All about horseradish > Health and nutrition

In Alsatian, the word Meeratisch means "sea root," because popular history says that this peppery root was taken along on ships in the Middle Ages to combat scurvy, thanks to its high vitamin C content. Horseradish is often called garden penicillin. Besides its significant vitamin C level - comparable to that of a lemon - horseradish is rich in vitamins B1, B2 and B6 and in minerals (magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron...).

It possesses antibiotic substances (allicin and sinigrin), promotes digestion and blood circulation, strengthens immune defenses and offers protection from chills. For this reason horseradish is popular in many cold-winter countries. Applied externally, it relieves rheumatism and eases insect bites: the same principle as a mustard plaster.