10 Benefits of Celery
1. Celery helps digestion
Being rich in water and rich in insoluble fiber helps celery to regulate your stool. It’s often used as a diuretic for its cleansing properties (1). But it’s best to avoid it if you have diarrhea. Have some before you go to bed to flush out any unwanted toxins.
2. Alleviates and relieves
Celery is known to alleviate inflammation, often in joint pain,
because of its antioxidants and polyphenols (2). It can also be
beneficial for asthma. It’s a great acne reliever too because of its
salicylic acid which removes follicular clog (3).
3. Regulates alkaline balance
The pH levels of your body are balanced by eating more celery, which prevents your body from becoming too acidic (4).
4. Reduces high blood pressure
Active compounds known as phthalides are plentiful in celery. They
improve circulatory health by at least 14% and help lower stress
hormones in the blood, which lets the blood flow more smoothly (5).
5. Treat ‘bad’ cholesterol
Otherwise known as LDL, ‘bad’ cholesterol can lead to high blood
pressure. Celery contains an ingredient known as butylphthalide, which
is responsible for the aroma and taste of it, but it also reduces
cholesterol. Two stalks of celery a day can reduce LDL by up to 7%! (6)
6. Supports eye health
Hold off on glasses shopping for a while, one celery stalk can have
up to 10% of daily vitamin A. Vitamin A protects the eyes and protects
against vision degeneration that comes with age. The high concentration
of polyphenol phytonutrients also helps keep your vision at 20/20 (7).
7. Helps you lose weight
As if you didn’t know they were already healthy, a full stalk of
celery can have as little as 10 calories and contains a lot of water.
This makes it a good addition to salads, soups and stir-fries (8). Stay
full without putting on the pounds.
8. Reduces stress
Magnesium is a known stress reliever, and celery contains enough of
it to help you stay calm, as much as 11mg per 100mg. It soothes the
nervous system due to high amounts of minerals like magnesium and also
essential oils (9). If you eat it in the evening it can even help you
fall asleep easier.
9. Fights cancer
Celery contains a flavonoid called luteolin which inhibits cancer cell growth, especially in the pancreas and for colorectal cancer (10). It could also delay the formation of breast cancer cells (11).
10. Enhance your sex life
Who knew that celery would be the sexiest vegetable? Two sex pheromones, androstenone and androstenol, are released while chewing and help to boost arousal levels (12).
If you can, steam your celery, as it’s been shown to preserve up to 99% of the nutrients and keeps the original flavor. Freshly chopped also keeps the nutrients longer than if you chop them and store it in the fridge. And lastly, the darker the color, the stronger the flavor. But make sure it’s not rotten and mushy!
Sources:
(1) (7) (8) https://draxe.com/benefits-of-celery/
(2) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13880208509070685
(3) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2494.2011.00647.x/full
(4) http://search.proquest.com/openview/39ba25d4f61cb2a8db2f625262b55fee/1?pq-origsite=gscholar
(5) (6) http://www.livescience.com/50640-celery-nutrition.html
(9) http://mdheal.org/magnesiu1.htm
(10) http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/2/362.short
(11) http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/ccdt/2008/00000008/00000007/art00007
(12) http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01953265
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00988134
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/celery.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643810002550