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Celery Benefits Your Liver – and Beyond
Find out the many ways celery provides liver health benefits. You’ll also discover how celery can help you lose weight, assist in better sleep and improve brain health. PLUS! A special celery juice recipe and tips on the best ways to buy and enjoy celery.
Looking for a healthy snack? You can’t get much healthier than celery.
It helps clean the liver, sheds unwanted pounds, and improves your mood.
All with very few calories!
It’s delicious cooked in your favorite recipe or raw with peanut butter, ranch dressing, or even plain on its own. If you aren’t in the mood for eating it raw, you may want to consider juicing it, as that has been found to be incredibly beneficial as well.
Below you’ll find some amazing health benefits of both celery and celery juice.
Celery is full of antioxidants
In a single stalk, you are getting tons of essential nutrients, including vitamin C, beta carotene, and flavonoids. These antioxidants help protect vital organs like your liver from oxidative damage and other invaders that may cause harm.
Phytonutrients can be found in celery as well, which are great for reducing inflammation in cells, blood vessels, your digestive tract and organs. (1)(2)
Celery is an anti-inflammatory
As previously mentioned, it’s known for its anti-inflammatory properties, particularly polyacetylenes and luteolin, which have proven to help prevent inflammation. Inflammation has a hand in many illnesses, including liver disease, osteoporosis and arthritis. Luckily the 25 anti-inflammatory compounds found in celery and its seeds can help fight it, protecting your body from various maladies. (1)(2)
It aids digestion and weight loss
Not only do celery’s antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties help in the digestive tract, they also help the stomach as well. There are compounds in celery known as polysaccharides that have proven to be beneficial when it comes to dealing with stomach ulcers as it can help improve the stomach lining and control stomach secretions. (1)
Celery is also about 95% water with the other 5% being loaded with both soluble and insoluble fiber, which is great for digestion and helping to keep you regular. When you’re more regular it will help you digest food faster and be able to more efficiently lose weight. (1)
When the green vegetable is juiced, more nutrients are released from the fibers helping you get more of what you need. It has been found to work well as a natural laxative that helps you cope with indigestion, bloating, and acid reflux. It’s worth noting though that once you juice the celery, there is no longer any fiber in the juice, which will take away some of the celery’s benefit. If you want to keep the fiber, you may want to consider having the celery in a smoothie instead. (2)(3)
The little bit of sodium found in this juice will help increase stomach acid. After drinking a glass of it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, it will help breakdown the food that you eat the rest of the day, making it easier to absorb more nutrients. (2)
Along with that, the enzymes found in celery raise hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which will make it easier to digest food and prevent it from fermenting. This will also keep you from feeling gassy or bloated. (2)
It’s loaded with vitamins and minerals
When eating this crisp vegetable, you are getting essential vitamins A, C, and K as well as minerals like potassium and folate. These vitamins will help nourish and rebuild red blood cells and can help those with rheumatism, high blood pressure, arthritis, and anemia. On top of that it has very little sodium and is low on the glycemic index, meaning it keeps your blood sugar from rising too fast. (1)(2)
Celery also contains coumarins, which helps promote white blood cell activity and the vascular system. It will improve blood flow while reducing blood pressure and purifying your bloodstream. (2)
Celery’s great for your brain and mood
This healthy green food contains 3-n-butylphthalide which helps lower the amount of stress hormones found in your bloodstream. This can help reduce stress, putting you in a better mood. (2)
Celery can balance your pH
It contains bioactive sodium and micro trace mineral salts. They can help raise your body’s pH levels and get rid of toxins in your gut and liver along with other parts of your body while also healing your intestinal lining. (2)
It can help you sleep
The magnesium found in this green vegetable can help relax the nervous system, making you feel tired and calm. It also helps lower blood pressure, which will aid you in relaxing. Next time you’re having a bout with insomnia, consider a nice glass of celery juice! (2)
Conclusion
Celery and celery juice are loaded with various nutrients that provide all sorts of benefits. From antioxidants that that help protect your cells, liver and other organs, to helping digest food and passing toxins through your body that you don’t want, this vegetable can do a lot of good for you.
As mentioned earlier though, when you juice celery, you are losing the fiber that is essential for helping with digestion, if you want to get all benefits of this super green food, you may want to consider a smoothie instead of the juice.
Celery Juice Recipe
Here’s a recipe for you to try at home! (2)
Ingredients
- 1 head of celery
Steps
- Thoroughly rinse the head.
- Separate the stalks.
- Run them through the juicer. If you don’t have a juicer, you can chop the stalks up and put them in a blender. Blend at high speed until smooth. Once smooth, strain the pulp out
- Enjoy!
6 Tips for buying and enjoying celery
Just for you – here are 6 tips on finding the right stalks of celery and how to properly store and enjoy it. (1)
- Sturdy Stalks –You want the celery to be sturdy; when you bend it there should be a snap.
- Crisp Leaves – Look for fresh, crisp leaves that range in color from pale to light green. You don’t want yellow or brown leaves.
- Don’t Chop Early – Don’t chop until right before you plan to cook or enjoy the celery. When you chop it, it starts to lose essential nutrients.
- Steam It – When steamed, celery keeps most of its flavor and nutrients.
- Eat Within a Week – Celery stays good for about 5 to 7 days. Make sure to eat it within that time frame to enjoy its maximum potential.
- Don’t Forget the Leaves – The leaves are where the celery stores most of its calcium, potassium and vitamin C, so be sure to eat those along with the stalks.
1. https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/health-benefits-of-celery# , 5 Healthy Benefits of Adding Celery to Your Diet, By Jessica Timmons
2. https://eatwellenjoylife.com/celery-juice-detoxes-your-liver-and-heals-your-gut/, Celery Juice Detoxes Your Liver and Heals Your Gut, By Ingrid DeHart
3. https://www.parsleyhealth.com/blog/benefits-of-celery-juice/, What Are the Benefits of Celery Juice? A Doctor Explains, By Sara Angle
About the Author
Stephen Holt, M.D. is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine NYCPM (Emerite) and a medical practitioner in New York State. He has published many peer-review papers in medicine and he is a best-selling author with more than twenty books in national and international distribution. He has received many awards for teaching and research. Dr. Holt is a frequent lecturer at scientific meetings and healthcare facilities throughout the world. He is a best selling author and the founder of the Holt Institute of Medicine.
