Wondering what the health benefits of eating asparagus might be -at least significant enough ones to justify the funny smell when you pee after you eat them?
Besides funny-smelling pee, asparagus help with bloating, they are high in fiber and packed with nutrients including vitamins and minerals, and they are a rich source of antioxidants.
Asparagus Nutrition Data
Nutritionally speaking, asparagus is low in calories (just 20!) and high in nutrients like fiber, vitamins A, K, Folate, and more. Per ½ cup (90g) of cooked asparagus:
- Calories: 20
- Protein: 2.2 grams
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Fiber: 1.8 grams
- Vitamin C: 12% of the RDI
- Vitamin A: 18% of the RDI
- Vitamin K: 57% of the RDI
- Folate: 34% of the RDI
- Potassium: 6% of the RDI
- Phosphorous: 5% of the RDI
- Vitamin E: 7% of the RDI
Asparagus also possesses small amounts of other micronutrients, including iron, zinc, and riboflavin as well as antioxidants.
Antioxidants in Asparagus
Antioxidants found in asparagus include vitamin E, vitamin C, and glutathione, as well as various flavonoids and polyphenols. They also have flavonoids quercetin, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol -which are powerful for heart health.
To get the most benefits from asparagus, try not to overcook them. Cooking asparagus for too long can counteract the benefits -especially if you boil them because many of the vitamins will be left in the water.
For this reason, my favorite way to cook asparagus is in the oven.
Related: How to Roast Asparagus
Asparagus for weight loss
If you’re trying to lose weight, nutritionally rich foods low in calories like asparagus are the perfect food to add to your clean eating meal plan.
Can You Eat Asparagus Every Day?
There’s no reason why you can’t eat a serving of asparagus daily -unless you have an allergy to them. Asparagus are nutritionally rich and beneficial to your health.
Of course, if you can manage putting up with a little stink in your pee, you’re good to go.
A serving of asparagus, about 5 of them, is 80g. You can enjoy two or three servings, 10-15 spears daily.
Here are the answer to a few more questions people often have about the nutritional benefits of asaparagus.
Asparagus has long been used as a natural way to flush out the urinary tract -along with drinking lots of water- and help remedy UTIs naturally.
The healthiest way to cook asparagus is any way in which they are not overcooked. You can steam them, pan-fry them, air fry them, and oven roast them -for example.
A serving of asparagus, about 5 of them, has 1.8g of soluble fiber -about 7% of your daily needs. This type of fiber will add bulk to your stool and help your digestive tract keep itself regular.
Asparagus are great for your kidneys, thanks to their natural diuretic properties. Along with plenty of fluids, it can help rid the body of excess salt and fluid, making it especially good for people suffering from edema and high blood pressure. According to the Western Journal of Medicine, it also helps flush out toxins in kidneys and prevent kidney stones.
As you can see, there are a lot of benefits to eating asparagus. Go ahead and roast some spears for dinner tonight or make my epic Lemon Garlic Asparagus in a pan!
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