Asparagus Anyone?

We don’t hear many synchronicity stories about vegetables, but here’s one about asparagus. It starts though with a serial synchronicity about kidneys…and there’s a connection. It comes from Jane Clifford, a native of England residing in Wales.

“My daughter, Sophie, had two serious kidney infections this year and thankfully has recovered. Two weeks ago, my best friend of forty-five years had to go to accident and emergency twice with terrible kidney pain diagnosed as a kidney infection.

“Then today Sophie’s best friend’s partner in Switzerland was diagnosed with serious kidney issues and is on dialysis. These things tend to come to me in 3s!

“Anyway, today I was telling Sophie on the phone that years ago I had read about asparagus being amazing medicine for kidneys and it included case histories. I wished I had saved the information to pass it on.

“Hours later, I was visiting a friend’s FB page and there it was, the exact information about asparagus that I want to share! I’m in the flow today, it seems.”

Of course we wanted to know what the connection was between asparagus and kidney issues. What Jane sent began with an article from a former Navy seaman who had been stationed in Key West, Florida.

“In 1986, I worked at the clinic at Naval Air Station on Big Coppitt Key just a few miles north of Key West. The hospital at Key West was for out-patients only for retired armed forces personnel that lived in the area. If you needed to be hospitalized, you were sent to Homestead AFB Florida.

“I had the day off and went inside the hospital. (Corpsman barracks were next to hospital). There was a retired Navy man who worked in the lab, a retired biochemist from the USN. He asked me what was going on that day and I said I had the day off.  I told him that I wished I was working, because the crew on today was taking a sailor to Homestead. He had a very bad kidney infection, and needed hospitalization.

“Now this elderly gent told me the man should have eaten more asparagus, and he wouldn’t have that problem. I asked why?  I’ll never forget him saying, do you eat asparagus? and I said yes, I love them. He replied you notice how your urine stinks after eating asparagus? I said well I never thought it was what I ate but yes it does have a pungent odor.  He said, it was because the asparagus was detoxifying your body of harmful chemicals.

The biochemist later emailed the corpsman the following:

“Several years ago, I met a man seeking asparagus for a friend who had cancer. He gave me a copy of an article, entitled “Asparagus For Cancer” printed in the Cancer News Journal, December 1979. I will share it here, just as it was shared with me: I am a biochemist, and have specialized 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. We have accumulated a number of favorable case histories. Here are a few examples:

“Case No. 1. A 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, suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years.  After years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement, he began taking asparagus. Within 3 months, examinations revealed that his bladder tumor had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.

“Case No. 3. On March 5th 1971, a man who had lung cancer was put on the operating table where they found lung cancer so widely spread that it was inoperable.  The surgeon sewed him up and declared his case hopeless. On April 5th he heard about the Asparagus therapy and immediately started taking it. By August, x-ray pictures revealed that all signs of the cancer had disappeared. He is now back at his regular business routine.

“Case No. 4. A woman had been troubled for a number of years with skin cancer. She developed different skin cancers which were diagnosed by the acting specialist as advanced. Within 3 months after beginning asparagus therapy, the skin specialist said her skin looked fine with no more skin lesions. This woman reported that the asparagus therapy also cured her kidney disease, which had started in 1949. She had over 10 operations for kidney stones, and was receiving government disability payments for an inoperable, terminal, kidney condition. She attributes the cure of this kidney trouble entirely to the asparagus treatment.

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Hmm, is this stuff true? Asparagus, a cure all, a cancer killer? Why doesn’t the corpsman and the biochemist have names? But the nameless biochemist wasn’t finished. So we read on.

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“I was not surprised at this result. `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. Note the dates!  We would have other case histories, but the medical establishment has interfered with our obtaining some of the records. I am therefore appealing to readers to spread this good news and help us to gather a large number of case histories that will overwhelm the medical skeptics about this unbelievably simple and natural remedy.

“For the treatment, asparagus should be cooked before using. Fresh or canned asparagus can be used. I have corresponded with the two leading canners of asparagus, Giant and Stokely, and I am satisfied that these brands contain no pesticides or preservatives.  Place the cooked asparagus in a blender and liquefy to make a puree. Store in the refrigerator. Give the patient 4 full tablespoons twice daily, morning and evening.  Patients usually show some improvement in 2-4 weeks.  It can be diluted with water and used as a cold or hot drink.  This suggested dosage is based on present experience, but certainly larger amounts can do no harm and may be needed in some cases.

“As a biochemist I am convinced of the old saying that `what cures can prevent.’ Based on this theory, my wife and I have been using asparagus puree as a beverage with our meals. We take 2 tablespoons diluted in water to suit our taste with breakfast and with dinner. I take mine hot and my wife prefers hers cold. For years we have made it a practice to have blood surveys taken as part of our regular checkups. The last blood survey, taken by a medical doctor who specializes in the nutritional approach to health, showed substantial improvements in all categories over the last one, and we can attribute these improvements to nothing but the asparagus drink. As a biochemist, I have made an extensive study of all aspects of cancer, and all of the proposed cures. As a result, I am convinced that asparagus fits in better with the latest theories about cancer.

“Asparagus contains a good supply of protein called histones, which are believed to be active in controlling cell growth. For that reason, I believe asparagus can be said to contain a substance that I call cell growth normalizer. That accounts for its action on cancer and in acting as a general body tonic. In any event, regardless of theory, asparagus used as we suggest, is a harmless substance. The FDA cannot prevent you from using it and it may do you much good. It has been reported by the US National Cancer Institute, that asparagus is the highest tested food containing glutathione, which is considered one of the body’s most potent anticarcinogens and antioxidants.

“Just a side note… In case you are wondering why this has not been made public, there is no profit in curing cancer.”

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Our assessment is that eating or drinking blended asparagus is harmless and nutritious. But does it cure cancer? Well, that’s another matter. It doesn’t take long these days to check out such stories. Here an article about the asparagus therapy. It’s written by Dr. Joe Schwarcz for the McGill Office of Science and Society, a newsletter with the sub-title: Separating Sense from Nonsense. Yes, it’s quite skeptical.

The author, Dr. Joe Schwarcz apparently read the material above, because in his assessment, he notes:

“These stunning results obtained with asparagus therapy are reported by some unnamed biochemist who learned of the discovery from an article in a journal that cannot be found written by Richard Vensal, a dentist who cannot be found.”

Schwarcz’s article is called…”Can Asparagus be a Treatment for Cancer,” but it could’ve been called:  “Spare us the Asparagus.”

We had asparagus for dinner this evening with a fish stew I made. Hey, it can’t hurt.

So it goes.

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/cancer-controversial-science-food-health-you-asked/can-asparagus-be-treatment-cancer