Hello again, I’m glad that May is upon us….the time of the year when the farm shop are really starting to fill up with home grown fruit and vegetables.
As a GP, i’m often asked what foods can boost your health and the various properties of various foods. This month i’m featuring my absolute favourite vegetable…asparagus. It only has a short season in the UK…and tastes amazing compared to foreign imports.
I’m also perhaps going to introduce you to samphire which is just appearing on our shores in May.
Asparagus
- A great source of vitamin K, and an 80g serving provides 60% of the RDA of folic acid which is important in early pregnancy to help prevent spina bifida.
- It also tends to have a diuretic action and has been popular for women eat if they get premenstrual water retention.
- You may have also noticed the unusual aroma when you pass urine after eating asparagus, this is due to chemicals called ‘thiols’ which are released as it is digested!
- Also a rich source of vitamin A & C.
- At only 4 calories per spear (more if dipped in butter!) it is a great fat-free vegetable that is also low in sodium.
- The herbalist Nicholas Culpepper said in the 1600’s ‘that asparagus stirred up lust in man and woman’….and its aphrodisiac properties have been debated ever since!
Samphire
- There are two main varieties, marsh and rock samphire.
- It tends to resemble minature cacti.
- It is being sold increasingly often now in good fishmongers and farm shops and is delicious with fish.
- Or if you are lucky, you may be able to harvest your own along the marshes especially on the Norfolk coast.
- It is usually boiled and served with butter, but is also popular pickled.
- Samphire is rich in vitamin C and similar to asparagus, has a mild diuretic effect.
- There are also reports that samphire may have properties to help combat obesity, and is known to help the digestive system, in particular relieve flatulence!
Well, thats about all for now folks! Don’t forget to get in touch via the feedback page if you have any comments about the features and let me know of anything you’d like to know more about……
Dr Nic
Click here to see the April Health page
Click here to see the March Health page
Click here to see the February Health page
