There are basically two types of people – those who love celery and can’t get enough of it, and those that just cannot stand it. Whether you like it or not, did you know that this vegetable comes with so many health benefits? If you are juicing it, you can also enjoy plenty of benefits of celery juice.
In this post, we reveal 8 reasons why you might want to get celery, clean it, and juice it. If you are undecided about whether to give celery a shot, so to speak, then the information contained here might change your mind.
Celery is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. It has been around for a pretty long time and has a lot of uses through the years. From healing the gut to lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation, there are just so many uses of celery juice.
Some of the nutrients found in celery juice include:
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Vitamins A, C, and K
- Sugar
- Protein
- Calories
- Zinc
- Folate
And so many other nutrients including antioxidants. However, perhaps the most important nutritional fact about celery is that it contains apigenin and luteolin, two compounds that are known for a range of beneficial health effects.
Health Benefits of Drinking Celery Juice
- Can help to fight cancer
Celery is pretty rich in antioxidants. And if you know about antioxidants, you’ll realize that they help with removing free radicals from your body cells. Celery juice has been studied for anti-cancer compounds: apigenin and luteolin. These two compounds assist your body to remove any cells that are no longer functional, which can help to reduce the risk of cancer.
Additionally, luteolin, which is found in celery, can serve as an anti-cancer compound. When tested on mice, it was observed that it dropped tumor rates by almost 50%. And as for existing tumors, the compound slowed their progression as well.
Drinking celery every week can even help to reduce the chances of getting lung cancer by more than 50%. Here is some recommended celery juicer that can be used for making celery juice without hustle.
When it comes to fighting cancer, the medical world believes in celery!
- Reduces Inflammation
The extracts from celery seeds have had a place in medicine for some time now due to their ability to deal with inflammation in the body. Throughout history, celery and its extracts have been used to treat inflammation.
According toresearch, the extract from this vegetable can work as well as drugs that are made to reduce inflammation. Therefore, the extract can serve as an alternative to drugs like naproxen or aspirin.
If you take drugs that can cause inflammation, celery has been reported to offer protection from that as well.
- Lower Risk of Heart Disease
Drinking celery juice is another way to protect your heart. In 2009, a study on mammals and celery revealed that when given celery for two months, the mammals had a drastic drop in cholesterol, bad cholesterol, and other blood lipids.
Additionally, it can help to reduce blood pressure, although celery has a relatively high sodium content.
- Can boost male fertility
It might be surprising to discover that celery juice can help with male fertility. Recent reports indicate that this vegetable can fight substances that can reduce sperm count in males. In rats, it has been discovered that celery has a direct effect on sperm count increase.
One likely reason for this is that it removes free radicals from the body.
- Improves Digestion
If you are looking to improve your digestive health, then you will enjoy the benefits of drinking celery juice. For one, this is full of insoluble fiber. This will make you feel sated and can help those that are looking to lose weight.
Also, it can help with bowel movement and will prevent constipation. By drinking celery juice, you can flush out the toxins and wastes that lie in the intestines.
- Alternative to Soda and Beverages
Are you looking to reduce your sugar or soda intake? If so, you need something that will be healthier without tasting horrible. Well, celery juice is just the right thing for you. It is a better, healthier alternative to soda and sugary beverages.
With just one cup of celery just, you have less than 6 grams of sugar. And this sugar is good sugar that naturally occurs in nature.
The other beverages can add up to 500 calories daily to your intake, but not so with this excellent juice.
- Hydrating
A related benefit of drinking celery juice is that it will help you to remain hydrated throughout the day. A large percentage of celery consists of water, and the celery juice is nearly entirely made up of water. Therefore, it will keep you hydrated.
It is important that you have enough fluid intake daily for several reasons. Some reasons why you need to stay hydrated include: it helps to manage your blood pressure, brain functions, waste elimination, and improves the health of your kidney.
- Helps with Weight Loss
Celery is a low-calorie vegetable. Therefore, if you drink up to 16 ounces of celery daily, you are not getting a lot of calories, especially when compared to other juices like orange and apple juice.
Thus, when you combine it with your diet, it will likely not add to your weight over time.
How to Clean Celery
Whether your celery is conventional or organic, it is important that you wash or clean your celery before you eat it.
Celery can be consumed whole, or you might just want the root vegetable. Before you can consume any part, you need to clean it and peel (if required). Cleaning this vegetable can be done in mere minutes. Here are the steps to take:
- First of all, break the celery stalk off and pull off as many as needed. Afterward, store the celery you aren’t planning to use in the package that it came in.
- The root of the stalk likely has some spots or streaks on it. These should be removed because it is the soil that was trapped in the celery while it germinated. During washing, you should be able to remove most of this soil.
- Thoroughly clean it until it is reasonably clean and white.
- Afterward, run the vegetable under cool, running water, rubbing it with your fingers. As the water washes over it, ensure that you clean all the surfaces you can reach. This will include the insides of the stalk. At this stage, you should particularly focus on the bottom of the celery since this is where you will likely have most of the dirt.
- When it is clean, you can dry it with a clean towel, then use the celery however you deem fit immediately. Or you can leave it in water to preserve the fresh appearance.
Cleaning the juicer for making celery is pretty easy and straightforward.
Apart from cleaning the juicer correctly, you should also know how to choose the right, healthy option. Some of the factors that determine the health of celery include:
- Size of the celery root
- Skin freshness
- The nodes on the stalk
- The freshness and greenness of the leaves
Verdict
Celery juice is an excellent juice that is low in sugar yet rich in other nutrients like Vitamins and Potassium. The health benefits of celery include reducing inflammation, increasing hydration, and caring for your gut. To get the best from celery juice, ensure that you drink it to complement your diet.
If celery juice is calling out to you after reading this article, just give it a try. See how you feel after drinking celery juice. You will never know whether it is right for you unless you drink it and experience the benefits yourself. So what are you waiting for? Get your celery juice today!
Rita C. Donnell (Jennifer) has spent the last 26 years studying and practicing nutrition science. She has used a larger part of this time in improving people’s livelihoods. She has done so by coming up with unquestionable ideas on how to tackle food problems in her community. Readmore
