asparagus
Folate- and vitamin-K-dense spring spear with prebiotic fructans and emerging cardiometabolic signals.
Nutrition per serving 1 cup, cooked (boiled, drained) (180 g)
- Sugars 2.3 g1%
- Fibre 3.6 g2%
- Other carbs 1.5 g1%
- Protein 4.3 g2%
- Other 168.3 g94%
| Nutrient | Per serving | % daily value |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 14 mg | 15% |
| Fiber | 3.6 g | 13% |
| Potassium | 403 mg | 9% |
| Folate | 268 µg | 67% |
| Vitamin A | 90 µg | 10% |
| Vitamin K | 91 µg | 76% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.14 mg | 8% |
| Manganese | 0.28 mg | 12% |
| Copper | 0.3 mg | 33% |
| Vitamin E | 2.7 mg | 18% |
| Magnesium | 25 mg | 6% |
| Calcium | 41 mg | 3% |
Composition data: USDA FoodData Central ↗
What is asparagus?
asparagus is a vegetable used for asparagus-powder rct lowered fasting and post-load glucose, triglycerides and oxidative stress over 12 weeks. NutriDex grades the human evidence as Moderate. Asparagus is exceptionally nutrient-dense for its low calorie load, delivering large fractions of daily folate and vitamin K plus prebiotic inulin-type fructans, the flavonol quercetin/rutin, and saponins. Direct human trials of whole asparagus are scarce: the strongest is a 2025 double-blind RCT (n=44) in which 12 weeks of asparagus powder lowered fasting glucose, post-load glucose AUC, triglycerides and oxidative stress versus placebo, though it was small and exploratory. Most of the supporting evidence is indirect, drawn from meta-analyses of asparagus's signature constituents—prebiotic inulin-type fructans improving glycemic markers, quercetin modestly lowering blood pressure, and high dietary-fibre/folate intakes linked to lower cardiovascular and stroke risk in pooled cohorts and trials. Overall the human evidence is moderate and largely surrogate-endpoint or constituent-based rather than proof that asparagus itself changes hard outcomes.