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NATURE’S BEAUTY:
Asparagus
PURPLE OR WHITE, SPEARS ARE ELEGANT SIGHT ON YOUR PLATE
By Tanya J. Tyler,
Staff Writer
Don’t you feel terribly elegant when
eating asparagus?
There is something
about those long green spears that
says “class” and “refinement,” not to
mention “healthy” and “delicious.”
Asparagus is a member of the lily
family. There are 300 varieties of
asparagus, but only 20 are edible.
Under proper planting conditions, an
asparagus spear can grow 10 inches
in a 24-hour period, according to
the Michigan Asparagus Board. The
vegetable has been cultivated for
many thousands of years. Its name,
meaning stalk or shoot, comes from
Greek. The Greeks used the vegetable
medicinally for toothache, bee stings
and general cleansing and healing. It
was also regarded as an aphrodisiac.
Ayurvedic medicine utilizes Shatavari
asparagus for digestive problems. The
Romans brought asparagus to France,
Germany and England. It came to the
United States around 1850.
Asparagus has many nutritional
benefits. It is low in sodium and
cholesterol but high in folic acid and
is a good source of potassium, fiber,
vitamins A, C, B6, K and thiamin.
It has the minerals zinc, manganese
and selenium. Just one 5-ounce
serving provides 60 percent of the
recommended daily allowance for
folacin, which is necessary for blood
cell formation and which has been
shown to prevent neural tube defects.
Asparagus contains saponins, which
studies have shown to have antiinflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Ingesting saponins has also
been associated with improved blood
pressure and blood sugar regulation.
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
nutrients help reduce the risk of
developing such common chronic
health problems as Type 2 diabetes
and heart disease, as well as certain
cancers, including bone, breast, colon,
larynx and lung cancer.
According to World’s Healthiest
Foods, asparagus has a compound
called inulin, a unique carbohydrate
known as a polyfructan or prebiotic.
Unlike most other carbs, inulin does
not break down in the first segments
of the digestive tract. Once it makes
it to the large intestine, it becomes an
ideal food source for certain types of
bacteria that are associated with better nutrient absorption, lower risk of
allergy and lower risk of colon cancer.
Asparagus is a colorful vegetable.
You’ve probably seen green asparagus
with dark green or purple tips at the
local grocery store or farmer’s market.
White asparagus comes from a plant
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