Back in 2015, my good friend and I entered a six-week workout program, where we committed to at least 5 workouts a week (we often did 6 or 7) and a healthy diet. With the program, you pay $500 upfront for workouts, diet tips, and access to coaches 24/7. At the end, if you lost the 20 pounds it guaranteed, you were reimbursed the $500 or allowed to use it on future classes or packages. Although we were quite good about following the plan the first 4 weeks, we ran into a bit of trouble the remaining 2 weeks, when our weight loss became stagnant. In the fitness world, this is known as a plateau.

Our coaches told us and everyone else who was in jeopardy of missing their $500 dollar deposit to follow an asparagus diet. Confused at what that meant, we were told to eat tilapia and asparagus every single day till the challenge was over. I know what you are thinking, but this is 2015 — we were young and dumb and ready to be “skinny,” so we followed it. I would never do this now, but at the time, the asparagus was like a miracle product. It made our skin less inflamed and helped us drop the final pounds. I never properly looked into the benefits of asparagus at the time, but I had the pleasure of learning all about it while writing this story.

Wild asparagus root is used in Eastern medicine, and comes in the form of asparagus racemosus, a beige root known in Ayurveda as Shatavari; and an orange-red root called Asparagus lochinchinesis, used in Chinese medicine. It’s important to note that there are hundreds of varieties of the asparagus plant, and these 2 roots are not the ones we eat. Both asparagus lochinchinesis and Tian Men Dong have been studied for their anti-inflammatory effects and anti-cancer properties. Some use the root as an antidepressant and to mitigate stress. It can be used as a supplement in coffee, tea, and water.

The effects you will see on your skin include less puffiness, redness, and it’s great for soothing irritation. With all the plethora or herbs, ingredients, and moisturizing products on the marketplace, it can feel like a saturated and overwhelming world, so of course take the information with a grain of salt. However, if you do like following bandwagon things and new trends, it’s high time to try asparagus root.

Asparagus (the kind you eat) also happens to have folate, which is key to a nutritious diet.