SPEARS OF PROTECTION – ASPARAGUS

“SPEARS OF PROTECTION – ASPARAGUS” HEALING POWER –Asparagus can help preventing birth defects, reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. 

Asparagus was extremely popular among the royal households of seventeenth century France, not just for its fresh taste but also because the tender spears were thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac.

Even those without amour on the brain-there’s no more welcome sign of spring than those brilliant green tips poking up from winter’s ground. It takes asparagus three years from seed to harvest. Asparagus is related to onions, leeks and garlic. It’s a welcome sign for health as well, since asparagus contains compounds that can help fight birth defects, heart disease and cancer.

 STRANGE SMELL?

Don’t worry, it’s not something to be concern, but you may noticed a curious fact about asparagus. After you eat even a small amount – your urine seems to have an unpleasant odor. No it’s not your imagination. Asparagus contains an amino acid called aspartic acid. Many people lack the enzyme needed to break aspartic acid down, as a result it stays in the body and gets converted to a related compound -one with that distinctive sulfurous smell.

  FILLED WITH FOLATE

Asparagus is richly endowed with folate, a B vitamin that is essential for helping cells regenerate. Five asparagus spears contain 110 mg of folate. (28 % of the Daily Value)

Not only is folate good for women in their childbearing years it also fights heart disease in everyone.

 PROTECTION AGAINST CANCER

As you’ve come to expect from all the green vegetables, asparagus offers powerful protection against cancer.

The first is folate! Studies revel that people with the most folate in their blood are the ones least likely to develop colon cancer. The second protective compound is-glutathione. A small protein is a powerful antioxidant, this means that it helps mop up free radicals.

 TAKE THE E TRAIN – VITAMIN E

There’s another reason to add more asparagus to your plate. It contains vitamin E, which can be very good for the heart. Vitamin E a day can substantially reduce the risk of heart disease in women.

The water left after cooking asparagus treats urinary complaints arthritis and rheumatism. Freshly cooked asparagus will tonify the liver and may be used in ceases of liver congestion and conditions such as hepatitis to encourage healing.

Photo Credit : pixabay.com Unsplash.com

Source :The Doctors Book of Food Remedies by Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention