be nearly as effective without a strong team. There are linemen who provide protection from the opposing team’s defense. There’s a receiver out on the field to catch the ball. Without those supporting players, the quarterback can’t be as good as they could be.

When you distill burdock root (and other herbs) down into a supplement, it’s like isolating the quarterback from the rest of the team. Supplements take the best properties of a food and try to make them stand on their own. But as Peart further explains, often what makes food beneficial isn’t one single property. It’s the combination that makes the nutrients more powerful.

“There are properties in food that don’t necessarily translate to supplement form,” she continues. “We just can’t mimic the nutrition that comes naturally from whole foods.”

Too many unknowns
Whether burdock root supplements will be effective or not and whether they can cause harm is a big question mark.

For one, we also don’t know if burdock root supplements really do act as diuretics. So, you may be just paying for a supplement that’s not even giving you the benefits you’re looking for. Not exactly a wise investment.

On the flip side, if burdock root really is a diuretic, and if those properties translate when it’s refined into a supplement … how much can you take before you’re peeing too much and risking dehydration? No one knows.

The same problems arise when thinking about burdock root’s other potential benefits. If it lowers blood sugar, people with diabetes may be risking hypoglycemia. If it helps lower your blood pressure, what’s the effect if you’re also taking blood thinners? And so on.

The bottom line is that eating burdock root is safe as part of a healthy diet. But relying on burdock root supplements probably isn’t going to do what the bottle claims.

But if you do want to try supplements, Peart advises always talking with a healthcare provider, like a primary care physician or a registered dietitian, for their advice. And be sure to discuss any potential side effects or potential for negative interactions with other medications you take.

Arctium lappa is a large, burr-producing herb that is a part of the sunflower family. Characterized by its enormous heart-shaped leaves and towering stalks, burdock is commonly found throughout North America. The fresh or dried roots are collected and used in cooking, tincture making, and herbal tea blends.

Burdock grows clusters of large, purple flowers in mid-summer. The fruit is covered in tiny hooked hairs or burrs, that often stick to animals and people upon contact. A robust and adaptable plant, burdock does well in any light and most soil types, although it does prefer a nitrogen-rich environment.

Burdock seeds should be stratified and sown directly outdoors once the danger of frost has passed. It takes one to two weeks for sprouts to emerge and seedlings grow very quickly. Young starts should be spaced at least 18 inches apart and watered during dry spells. Roots can be harvested once the plant is three months to a year in age, but after two years, the roots are often too bitter and fibrous for use.