Celery is rich in protein and contains cellulose which invigorates the stomach, helps lower blood pressure, improves the skin, and it also supports regular bowel movements. Celery can be fried, steamed, or used as a filling for dumplings and steamed buns. In recent years, celery juice has become popular all over the world. Many celebrities, such as Brooke Burke and Petra Nemcova, like to drink celery juice for digestive health and for its anti-aging properties.
Nutritional value of celery
Celery has a high nutritional value and is rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, protein, carotene, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron. Among these, its calcium and iron content is about 15 times higher than that of tomatoes, and its content of vitamin E is among the best in home-cooked vegetables.
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What does celery juice do?
Moistens the intestines
Celery is high in dietary fiber and rich in vitamins. Drinking celery juice can promote gastrointestinal motility and it has laxative effects. The toxins in the body are removed from the body, and the complexion and skin condition of the face will also improve.
Beautifies the skin
Celery has a high iron content, which can replenish blood and make the skin rosy. Others will notice an improvement in the quality of your skin. Celery also has an alkaline component that has a calming effect, so drinking celery juice can also stabilize your mood.
Anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties
Celery is rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, which belong to the flavonoid family. Beta-carotene and vitamin C can resist oxidation, scavenge free radical damage to the body, and reduce the chance of cancer.
Helps lower blood pressure
Celery can help lower blood pressure. It does so by helping excrete excess sodium ions in the body and metabolizing excess salt. Celery contains acidic anti-hypertensive components, which can resist the boosting response caused by nicotine and camellia theophylline, and help lower blood pressure.
Helps lower cholesterol
The rich dietary fiber of celery can coat fat, metabolize excess fat, and help lower cholesterol in the body which aids in preventing cardiovascular disease and arteriosclerosis. You can even easily lose a few pounds after drinking celery juice for a week.
Benefits pregnant women and growing children
Celery is rich in minerals, especially iron and calcium, so growing children and pregnant women will benefit from drinking celery juice often.
How to buy and store celery
When purchasing celery, the color should be bright green, the petiole should be thick, the stem should be slightly rounded, the inner side slightly concave, the stem short and strong, and the leaves green and sparse. This kind of celery is of good quality. When choosing celery, pinch the stem of the celery. The ones that are easy to break are tender; otherwise, they are old.
Celery should be stored vertically to preserve more of the chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps in blood formation so it has high nutritional value for the human body.
Contraindications of celery
It is better not to eat celery with shrimp, sea rice, vinegar, cucumbers, pumpkin, clams, chicken, rabbit meat, soft-shelled turtle meat, soybeans, chrysanthemums, crab, or clams.
Drinking celery juice is not suitable for people with spleen and stomach deficiency because, according to traditional Chinese medicine, celery is cold in nature.
Drinking celery juice may potentially lower one’s blood pressure, so people with low blood pressure should not drink it as it will cause dizziness.
Translated by Patty Zhang
