Even if you’ve never heard of Cool and The Gang’s 1982 top hit of the year, Celebrate, you should always remember the awesome health benefits of celery!

Most of us are probably familiar with celery as a staple of boring diet food.  You know – all those movies with the guy or girl in the office munching on carrots and celery sticks because it is a low-calorie, healthy snack?  Oh, yeah, that describes most office parties nowadays — and it’s always the last thing eaten.  Really, it’s a shame that celery has got such a boring rap, because it is an incredible food all on its own.  Seriously!

Stick with me here. I promise it will be worth it.

CELERY SUPPORTS THE WHOLE BODY 

If you have ever run into the Medieval philosophy known as the “Doctrine of Signatures” then you know that foods will tell you by their shape and color what they are good for. And, it’s really fun when modern science affirms these proto-scientific presumptions. 

So, pray tell, what did the ancients presume celery to allude to? Look carefully at those celery “ribs”…yup! You’ve got it. Our bones.

Well, it just so happens that celery is chock full of bone-building compounds!

While many people choose only lab-created vitamin supplements (and, I still supplement juicing with vitamins almost every day), these pill people might do much better with a shot of fruit and vegetable juice to get a quick hit of tasty mineral-rich concentrates. Think of them as ‘body boosts’ and you’ve got the idea.

Celery is naturally high in the good kind of sodium – not like table salt — and it’s even beneficial for hypertension.

That’s right. Celery offers us the kind of sodium actually necessary for making bones; and if that’s not enough, celery also contains significant amounts of a safe form of calcium and silicon in the right ratios, which aid us in repairing damaged ligaments and even bone-fractures.

A single large stalk of celery can contain 18mg of vitamin K, which is a necessary compound for the formation of (or “laying-down of”) calcium in the bone structure, versus depositing vitamin K in the soft-organ tissues of the body as sometimes occurs with calcium supplements. If you’re a runner, you might have those super-tough, golf ball-sized calcium buildups in your calves … and yep (ouch!), that’s what I’m talking about.

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VITAMIN K IS ALSO SUPER IMPORTANT FOR OUR BLOOD AND ITS ABILITY TO CLOT.

Celery leaves are also high in vitamin A,  while the stalk contains vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C with rich supplies of potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and plenty essential amino acids. Quite the power punch for a boring “diet” vegetable, eh?

So, I can tell that by now you are wondering: What happens when you juice it?

Well, it just so happens that there is no better way to reap the benefits of celery than to juice it! If you follow the Hollywood nutrition trends then you will no doubt have heard about Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium recently made popular by Gwyneth Paltrow’s attention in the last few years, and he has some very, very high praise for celery juice in his new book.  Here’s a short excerpt: 

“Celery juice is […] strongly alkaline and helps to prevent and counteract acid reflux, acidosis, high blood pressure, joint pain, ringing in ears, tingles & numbness, hot flashes, blurry eyes, headaches, heart palpitations, edema, heartburn, fatigue, dizziness, muscle cramps, sleep issues, constipation, and bloating. It also helps to purify the bloodstream, aid in digestion, relax the nerves, reduce blood pressure, and clear up skin problems. It contains compounds called coumarins, which are known to enhance the activity of certain white blood cells and support the vascular system.”

He says that juicing a bunch of celery each day for a matter of weeks can radically change and rebalance your whole body. Pretty cool, eh?!

According to Mia Stern, founder of Brooklyn Culinary Arts, it restores hydration and electrolyte levels in the body, restores pH balance to the blood, balances stomach acid, is filled with anti-cancer flavonoids, like luteolin which lowers plaque-form protein in the brain, and contains another eight family forms of anti-cancer compounds.

Celery is also highly alkaline; it works as a diuretic, which means it’s a great choice for preventing bladder and other urinary tract infections, and it cleanses the liver, just like beets.

CELERY IS NATURALLY ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Celery is also highly alkaline (which means that it’s a powerful inflammation-fighter); it also works as a diuretic so it’s a great choice for preventing bladder and other urinary tract infections, and it cleanses the liver, just like beets.

CELERY IS A NATURAL ANTI-FUNGAL AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Celery is naturally resistant to pathogens because the vegetable is replete with natural fungicides, more than two-dozen already identified, in fact. So, if you’re prone to fungal infections, or wrestling with candida, eating even a single stalk’s worth of juice each day can keep those microbes in check.

Maybe those folks who planned the office party were really on to something …

HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN HELP, DEAR READER . . . BECOME A HEALTH DETECTIVE  

For two years, I’ve scoured the internet seeking sources that can back up the health and benefit claims of fruits, vegetables, and supplements (sometimes called “boost”).  

In the chart below are the health claims I and others have discovered about celery. Where you see a footnote, you’ll find a link to the source.  If there is not a footnote, then that means that the specific health claim is made, but neither I or anyone I know has been able to locate sources of research or a credible anecdote to back up the claim.

So, if you are aware of a direct source of research or anecdotes to back up the claims, please post them in the comments.  I’ll check them out and if they meet our standards, I’ll make sure that they’re included in the next edition of the blog and give you a shout-out!

Reported Health Benefit Claims of Celery:

If you’re looking for a reason to Celery-brate today: Come get some juice!

Speaker 1: (00:01)
Today with Dr. Davis, we’ll learn all about celery. Sit back Dr. Davis, let’s talk about celery.

Speaker 2: (00:17)
Well, celery, it’s, it’s a great source of potassium and potassium helps balanced out calcium. So it plays a role with blood pressure. So, uh, celery’s great in helping control blood pressure and lower blood pressure just for the potassium part of it. It has a lot of great nutrients in it. Most people are thinking about just the stalk of it, but especially when we’re juicing, throwing the whole celery stalk with the leaves and the seeds. Everything else. The whole plant is great and very nutritious. Lot of antioxidants. And again, going back to the manganese, uh, potassium and magnesium.

Speaker 1: (01:00)
Cool. Um, anything other than potassium in celery that well

Speaker 2: (01:10)
stands out in your mind? You know, it’s got magnesium in it also, which again is a muscle relaxer with, which helps, uh, lower blood pressure. Okay. So that’s kind of one of the main things. It’s great for skin, hair and nails. It’s been known to help that just from the nutrients in it. And again, it’s just the mineral contents as selenium in it does, it has a little bit of selenium, a little bit of zinc in it, but, um, again, it’s, it’s been known for a quality of skin and hair. So, if somebody wants to lower their blood pressure or help their skin, nails and hair, uh, so reduce might be a exactly to help boost that. And again, you know, for, for people that are quote, trying to cut down calories, uh, again, it’s got a lot of fiber in it. So, a lot of insoluble fiber, which your body needs, your body needs both soluble and insoluble fiber. So, it helps with weight loss in that regard because it’s filling for one where it will help curb appetite with very little calories and it’s got the insoluble fiber that helps with weight loss.

Speaker 1: (02:23)
Fascinating.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19396021
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23871783
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20492156
4. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=14
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4094664/
6. https://www.livestrong.com/article/494105-celery-testosterone/
7. https://draxe.com/benefits-of-celery/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29049999
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20877216