Can Asparagus Cure Cancer?

Asparagus and Cancer

I found it to be pretty amazing when I first heard the claims made by a co-worker that Asparagus could cure cancer, so the first thing I did was go to Snopes and see what they had to say. Interestingly enough, it has yet to be determined. I have yet to personally receive the e-mail that is going around with the story, but here is a copy of part of it. Follow the link for the rest, which also includes instructions on how to prepare the "cure."

Several years ago, I had a man seeking asparagus for a friend who had cancer. He gave me a photocopied copy of an article, entitled, `Asparagus for cancer' printed in Cancer News Journal, December 1979. I will share it here, just as it was shared with me:

"I am a biochemist, and have specialised in the relation of diet to health for over 50 years. Several years ago, I learned of the discovery of Richard R. Vensal, D.D.S. that asparagus might cure cancer. Since then, I have worked with him on his project, and we have accumulated a number of favourable case histories. Here are a few examples.

Case No. 1, man with an almost hopeless case of Hodgkin's disease (cancer of the lymph glands) who was completely incapacitated. Within 1 year of starting the asparagus therapy, his doctors were unable to detect any signs of cancer, and he was back on a schedule of strenuous exercise.

Case No. 2, a successful businessman 68 years old who suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years. After years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement, he went on asparagus. Within 3 months, examinations revealed that his bladder tumour had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.

Maybe that is why your pee smells so bad after you eat asparagus. Maybe that's the smell of dead cancer cells!

I'm going to have to say that asparagus does nothing for skin cancer. I eat asparagus about once a week and absolutely love pickled asparagus, and just got the news that I have Basal cell carcinoma that is going to require treatment for the next six weeks.

[edit on 5-6-2009 by Mudman21]

i honestly believe that most fruits and veggies are capable of defeating almost any disease or ailment

nature is the best doctor

It wouldn't surprise me that something so simple would be the cure to one of the biggest plagues in human history.

***Also: My Cancer theory
If cancer doesn't rot it would give credit to this theory.
the theory is that cancer is caused by all of the chemical perservatives, and additives in our food. The more we eat this crap, the stronger the cancer gets.


*** Copyright by The Killah29, June 5th, 2009. All rights reserved. (So it's my excullsive theory.0

I also believe that cancer is caused by many of the toxins we are subjected to.

To list a few that I believe contribute:
*GM produced foods
*Fluoride
*Artificial Sweetners
*Chemicals in our ozone/atmosphere
*Stress
*Medical testing (X-rays)
*Over indulgence of red meat

And I read an article not too long ago that some vegetables have been linked to cancer.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9e1a78924e52.jpg[/atsimg]

Looks like asparagus is loaded with all kinds of good nutrients!


[edit on 5-6-2009 by Mudman21]

A Birth Defect Fighter

Especially if you're thinking about becoming pregnant or are in the early stages of pregnancy, make asparagus a frequent addition to your meals. A cup of asparagus supplies approximately 263 mcg of folate, a B-vitamin essential for proper cellular division because it is necessary in DNA synthesis. Without folate, the fetus' nervous system cells do not divide properly. Inadequate folate during pregnancy has been linked to several birth defects, including neural tube defects like spina bifida. Despite folate's wide availability in food (it's name comes from the Latin word folium, meaning "foliage," because it's found in green leafy vegetables), folate deficiency is the most common vitamin defiency in the world.

Asparagus, as described above, is a good source of folate. I find it interesting that this snippit states that folate deficiency is the most common in the world. With the junk diet everyones on now, I wonder if there is a link between this deficiency and cancer.

reply to post by Mudman21


I recently read where too much folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, can increase your chances of cancer. The article I read suggested minimizing foods such, as cereals that add folic acid, to servings of two to three times a week. (I say just know what your eating, and eat the correct amount; RDA for folate is 400 micrograms per day. One bowl of most cereals and your done.)

Interestingly enough, folate has been shown to prevent cancer in lab animals, which was the motive behind producing a synthetic, but it only proved to speed up the disease in those that were treated.

Perhaps the folate in asparagus is the key... still doesn't explain how people with cancer already are being cured, however. The opposite should be true. It should speed it up.


US News / Folate

...folate may lower cancer risk in people who are healthy. But once a defect is present, experts theorize, replicating cancer cells hungrily gobble up folate to make new copies of their malevolent DNA.

So folate is the link one way or another. That is very interesting what you posted. We recently had a child and my wife was supplementing folate at the request of her doctor. No side effects so we thought it was a vitamin like C where if you get too much, you just wee it out the excess.

Maybe it's the folate in combination with the other nutrients in asparagus that makes it work. Just the right combination to make it effective.

[edit on 5-6-2009 by Mudman21]

reply to post by Mudman21


I really don't know what it is in asparagus... could it be the folate? Seems like it might, but it must be unique somehow in that it doesn't speed up the cancer growth.

I also posted this info on my Facebook profile, and one of my friends said that eating asparagus actually took care of her kidney stones.

If you'll recall, case #4 had this to say...

'The elements of Materia Medica', edited in 1854 by a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that asparagus was used as a popular remedy for kidney stones. He even referred to experiments, in 1739, on the power of asparagus in dissolving stones.

A quick search on google pulled up a lot of info on the treatment of Kidney stones using asparagus, but what is it in asparagus that takes care of the stones? Is it the same property that takes care of cancer? Maybe so.

Not sure about curing it, but red clover blossoms help keep it in check!

If you cut out all the junk food and live off asparagus, it probably would though! Or maybe it would just turn you green!
Tomatoes also are a cancer fighter, as is citrus fruit.
If cancer is cured theres no more big money to be made!
It's all in the know, but trust big pharma if you want to....

reply to post by dodadoom


Shucks, for all we know, "big pharma" has known about this for years... you can't patent asparagus.

**** BTW, I just noticed from your profile that you live in Idaho... cool . I grew up in the Twin Falls area. (Kimberly to be more specific.)



[edit on 7-6-2009 by apaulo]

I don't know about curing cancer but I can tell you that I had massive cravings for fresh asparagus whilst going through chemo therapy for a liver tumour.

I was never a fan of this amazing green herb but I suddenly had to have it regularly, it was like a craving one gets when pregnant.

I just had to have it...I placed it in a shallow dish with a little water (not covered just enough so it did not dry out) covere with wrap and microwaved it for about 2 minutes. Then I drizzled extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar over it.

Asparagus is said to aid in cleansing the blood.

Carbohydrates 3.88 g
- Sugars 1.88 g
- Dietary fiber 2.1 g
Fat 0.12 g
Protein 2.20 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.143 mg 11%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.141 mg 9%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.978 mg 7%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.274 mg 5%
Vitamin B6 0.091 mg 7%
Folate (Vit. B9) 52 μg 13%
Vitamin C 5.6 mg 9%
Calcium 24 mg 2%
Iron 2.14 mg 17%
Magnesium 14 mg 4%
Phosphorus 52 mg 7%
Potassium 202 mg 4%
Zinc 0.54 mg 5%
Manganese 0.158 mg

And yes it does make your urine smell strong.


res

[edit on 7-6-2009 by resistancia]

reply to post by apaulo

Ah "Asparagas"! Hee Hee! Love it!
There is plenty of 'Aspargas' in Southern Idaho!
Grows wild (and free) and huge!
Kimberly's cool. We played on the corner at the
little bar there, kitty corner from the maverik.
I forget the name right off. Theres a diner there too.
Or was. Believe it was called Wally's or something like that.
Anyway, all I have to do is walk my fenceline and get enough
"assparagas" for several dinners! We are blessed.
You need something to go with it though, like a salad and some chicken.
I love it just with butter. Pickled is also really good!

The bad part is waiting all year for it to grow again! Nice to meet you!


[edit on 7-6-2009 by dodadoom]

reply to post by resistancia
Res, that’s pretty cool. I really believe that our bodies have a mind of their own, and IF we’ll just listen, it will let us know what we need.

Ever heard of kinesiology? I used to think it was pseudoscience until I did my own experiment with my wife. I’d close my eyes as she picked something in the kitchen (started with pills) and I’d hold it in my left hand to my chest, and hold my right hand straight out to the side. She would apply gentle pressure to my extended hand, and if it stayed strong, then it was good for me. If it dropped, then it made me weak and I didn’t need it. Every single thing we checked was correct. For example, no matter how many times she tried to sneak Midol in on me, or sugar I would always test weak.

reply to post by dodadoom
Like no other place I have been, does asparagus indeed grow like weeds on the roadsides there in Southern Idaho… There were days when I was a kid that my mom would drive up and down the roads to gather up the stuff.

BTW, good to meet you, too.

reply to post by apaulo

The only downside to the asparagus here is the short season!
Funny you mention kinesiology!
My family goes to Sue Phillips in Twin for chiropractic care.
She is very good at it, as well my sisters are too!
I dont know how it works just glad it does.
I have not really tried it much but everyone is apparently able to do it.
The oldest sister also does Reiki and that works well too.
Something you can do on the injured or animals in pain, etc...
We also go to a "gentle chiropractor" there too that really
helped me with my injuries and fibromyalgia.

Chubby's! Does that sound like the name of the place on the corner?
Right across from the school and kitty corner from the maverik store.
Gad, its only been a couple years ago, but I have played many places
through the years and my memory is not quite what it used to be either!

Looks like you are right, straight from pub med:

Asparanin A induces G(2)/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells.

We recently established that asparanin A, a steroidal saponin extracted from Asparagus officinalis L., is an active cytotoxic component. The molecular mechanisms by which asparanin A exerts its cytotoxic activity are currently unknown.

In other terms, a compound from asparagus causes the death of liver cancer cells.

reply to post by dodadoom


You mentioned citrus fruit helps in the cancer fight, but be careful of Grapefruit. Grapefruit has a chemical in it which serves as a superhighway for hormones...actually increasing the chances of getting breast cancer in those who eat it. This substance makes hormones travel thru the body more efficiently...causing the cancer to grow. Women should avoid grapefruit.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky


Thanks for that and I will tell my wife immediately.
I have heard that everyone should eat a couple everyday!
Maybe its because there are so many more hormones in our food
as compared to old days. They are more concentrated.
They have even been found in our drinking water!
There are so many of these unknowns when you start mixing things
and polluting our very kitchen(so to speak), we are just barely scratching
the surface here I'm sure.
Thank you for that and you may have saved lives!
As much as we love grapefruit, there are many other citrus fruits
to fill the gap anyway! I will look into this.
Thats the nice thing about these natural remedies and food!
Eventually you find one that really works well for you.....
plus, no side effects or very mild ones anyway, if any.
If we were eating clean, healthy, non-modified food everyday
(like we used to)and working hard, like we were designed for, we
probably wouldn't have many of these cancers and diseases we now face!
It comes back to processing any good out of our food and replacing
it with poisons. No wonder we get sick and die prematurely.
The human body is remarkably strong!
It puts up with being a garbage dump for many years usually,
before adverse effects are even noticed by most.
Of course, by then the insurance companies, hospitals, doctors,
pharmaceutical companies, etc, and possibly funeral homes,
have already made their money off us many times over....

Even as millions aren’t getting treatments they vitally need, a leading medical journalist argues that the main culprit in the soaring cost of American health care is actually overtreatment… and all that extra care is making us sick....
According to the Congressional Budget Office, in the past 30 years health care spending has risen 2 percent faster annually than the rest of the economy. In 2007 the total U.S. health care bill came to $2.3 trillion—more than we spent last year on food.

www.aarpmagazine.org...

[edit on 7-6-2009 by dodadoom]

reply to post by dodadoom

Sue Phillips… I know that name, but I can’t actually place the face. (Would she happen to be a mid-wife?) As for Chubby’s, that particular bar was probably 5 different bars during my high school years alone. Last I recall it was the Rainbow Bar. I can’t believe I even remember that… I graduated in 91’.

reply to post by elusivetruth

Thank you very much for the contribution. That info certainly isn’t for the layman of medicine, but what a fantastic find.

This info really needs to get out... I 'm not a point or flag monger. I really could care less, but be sure to flag this post to get it moved up.


[edit on 7-6-2009 by apaulo]

Interesting thread, however, I do not think asparagus has the right chemicals to do so. But I could be very wrong, I know it can help with kidney stones, so why not other things? It obviously has the right formula to ease the pain, but for curing it? I am not really certain it can.

GOOD TO SEE you again mate, we need to talk more..lol.

Peace.