If you happen to be a fan of asparagus, then here's some bad news for you. In a recent study published in the Nature Journal, it was found that asparagus has amino acid that has been associated with spreading of breast cancer.
The study was conducted to determine how asparagine, the amino acid that builds protein, may be linked to the disease. Other foods that have higher concentrations of this compound include soy, dairy, poultry and seafood. The experiment was conducted on mice, where the researchers attempted to block the production of asparagine in mice with a drug called L-asparaginase. They also fed the animals a low-asparagine diet.
As per the findings of the study, it was they found that both methods reduced breast cancer's ability to spread. Later, mice studies were used to access the human breast cancer patients. According to the researchers, the ability of breast cancer cells to make asparagine was directly proportional to the chances of disease being spread. Apart from this, they also suspected that this could be the case for kidney and head and neck cancers as well.
The researchers believe that, in addition to chemotherapy, the patients should be given asparagine-restricted diets to help prevent the illness from spreading.