Medical News

Asparagus is an incredibly important vegetable, that is not as common as other vegetables that have less of a nutritional value. In the modern times we live in, we can put our hands on any vegetable our hearts desire, thus achieve a more divert nutrition, a better tasting meal, and most importantly, a higher nutritional value from the food we eat.

The looks of the entire asparagus plant is unknown to many of us, as we mostly know the pointed “sticks” of the asparagus, which are the shoots that originate from the underground crown. The plant flourishes at spring time, yet is available in western markets year-round. An interesting point about it is that it is mentioned in the oldest recipe book to be discovered so far. Even though it is mentioned in a cook book, asparagus could be eaten raw. If you do choose to cook it, asparagus will keep its natural flavour in many types of cooking methods. Your can steam it, bake it, fry it, and stir-fry it. All of these, if done correctly, will create a great dish.

The nutritional values of asparagus

Much like the orange, the asparagus is one of nature’s leading vegetables when it comes to vitamin C. This teaches us that it helps the immune system fight off disease, and it is highly recommended to those of us who have a sensitive body and tend to be ill. Asparagus also carries large doses of vitamin K. This vitamin is important for blood coagulation in our body, as well as our bone structure. Current studies on Vitamin K are showing good signs of it being beneficial to the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Another research has proven that this vitamin helps the prevention of cancer.

Asparagus also contains B1 and B2 vitamins. These vitamins are essential to brain and nerve-system activity, and lacking these vitamins dramatically effects your brain function, and puts you in risk of brain damage. The lacking of vitamin B1, which is known as thiamin, can cause Beriberi, weight loss and confusion. Vitamin B2, which is known as Riboflavin, is also very important, and it is necessary for many of our body cellular processes.

Asparagus is good for weight loss, as it carries a very low level of calories while being rich in nutrients. When we introduce it to our digestion, it is known to be easily digested, and thus our body gets an opportunity to absorb the different vitamins, a thing that is not to be taken lightly. Many other vegetables contain large amounts of nutrients, which are not available due to a hard digestion process. Eating them means we put vitamins into our body, yet those vitamins just passes through un-absorbed. Asparagus does allow us to absorb the nutrients it supplies. It also helps our bowel movement, thus helping us digest everything we eat in a more efficient way.