Product Description

English Name: Asparagus
Botanical Name: Aspargus Officinalis
Description: Conventional
Origin: Morocco
 
Details:
 
Asparagus, or garden asparagus, scientific name Asparagus officinalis, is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennial plant species in the genus Asparagus.
 
Health benefits of asparagus
 
The bright-green veggie is packed with good-for-you vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, as well as folate, iron, copper, calcium, protein, and fiber. Thanks to all these nutrients, asparagus offers some serious health perks.
 
> It can help you meet your weight-loss goals
Not only is asparagus low in fat and calories (one cup sets you back a mere 32 calories), but it also contains lots of soluble and insoluble fiber, making it a good choice if youre trying to lose weight. Because your body digests fiber slowly, it keeps you feeling full in between meals.
Fiber can definitely help you feel satiated, making it beneficial for weight loss, says Gans. It can also aid constipation, and research suggests it may help lower cholesterol.
To maximize the veggies calorie-torching potential, pair it with a hard-boiled egg: the combination of fiber-rich asparagus with the egg's protein will leave you feeling satisfied.
 
> It may keep your urinary tract happy
Asparagus contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, making it a natural diuretic. In other words, eating more of the spears can help flush excess fluid and salt from your body, which may help prevent urinary tract infections.
When women are not urinating enough, they can get a UTI, explains Gans. Its possible that a diet rich in asparagus could prevent these painful infections from developing, since going to the bathroom more frequently can help move bad bacteria out of the urinary tract.
 
> It's full of antioxidants
Asparagus—purple asparagus in particular—is full of anthocyanins, which give fruits and veggies their red, blue, and purple hues and have antioxidant effects that could help your body fight damaging free radicals. When preparing asparagus, try not to either overcook or undercook it. Although cooking the veggie helps activate its cancer-fighting potential, letting it boil or saut for too long can negate some nutritional benefits. Overcooking asparagus could cause the vitamins to leech out into the water, says Gans.
 
> It contains vitamin E
Asparagus is also a source of vitamin E, another important antioxidant. This vitamin helps strengthen your immune system and protects cells from the harmful effects of free radicals. To fill up on its benefits, roast asparagus with a little olive oil: Our body absorbs vitamin E better if its eaten alongside some fat, says Gans. And when you cook it with olive oil, youre getting healthy fat and vitamin E.
 
> It may help you get in the mood
You may want to consider adding asparagus to your next date night menu: the veggie is a natural aphrodisiac thanks to vitamin B6 and folate, which can help boost feelings of arousal. Plus, vitamin E stimulates sex hormones, including estrogen in women and testosterone in men.
 
> It can ease a hangover
If you crave a greasy breakfast the morning after too many drinks, research suggests that a side of asparagus might be the better choice. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Food Science conducted on laboratory-grown cells suggested that the minerals and amino acids in asparagus extract may help ease hangovers and protect liver cells from the toxins in alcohol.
 
> It beats bloating
When it comes to fighting bloat, asparagus packs a mean punch. The veggie helps promote overall digestive health (another benefit of all that soluble and insoluble fiber!). And thanks to prebiotics—carbohydrates that cant be digested and help encourage a healthy balance of good bacteria, or probiotics, in your digestive track—it can also reduce gas. Plus, as a natural diuretic, asparagus helps flush excess liquid, combating belly bulge.
 
> Its a rich source of folic acid
Four asparagus spears contain 22% of your recommended daily allowance of folic acid. Folic acid is essential for women who are planning on getting pregnant, since it can help protect against neural tube defect, says Gans. One 2009 study published in PLoS Medicine found that folic acid supplements help reduce risk of premature birth by 50% when taken for at least a year before conception compared with women who didn't take additional folic acid.
 
> Its filled with vitamin K
Along with other green, leafy vegetables, asparagus is a good source of vitamin K. The vitamin is crucial for coagulation (which helps your body stop bleeding after a cut) as well as bone health.
Most people think of calcium for healthy bones, but vitamin K is also important, says Gans. It can actually help your body absorb calcium.
 
> It boosts your mood
Asparagus is full of folate, a B vitamin that could lift your spirits and help ward off irritability. Researchers have found a connection between low levels of folate and vitamin B12 in people who are suffering from depression, leading some docs to prescribe daily doses of both vitamins to patients with depression. Asparagus also contains high levels of tryptophan, an amino acid that has been similarly linked to improved mood.
 
Other Benefits:
 1. Its loaded with nutrients: Asparagus is a very good source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells.
2. It can help fight cancer: This herbaceous plant—along with avocado, kale and Brussels sprouts—is a particularly rich source of glutathione, a detoxifying compound that helps break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals. This is why eating asparagus may help protect against and fight certain forms of cancer, such as bone, breast, colon, larynx and lung cancers.
3. Asparagus is packed with antioxidants: It's one of the top ranked fruits and vegetables for its ability to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals. This, according to preliminary research, may help slow the aging process.
4. Asparagus is a brain booster: Another anti-aging property of this delicious spring veggie is that it may help our brains fight cognitive decline. Like leafy greens, asparagus delivers folate, which works with vitamin B12—found in fish, poultry, meat and dairy—to help prevent cognitive impairment. In a study from Tufts University, older adults with healthy levels of folate and B12 performed better on a test of response speed and mental flexibility. (If youre 50-plus, be sure youre getting enough B12: your ability to absorb it decreases with age.)
5. It's a natural diuretic: It contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, which serves as a natural diuretic, and increased urination not only releases fluid but helps rid the body of excess salts. This is especially beneficial for people who suffer from edema (an accumulation of fluids in the body's tissues) and those who have high blood pressure or other heart-related diseases.