Asparagus is a favorite in our house, and I just made some tonight so I thought I would not only share an easy and delicious recipe, but also do a post on the nutritional value of it as well. Tonight I whipped up a simple favorite to go with bbq’d ribs, grilled asparagus and garlic. Wash your asparagus, drizzle with olive oil and put 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic on it. You can marinade it for a couple hours, but I actually just mix it up, wrap it in some tinfoil and then throw it on the barbecue for about 10 minutes. We like ours fairly soft, but it is also excellent just steamed a little, to savour the crispiness of it. If you have a nice enough grill, you can also lay them across it straight on the barbecue instead of wrapping them in tinfoil, they get a little crispy from the flames this way and are really delish. I always lose mine through the grill and into the flames though, so wrapped in tinfoil it is!
And the nutritional information from WH Foods:
Heart Health
Folate is essential for a healthy cardiovascular system. Folate is involved in the methylation cycle, a biochemical event in which a methyl group–one atom of carbon and three atoms of hydrogen–is transferred from one molecule to another. Methylation reactions are the body’s biochemical “spark plugs” in a wide variety of very important reactions. For example, methylation is crucial for the proper transcription of DNA, and transforms norepinephrine into adrenaline, and serotonin into melatonin. When the methylation cycle flows smoothly, the amino acid methionine is transformed into homocysteine, which is quickly converted into cysteine, and then back into methionine. Folate (along with vitamins B6 and B12) is necessary for the conversion of homocysteine into cysteine. When folate levels are low, blood levels of homocysteine rise, a situation that significantly increases the risk for heart disease. Homocysteine promotes atherosclerosis by reducing the integrity of blood vessel walls and by interfering with the formation of collagen (the main protein in connective tissue). Elevations in homocysteine are found in approximately 20-40% of patients with heart disease, and it is estimated that consumption of 400 mcg of folate daily would reduce the number of heart attacks suffered by Americans each year by 10%. Just one serving of asparagus supplies almost 66% of the daily recommended intake of folate.
A Natural Diuretic
Asparagus is a very good source of potassium (288 mg per cup) and quite low in sodium (19.8 mg per cup. Its mineral profile, combined with an active amino acid in asparagus, asparagine, gives asparagus a diuretic effect. Although some popular articles on asparagine link this amino acid to the distinct urinary odor that can follow along after consumption of asparagus, research studies suggest that this odor stems from a variety of sulfur-containing compounds (discussed in detail under the Individual Concerns section below). Historically, asparagus has been used to treat problems involving swelling, such as arthritis and rheumatism, and may also be useful for PMS-related water retention.
Food for Healthy Gut Flora
Asparagus contains a special kind of carbohydrate called inulin that we don’t digest, but the health-promoting friendly bacteria in our large intestine, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, do. When our diet contains good amounts of inulin, the growth and activity of these friendly bacteria increase. And when populations of health-promoting bacteria are large, it is much more difficult for unfriendly bacteria to gain a foothold in our intestinal tract.
A Birth Defect Fighter
Especially if you’re thinking about becoming pregnant or are in the early stages of pregnancy, make asparagus a frequent addition to your meals. A cup of asparagus supplies approximately 263 mcg of folate, a B-vitamin essential for proper cellular division because it is necessary in DNA synthesis. Without folate, the fetus’ nervous system cells do not divide properly. Inadequate folate during pregnancy has been linked to several birth defects, including neural tube defects like spina bifida. Despite folate’s wide availability in food (it’s name comes from the Latin word folium, meaning “foliage,” because it’s found in green leafy vegetables), folate deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in the world.