19 Proven Health Benefits of Celery are diverse and very important for health. Besides that, besides being delicious, celery combines with various foods and is capable of being extremely nutritious for our health. From soups to salads, celery (or celery as it is also known) provides vitamins and minerals essential for the body, ensuring a healthy and full life.
Celery is an extremely complete vegetable. It has antioxidants, vitamins C, K and B6, besides being a source of folate and potassium. Popular medicine itself has already used celery with great success to treat cases of hypertension. Currently, many other benefits of celery have been proven, only reinforcing popular knowledge. Then check out the 19 Proven Health Benefits of Celery:
Benefits of Celery for Eye Health: One large stalk of celery delivers 5 percent of your daily need for Vitamin A, a group of nutrients that protects the eyes and prevents age-related degeneration of vision.
Benefits of Celery to Fight Migraine: The presence of coumarins in celery can provide relief from migraines. The exact mechanism isn’t completely understood, but research points to a suppression of nitric oxide release in the brain, which can cause headaches and migraines.
Benefits of Celery to Avoid Infections: Because celery helps to reduce uric acid and stimulates urine production, it’s beneficial for fighting bacterial infections within the digestive tract and reproductive organs. Similarly to cranberries that are known for fighting urinary tract infections (UTIs), celery can help prevent such UTIs, as well as bladder disorders, kidney problems and possibly even cysts on reproductive organs.
Benefits of Celery to Reduce Cholesterol: Eating celery every day may reduce artery-clogging cholesterol (called LDL or “bad” cholesterol). The phthalides in this herb also stimulate the secretion of bile juices, which work to reduce cholesterol levels. Less cholesterol means less plaque on the artery walls and a general improvement in heart health. The fiber that is found in it also works to scrape the cholesterol out of the bloodstream and eliminate it from the body with regular bowel movements, further boosting cardiovascular health.
Benefits of Celery as a Natural Calming: Celery for stress-relief? Oh yes! The minerals in celery, especially magnesium, and the essential oil in it, soothe the nervous system. If you enjoy a celery-based snack in the evening, you may sleep better.
Benefits of Celery to Strengthen the Immune System: Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, celery greatly boosts the strength of the immune system and makes it more active and efficient. Eating this vitamin C rich vegetable regularly can reduce your risk of catching a common cold, as well as protect you against a variety of other diseases.
Benefits of Celery to Prevent Ulcers: Here’s one of the benefits of celery you may not have known about: It can help prevent or reduce the formation of painful ulcers. A 2010 study published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Biology found that celery contains a special type of ethanol extract that is useful in protecting the lining of the digestive tract from ulcers. Celery extract has the ability to significantly replenish depleted levels of gastric mucus that is needed in the stomach lining to prevent tiny holes and openings from forming.
Researchers believe celery nourishes the stomach, colon and intestines due to the presence of chemical constituents such as flavonoids, tannins, volatile oils and alkaloids that control the level of gastric acid released while also improving the level of protective mucus.
Benefits of Celery to Control High Blood Pressure: Celery contains phthalides, which are organic chemical compounds that can lower the level of stress hormones in your blood. This allows your blood vessels to expand, giving your blood more room to move, thereby reducing pressure. It also contains potassium that acts as a vasodilator, reducing blood pressure. When blood pressure is reduced, it puts less stress on the entire cardiovascular system and reduces the chances of developing atherosclerosis or suffering from a heart attack or stroke.
Benefits of Celery for Digestion: some say celery tastes like “crunchy water,” and this may be part of the reason it is so good for your digestive system. The high water content of celery, combined with the insoluble fiber in it, makes it a great tool for easy passage of stool. Note: because celery has diuretic and cleansing properties, those with diarrhea should avoid eating it.
Benefits of Celery to Reduce Arthritis Pain: Celery is great for people suffering from arthritis, rheumatism, and gout. It has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce swelling and pain around the joints. Its sticks also act as a diuretic, which helps to remove uric acid crystals that build up around the body’s joints that can add to the pain and discomfort. It can also increase the regrowth of tissue in inflamed joints.
Benefits of Celery to Improve Your Sexual Life: According to Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, Director of the Smeel and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, two pheromones in celery–androstenone and androstenol–boost your arousal levels. They are released when you chew on a celery stalk.
Benefits of Celery as an Antimicrobial: Celery seeds have actually been used for centuries as an herbal medicine with reported antibacterial effects. A 2009 report published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology shows that celery contains special anti-microbial components found in the seeds of the celery plant.
When extract was taken from celery seeds and combined with harmful bacteria compounds that cause infection in humans, the celery extract was able to significantly purify and reduce the bacteria’s growth, suggesting celery can be used to naturally boost immunity and fight bacterial infections.
Benefits of Celery to Relieve Asthma Symptoms: Vitamin C present in celery prevents free radical damage and also has anti-inflammatory properties that lessen the severity of inflammatory conditions like asthma.
Benefits of Celery for Liver Health: When researchers from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Helwan University in Egypt fed rats celery (along with chicory and barley), these rats experienced a reduction in the amount of dangerous fat buildup within the liver.
Precisely, when researchers supplemented the high-cholesterol diets of rats with celery, chicory and barley powder, they observed an improvement in liver enzyme function and blood lipid levels. The more celery, chicory and barley the rats were given, the more their liver health improved. This suggests that a diet high in celery, as well as chicory and barley, can be beneficial for people suffering from liver disease.
Benefits of Celery to Treat Rheumatism: Celery extracts, which contain 85% 3-n-butylphthalide (3nB), are effective in treating arthritis and muscular pains.
Benefits of Celery For Weight Loss: Celery is extremely low in calories and can be a valuable food to help you lose weight because of its ability to provide vital nutrients and to help regulate lipid (fat) metabolism. One of the major benefits of celery is that it’s so nutrient-dense, meaning it provides antioxidants, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, B vitamins and potassium – all with very little calories.
Benefits of Celery to Detoxify the Body: It acts as an antioxidant, and in truth, all parts of celery including the seeds, roots, and leaves can be used. Eating this vegetable regularly helps to avoid diseases of the kidney, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.
Benefits of Celery to Protect from Cancer: Another one of the important benefits of celery? It’s in the same plant family as cancer-protective vegetables like carrots, celery, fennel, parsley and parsnips, which all contain chemo-protective compounds called polyacetylenes. Early studies have shown that polyacetylenes help reduce toxicity and fight against cancer formation, specifically breast cancer, intestinal cancer and leukemia.
Polyacetlynes have many immune-boosting effects, including tumor-fighting abilities that stop mutated cells from proliferating. According to faculty of the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the Aarhus University of Denmark, polyacetylenes have shown many interesting bioactivities including anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet-aggregatory, cytotoxic, antitumor activity, as well as activity against bacteria and mycoplasma.
Benefits of Celery to Reduce Inflammation: Celery contains antioxidants and polysaccharides that are known to act as anti-inflammatories, especially flavonoid and polyphenol antioxidants. These support overall health, especially as someone ages, by fighting free-radical damage (or oxidative stress) that can lead to inflammation. Inflammation is often a contributing cause of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, arthritis and many more.
Researchers have identified over a dozen different types of antioxidants that are responsible for the benefits of celery — these include such phenolic acids as caffeic acid and ferulic acid, plus flavaols like quecetin. This makes celery useful for treating a wide range of conditions that are made worse by inflammation: joint pain (such as from arthritis), gout, kidney and liver infections, skin disorders, irritable bowel syndrome and urinary tract infections, just to name a few.