Lower Blood Pressure

More than 1.3 billion individuals worldwide suffer from high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. According to research, increasing potassium consumption while decreasing salt intake is an effective method to reduce high blood pressure. Potassium reduces blood pressure by relaxing blood vessel walls and excreting excess salt through urine.

Asparagus is high in potassium, supplying 6% of your daily need in a half-cup portion. Furthermore, studies in rats with high blood pressure indicate that asparagus may have additional blood pressure-lowering characteristics. In one research, rats were fed either a diet containing 5% asparagus or a regular diet containing no asparagus. The rats on the asparagus diet had 17% lower blood pressure after 10 weeks than the animals on the normal diet.

This effect was thought to be caused by an active chemical in asparagus that stimulates blood vessels to widen. Human studies, however, are required to evaluate whether this active chemical has the same impact on humans. In any event, eating more potassium-rich vegetables, such as asparagus, is an excellent approach to help maintain healthy blood pressure.