subject: Health Benefits of Asparagus [print this page] Health Benefits of Asparagus Health Benefits of Asparagus
Asparagus, or Asparagus officinalis, is one of nature's very nutritionally dense vegetables. It provides high levels of folic acid, Vitamin B6, A, C, E, and K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, and other really important vitamins. Six spears of asparagus provides half the adult RDI of Folacin, which is essential for blood cell formation and growth. Folacin is also crucial for the prevention of liver disease, as well as neural tube defects in infants. Its high levels of potassium prevents calcium from leeching out of the body. Vitamin C assists the body in its production and maintenance of collagen, as well as being a good immune booster.
In the 1st century AD, Asparagus was used as a diuretic and used for the treatment of kidney issues, jaundice, and sciatica. Now it is more commonly used as a diuretic for urinary issues, as well as cystitis.
As I was researching the benefits of Asparagus, I came across an abstract from the 2003 Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, stating that Asparagus is referred to in Ayurvedic books as a preventative for the treatment of gastric ulcers, dyspepsia, nervous disorders, inflammation, liver diseases and certain infectious diseases.
Another article entitled Asparagus for Cancer was published in the Cancer News Journal in Dec 1979 and has been circulated around the web. In this article 2 clinical studies was said to have been conducted with patients using the normal green asparagus.
In case no. 1, a man with an almost hopeless case of Hodgkin's disease (cancer of the lymph glands) was completely incapacitated. However within 1 year of starting the asparagus therapy, his doctors were unable to detect any signs of cancer, and he was back on a schedule of strenuous exercise.
In case no. 2, a successful businessman, 68 years old, who suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years, and didn't improve in spite of years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement. After 3 months on the asparagus treatment, examinations revealed that his bladder tumour had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.
These are only some of the research on the benefits of the asparagus plant. I hope that you start to incorporate asparagus even more into your diet.
