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The Top Health Benefits of Eating Asparagus

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Asparagus is a spring vegetable filled with nutrients. It’s best to eat it as soon as you buy it, either fresh from the farmers’ market or the grocery store. Asparagus goes well with several other vegetables and flavors from spring such as peas, garlic, or new potatoes. 

Asparagus is a member of the lily family, formally known as Asparagus Officinalis. This famous vegetable, comes in a variety of colors, including green, white, and purple. It is used across the globe in dishes, including frittatas, pasta, and stir-fries. 

Asparagus is also low in calories and filled with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are essential. Check out the top benefits of eating this amazing veggie! 

The Top Health Benefits of Eating Asparagus
Image Source: Healthline

Low in Calories

Asparagus is not only low in fat and calories (one cup sets you back by up to 32 calories), but it also includes plenty of soluble and insoluble fiber, making it a healthy choice if you’re trying to lose weight

Because fiber is digested slowly by your body, it keeps you feeling full between meals. Fiber will certainly make you feel satisfied, making it good for weight loss. 

It can also help with constipation, and evidence suggests it helps lower cholesterol. Pair it with a hard-boiled egg to optimize the calorie-torching ability of the veggie. The combination of fiber-rich asparagus with the protein of the egg will leave you feeling happy.

Fights Cancer

Along with avocado, kale, and Brussels sprouts, this herbaceous plant is a rich source of glutathione, a detoxifying compound. This helps break down carcinogens and other dangerous compounds such as free radicals.

Eating asparagus can also help protect against and combat many types of cancer, such as cancers of the bone, breast, colon, larynx, and lung.

Helps Your Urinary Track

High levels of the amino acid asparagine are present in asparagus, making it a natural diuretic. Eating more of the spears will rid the body of excess fluid and salt, which can help avoid infections altogether. 

When women do not urinate enough they can get a UTI. A diet rich in asparagus could prevent these painful infections, as going to the bathroom more often will transfer bad bacteria out of the urinary tract.

Aids Digestive Health

For good digestive health, dietary fiber is important. There are 1.8 grams of fiber in just half a cup of asparagus, which is 7 percent of your daily needs

Studies show that a diet high in fruits and vegetables and rich in fiber will help lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

Asparagus is especially high in insoluble fiber, which adds bulk to stool and facilitates daily bowel movements. It also contains a minimal amount of soluble fiber that forms a gel-like material in the digestive tract, dissolving in water.

Boosts Brain Activity

This delicious spring veggie’s other anti-aging attribute is that it will help our brains prevent cognitive loss. Asparagus provides folate that works with vitamin B12 found in fish, poultry, meat, and milk to help avoid cognitive decline, including leafy greens. 

In a Tufts University report, older adults with safe folate and B12 levels performed better on response speed and mental flexibility tests. 

If you are 50-plus, make sure that you get enough B12: with age, your ability to absorb it decreases.

Supports Healthy Pregnancy

Just half a cup of asparagus gives 34% of their daily folate requirements to adults and 22% of their daily needs to pregnant women. 

Folate is an important nutrient for healthy growth and development that helps to shape red blood cells and generate DNA. 

In order to ensure the safe development of the infant, it is particularly necessary during the early stages of pregnancy

It can protect against neural tube defects, like spina bifida, by having adequate folate from sources such as Asparagus, green leafy vegetables, and fruit.

The Top Health Benefits of Eating Asparagus
Image Source: US News Health

Conclusion

Asparagus is low in calories and is an excellent source of nutrients, including fiber, folate, and vitamins A, C, and K. In addition, there is a range of possible health benefits to eating Asparagus, including weight loss, better digestion, good pregnancy results, and lower blood pressure. 

Plus, it’s affordable, quick to prepare, and makes a delicious addition to a variety of recipes.