“High blood pressure (HBP or hypertension) is when your blood pressure, the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels, is consistently too high.  You have a top and bottom number making the systolic B/P =your pressure when the heart is at work and the bottom number is the heart pressure at rest.  In order to survive and function properly, your tissues and organs need the oxygenated blood that your circulatory system carries throughout the body. When the heart beats, it creates pressure that pushes blood through a network of tube-shaped blood vessels, which include arteries, veins and capillaries. This pressure — blood pressure — is the result of two forces: The first force (systolic pressure) occurs as blood pumps out of the heart and into the arteries that are part of the circulatory system. The second force (diastolic pressure) is created as the heart rests between heart beats.”.

American Heart Association

“While there is no cure yet for cystic fibrosis (CF), people with CF are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In fact, prior to the 1950s, children with the most common and most serious forms of cystic fibrosis rarely lived past age 5.  Today, babies born with CF are expected to live into their mid-40s and beyond. Life expectancy has improved so dramatically that there are now more adults with cystic fibrosis than children.  There are people living past their 70’s.”

CF – cysticfibrosis.org

“Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that causes problems with breathing and digestion. CF affects about 35,000 people in the United States. People with CF have mucus that is too thick and sticky, which

• blocks airways and leads to lung damage;
• traps germs and makes infections more likely; and
• prevents proteins needed for digestion from reaching the intestines, which decreases the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food.
• Sometimes it blocks the pancreas”

Center of Disease Prevention and Control CDC

“Harvest is typically a six to seven week season. Harvest is typically in full swing around the middle of May and through June.  Michigan moved up in the ranks as the 2^nd largest producer of asparagus in the nation, producing just less than 21 million pounds.  It’s nutritious, flavorful and one of Michigan’s first signs of spring. Michigan asparagus is the state’s first green vegetable harvested each year. A typical Michigan asparagus harvest begins in mid-April, but in wake of a long, cold winter and cooler spring, it can be pushed back.”

Pure Michigan (https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/celebrate-national-asparagus-month-pure-michigan)

Why?  Here are some reasons asparagus is a health topic for May!

1- Asparagus is a low-calorie vegetable that is an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals, especially folate and vitamins A, C and K.

2- Asparagus is a good source of antioxidants!

3- Antioxidants are compounds that help protect your cells from the harmful effects of free radicals and oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress contributes to aging, chronic inflammation and many diseases, including cancer.

Asparagus, like other green vegetables, is high in antioxidants. These include vitamin E, vitamin C and glutathione, as well as various flavonoids and polyphenols.

Asparagus is particularly high in the flavonoids quercetin, isorhamnetin and kaempferol.  These substances have been found to have blood pressure-lowering, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticancer effects in a number of human, test-tube and animal studies.

Purple asparagus contains powerful pigments called anthocyanins, which give the vegetable its vibrant color and have antioxidant effects in the body.  This increasing anthocyanin intake has been shown to reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks and heart disease. So eating asparagus along with other fruits and vegetables can provide your body with a range of antioxidants to promote good health.

4- Dietary fiber is essential for good digestive health.

Taking a half a cup of asparagus contains 1.8 grams of fiber, which is 7% of your daily needs.

Studies suggest that a diet high in fiber-rich fruits and vegetables may help reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes!

Asparagus is particularly high in insoluble fiber, which adds bulk to stool and supports regular bowel movements.

It also contains a small amount of soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract.  Soluble fiber feeds the friendly bacteria in the gut.  Examples of friendly bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus.  Increasing the number of these beneficial bacteria plays a role in strengthening the immune system and producing essential nutrients like vitamins B12 and K2.  Eating asparagus as part of a fiber-rich diet is an excellent way to help meet your fiber needs and keep your digestive system healthy.

Endling line asparagus helps your digestive system by promoting regularity, digestive health and may aid in reducing your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

5- It helps to support a healthy pregnancy!  How?  Asparagus is an excellent source of folate, also known as vitamin B9.  Just half a cup of asparagus provides adults with 34% of their daily folate needs and pregnant women with 22% of their daily needs.  Getting enough folate from sources like asparagus, green leafy vegetables and fruit can protect against neural tube defects, including spina bifida (both happening during fetal developement).  Folate is so vital during pre-pregnancy and early pregnancy that folate supplements are recommended to ensure women meet their requirements. Folate is an essential nutrient that helps form red blood cells and produce DNA for healthy growth and development. It’s especially important during the early stages of pregnancy to ensure the healthy development of the baby.

6- It helps lower the blood pressure!  High blood pressure affects more than 1.3 billion people worldwide and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.  Research suggests that increasing potassium intake while reducing salt intake is an effective way to lower high blood pressure.  Potassium lowers blood pressure in two ways: by relaxing the walls of blood vessels and excreting excess salt through urine.

Asparagus is a good source of potassium, providing 6% of your daily requirement in a half-cup serving.

What’s more, research in rats with high blood pressure suggests that asparagus may have other blood pressure-lowering properties. In one study, rats were fed either a diet with 5% asparagus or a standard diet without asparagus.

After 10 weeks, the rats on the asparagus diet had 17% lower blood pressure than the rats on the standard diet.

Ending line, eating more potassium-rich vegetables, such as asparagus, is a great way to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.

7- It can help if your dieting to lose weight.  How?  First asparagus is about 94% water. Research suggests that consuming low-calorie, water-rich foods is associated with weight loss.  It can definitely help in dieting!

8- It’s inexpensive!

“First discovered in an Aboriginal Australian woman in 1961, the RH null (Rhesus null) is one of the rarest and most precious blood types in the world. Like a needle in a haystack, less than 50 people in the world are known to have it!

People who have the ‘golden blood’ type lack these Rh antigens. Their DNA lacks the genes responsible for building those RBC protein complexes. These people don’t just lack one, two or three of these 61 Rh antigens, they actually lack all of them. Yes, you read that right: all of them. As you might have guessed, people with Rh_null blood type have abnormal RBCs. They have deformed shapes, leaky membranes and shorter lifespans, which sometimes result in mild anaemia for the individual. Still, the absence of all Rh antigens makes Rh_null the ‘golden blood’, which is highly admired for its rarity and medical purposes.

To find out why this blood type was coined as the ‘golden blood’, we need to open the world of blood types and its systems.”

The University of Melbourne

“Hepatitis D and E typically have abrupt onset of fever, nausea, and abdominal pain followed by jaundice. Hepatitis D may progress to chronic hepatitis.  Hepatitis D  is known as “delta hepatitis,” is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis D virus (HDV). Hepatitis D is uncommon in the United States. Hepatitis D only occurs among people who are infected with the Hepatitis B virus (BHV) because HDV is an incomplete virus that requires the helper function of HBV to replicate. HDV. Hepatitis E is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis E virus (HEV). Hepatitis E is a self-limited disease that does not result in chronic infection. While rare in the United States, Hepatitis E is common in many parts of the world. It is transmitted from ingestion of fecal matter, even in microscopic amounts, and is usually associated with contaminated water supply in countries with poor sanitation. There is currently no FDA-approved vaccine for Hepatitis E. ”

Washington State Dept of Health

“Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus.  The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus and most infection occur through exposure to blood from unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood transfusions, injection drug use and sexual practices that lead to exposure to blood.  Globally, an estimated 58 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, with about 1.5 million new infections occurring per year.”.

World Health Organization WHO

“Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are two types of hepatitis. (The others are types C, D, and E.) You get them from a viral infection.  Each of those viruses is different. But the diseases they cause are similar. Hepatitis brings liver inflammation, and it can be serious or even life-threatening.  There are safe and effective vaccines that can prevent hepatitis A and B (but not for types C, D, or E). There is also a combination vaccine that guards against hep A and B.”.

WebM.D.