The asparagus

The asparagus

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Liliaceae family and the Asparagaceae genus. It has been used for centuries as a phytotherapeutic remedy since Egyptian times. It is a late spring vegetable, detoxifying and diuretic, the best common being GREEN in colour, but there are also other varieties ranging from white to purple, with different flavours but the same nutritional properties. Let us find out what properties make it suitable for everyone’s diet, from children to adults and the elderly, sports enthusiasts and even sedentary people. Asparagus is a vegetable with very few calories, since it is made up of around 92% water, hence its very low calorie content: 25 kcal per 100g. It is extremely rich in WATER and MINERALS, in particular potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron and VITAMINS, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin E, which occur especially in the shoots (asparagus tips) and folic acid (very important in pregnancy for the correct development of the baby’s nervous system). IT DOES NOT CONTAIN FATS and, being a vegetable, it has a fair amount of vegetable proteins, but above all FIBRES.
Asparagus is also an important source of PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOUNDS that have beneficial effects on health. It contains FLAVONOIDS such as quercetin and rutin, phytochemical compounds with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties; it also contains asparagine, an amino acid responsible for its diuretic and detoxifying effects, and inulin, a glucose polymer important for the wellbeing of the intestinal microbiota. It also contains SAPONINS, such as asparanin A, protodioscin, sarsasapogenin and yamogenin, which accounts for its bitter taste, which provide it with hypolipidemic properties.

The functional benefits of asparagus

It has a long history of use in ancient, traditional Eastern and Greek medicine, and modern pharmacology has shown that asparagus possesses outstanding DEPURATIVE AND LAXATIVE PROPERTIES, ANTI-HYPERTENSIVE and HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC AGENTS and a high ANTIOXIDANT ACTION. Asparagus is a rich source of phytochemical compounds with antioxidant properties, such as VITAMIN C and FOLIC ACID, thanks to which it can be considered a valuable aid for the prevention and treatment of cellular and tissue ageing; in addition, the presence of substances called SAPONINS provide it with anti-fungal properties.
Fibre, as well as promoting intestinal regularity, helps to reduce the absorption of starch, thus reducing the possibility of developing metabolic disorders. The fibre contained in asparagus COUNTERACTS hypercholesterolemia and diabetes. The presence of ASPARAGIN makes it a vegetable with depurative and detoxifying characteristics, since it promotes the disposal of a toxic molecule like nitrogen. In order to maintain the nutritional characteristics of this vegetable, it is important to eat it when it is fresh!

Key facts

– RICH IN WATER and SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE FIBRES
– RICH IN POTASSIUM, PHOSPHORUS AND CALCIUM
– LOW IN FATS AND CALORIES
– RICH IN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT SUBSTANCES
– HELPS INTESTINAL REGULARITY
– PURIFYING AND DIURETIC
– REGULATES GLYCAEMIA AND CHOLESTEROL
– STRENGTHENS CAPILLARIES
– LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE
– COMBATS WATER RETENTION AND CELLULITE