What Are The Health Benefits Of Asparagus?

What are the health benefits of Asparagus? Asparagus has a high number of antioxidants that can help reduce the risk of chronic health diseases such Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. Antioxidants help to protect free radicals and oxidative stress from entering the body. Oxidative stress can contribute to aging, chronic inflammation, cancer, etc.

What are the health benefits of Asparagus? iStock-photo credit: Panagiotis Kyriakos

The Health Nutrient Benefits of one cup of Asparagus are the following:

Calories- 20

Protein- 2.2 grams

Fat- 0.2 grams

Fiber- 1.8 grams

Vitamin C- 12% of the RDI

Vitamin A- 18% of the RDI

Vitamin K- 57% of the RDI

Folate- 34% of the RDI

Potassium- 6% of the RDI

Phosphorus- 5% of the RDI

Vitamin E- 7% of the RDI

The dietary fiber in asparagus provides positive digestive health. Research studies have shown that eating asparagus can boost your immunity because of the high antioxidant effect. Test tube studies have shown that Asparagus has anticancer properties such as breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc.

So, there is a link to reducing the risk of cancer when it comes to the compounds in Asparagus. But these studies still need to be done on humans to 100% validate this anti-cancer theory.

Asparagus contains many micronutrients such as iron, zinc, riboflavin and most importantly Vitamin K. Vitamin K is important when it comes to bone health and bone clotting. Asparagus is high in folate which is essential for a healthy pregnancy.

Asparagus can be either cooked or raw, but it is common to be used in soups, salads and other popular dishes.

The Bottom Line is the health benefit of Asparagus it is has a high number of antioxidants and fiber content. And that high antioxidant effect can help reduce the risk of chronic health diseases.

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References

1. USDA- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168390/nutrients
2. Redondo-Cuenca A, García-Alonso A, Rodríguez-Arcos R, Castro I, Alba C, Miguel Rodríguez J, Goñi I. Nutritional composition of green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.), edible part and by-products, and assessment of their effect on the growth of human gut-associated bacteria. Food Res Int. 2023 Jan;163:112284. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112284. Epub 2022 Dec 5. PMID: 36596190.
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4. Xiao H, Deng Z, Hough JT, Chen X, Zhu Z, Lee J, Dominguez A, Shi T, Schmidt J, Bai Q, Wakefield MR, Fang Y. The Effect of Asparagus Extract on Pancreatic Cancer: An Intriguing Surprise. Anticancer Res. 2022 May;42(5):2425-2432. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.15721. PMID: 35489758.
5. Olas B. A Review of the Pro-Health Activity of Asparagus officinalis L. and Its Components. Foods. 2024 Jan 16;13(2):288. doi: 10.3390/foods13020288. PMID: 38254589; PMCID: PMC10814860.