Author: Ian McAllister
Asparagus is truly delicious if you can afford it. As usual, you should buy fresh asparagus, not rely on the corrupted variety available in tins. It fights Anaemia, arthritis, cancer, and major birth defects.
Note: No two asparagus spears are the same and no two people are the same, so this page is only about most people and most asparagus spears.
Pregnancy
If you are pregnant folate, one of the B vitamins, is especially important for your and your baby's health before and during pregnancy. Research shows that getting enough folate before becoming pregnant and during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, can greatly reduce the risk of certain birth defects. Folate, the natural form of folic acid, is found in orange juice, other citrus fruits and juices, leafy green vegetables, beans, peanuts, broccoli, asparagus, peas, lentils, and whole grain products.
Folic Acid is the synthetic version of folate. I don't trust any synthetic versions of nutrients except perhaps ascorbic acid. Even then you shouldn't take ascorbic acid by itself, because it needs folate and the other things found with it in nature to work really well.
If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before she is pregnant, it can help prevent major birth defects of her baby's brain and spine. These birth defects are called neural tube defects or NTDs.
Anaemia
Asparagus contains an easily digestible source of iron which can be very important if you happen to have iron-deficiency-anaemia.
Arthritis
People low in glutathione, an antioxidant common in asparagus, broccoli, cabbage cauliflower and other crucifers, potatoes, purslane and tomatoes and the like, are more prone to arthritis than those people better endowed with glutathione.
Cancer
The glutathione found in asparagus and other green vegetables may prevent cancer. Selenium is a component of glutathione peroxidase, which possesses antioxidantactivity, and demonstrates antioxidant properties in humans. A better source of selenium is in three Brazil nuts per day.
Growing Asparagus
I don't recommend growing it unless you have a very green thumb. It takes several years to grow and then you must take action in the few hours that the spears appear. I've never succeeded, though I had a bed of lovely ferny growth for many years.
Wild Asparagus
If you know where to get the wild version you have a better chance of getting it free of agricultural poisons. Better still buy organic vegetables for good nutrition. Steaming is probably the best form of cooking. Avoid flavoring herbs and spices. You are paying good money for the flavor so don't hide it!
Analysis
You are not getting good value for money. Nearly half of each spear is cut off and thrown away, and the rest is 93.22% water. However as I showed above it can be worth eating for your health. In each hundred grams of the part that you eat you could expect to find
- 93.22 g water
- 2.2 g protein
- 3.88 g carbohydrate
- 1.88 g sugars
- 24 mg calcium
- 14 mg magnesium
- 52 mg phosphorus
- 202 mg potassium
- 52 mcg folate
- 756 IU vitamin A
- 41.6 mcg vitamin K
- 449 mcg beta carotene
- 710 mcg Lutein zeaxanthin
