SPEARS OF PROTECTION
Prevent birth defects
Reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer
Keep skin and other tissues healthy
Support healthy eyes
Maintain a healthy immune system
People have called this vegetable a lot of things over the centuries: Ancient Greeks and Romans called it asparagus, and its name in English evolved from “sperage” to “sparrow grass,” and then back to its original name. Now many people call it a delicious treat that’s perfectly shaped for dipping.
The slim green rods with the “braided” tips give a great health boost, too, since asparagus contains compounds that can help fight birth defects, heart disease, and cancer and can help strengthen your immune system and help your skin and other tissues.
One of the most critical medical breakthroughs of the 20th century was the discovery that the incidence of brain and spinal cord birth defects (called neural tube defects) could be cut in half if women who are of childbearing age got 400 micrograms of folate a day.
Asparagus is richly endowed with folate, a B vitamin that is essential for helping cells regenerate. Five asparagus spears contain 110 micrograms of folate, about 28 percent of the Daily Value (DV).
If you’re pregnant, you may want to enjoy a double serving of the green spears. Although the government recommends that adults get 400 micrograms of folate daily, pregnant women need 600 micrograms daily, and women who are breastfeeding need 500, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Not only is folate good for women who are in their childbearing years, this vitamin also appears to fight heart disease in everyone. Folate may act as a floodgate, controlling the amount of homocysteine (an amino acid that appears to damage the lining of arteries) that’s in the bloodstream. When your folate levels drop, your homocysteine levels rise, which can cause damage to the arteries supplying blood to your heart and brain.
The American Heart Association isn’t yet calling high homocysteine in the blood a major risk factor for heart disease like high cholesterol or blood pressure, but it does recommend that you get plenty of folate in your diet.
And research is beginning to show possible connections between folate intake, homocysteine, and risk of cognitive problems, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. One review of data on a large group of people found that their risk of Alzheimer’s was doubled if they had elevated homocysteine levels.
Getting sufficient folate in your diet is also associated with a lower risk of some cancers, particularly colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer. Studies have shown that people with the most folate in their blood are the ones least likely to develop colon cancer.
As you’ve come to expect from green vegetables, asparagus offers powerful protection against cancer. It contains a number of compounds that essentially double-team cancer-causing substances before they do harm.
In addition to folate, another protective compound in asparagus is glutathione, a powerful antioxidant. This means that it helps mop up free radicals, which are altered oxygen molecules that, when left unchecked, ricochet wildly through the body, scarring and punching holes in cells, and doing the types of damage that can lead to cancer, atherosclerosis, and many other conditions. In an analysis of 38 vegetables, freshly cooked asparagus ranked first for its glutathione content.
It’s not something that will send you running to the emergency room, but you may have noticed a curious fact about asparagus. After you eat even a small amount, your urine seems to have an unpleasant odor.
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.
While there isn’t a “cure” for this telltale aroma, neither is it anything worth worrying about. So have an extra helping of asparagus, enjoy all those health-preserving nutrients it contains, and ignore the temporary odor.
Asparagus is among the easiest vegetables to prepare and cook. What’s more, its natural freshness means that you don’t need butter or sauces to bring out its flavors. To enjoy great taste with little effort, here’s what cooks advise.
Check the tips. When buying asparagus, take a close look at the tips. Fresh asparagus tips are compact and tightly furled. If the tips look loose and frayed, the asparagus is getting old, and you should pass it by.
Remove the stalk. Although you can eat asparagus from top to bottom, the tough, woody stalk is usually discarded. The easiest way to do this is simply to bend the stalk; asparagus naturally snaps off at the point where the tough end stops and the tender part begins.
When the spears are thick, however, the snap method can waste perfectly good flesh. To preserve more of the stalk, use a vegetable peeler to peel the bottom area of each spear. Use a knife to find the point where the flesh turns woody (it will be tough to slice) and cut the bottom off there.
A cup of raw asparagus ( just the tender tips—not the tougher base ends) contains 7.5 milligrams of vitamin C, which is roughly 13 percent of the DV for this vitamin. This is more vitamin C than you’ll find in a cup of canned peaches, a cup of plums, a cup of carrots, or a pear.
Vitamin C is a valuable antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals throughout your body. It also plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of collagen, which is found in your bones, the walls of your arteries, and elsewhere in your body.
A cup of raw asparagus also contains 1,013 IU of vitamin A, which is a sizeable 21 percent of your DV for this vitamin. Not only does vitamin A help maintain the health of your eyes, it actually plays a role in the transmission of images from your eyes to your brain.
Vitamin A also helps maintain the integrity of epithelial tissues that line surfaces inside and outside of your body, such as your skin, the lining of your digestive system, and the lining of your lungs. This helps them maintain their status as a barrier against germs that are always trying to enter your body.
The vitamin also helps keep your immune system working properly, perhaps by helping lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell—do a better job of battling infections, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Since most of asparagus’s nutrients are in the tip, if you’re going to cook it on the stovetop, it’s better to cook it upright in a tall container than piling it at the bottom of a baking dish, says Gertrude Armbruster, PhD, RD, of Cornell University. Add a few inches of water to the pot, cover with a lid, and bring to a simmer. Keeping the tips out of the water will not only preserve nutrients but will also help the stalks cook evenly and more quickly.
Store it carefully. Folate is destroyed by exposure to air, heat, or light, so you need to store asparagus carefully, says Gertrude Armbruster, PhD, RD, professor emeritus of nutritional science at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She recommends storing it away from light in the back of the refrigerator or in a produce drawer.
Cook it gently. Asparagus is a tender vegetable, and vigorous boiling isn’t necessary. “Microwaving asparagus definitely destroys fewer nutrients than does boiling or even steaming,” says Dr. Armbruster. A USDA survey that measured the anti oxidants in commonly eaten foods found that boiled asparagus was “significantly lower” in water-soluble antioxidants than raw asparagus. Its total antioxidant capacity dropped from 2,021 units per serving when raw down to 1,480 when boiled.
Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and slice crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Trim the tough stems from the mushrooms. If the mushrooms are dirty, quickly rinse in cold water and pat dry before slicing into bite-size pieces.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add the butter and toss until melted into the vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package direcctions until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Mix in the sauce and the parsley. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Makes 4 servings
Calories: 436
Total fat: 20 g
Saturated fat: 8 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg
Sodium: 104 mg
Dietary fiber: 4.5 g