How Celery Promotes a Healthy Lifestyle : RiskAverse

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How Celery Promotes a Healthy Lifestyle

Nutrient Content (1 cup)

Vitamins

Excellent Source of:

Vitamin K – 37%

Also a Source of:

Vitamin A – 9%
Folate – 9%
Vitamin C – 5%

Minerals

Source of:

Potassium – 8%
Manganese – 5%
Calcium – 4%

Other

A Source of:

Fiber – 6%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids

*All nutritional Info From (1)

How Celery Prevents Chronic Disease

Celery contains beneficial nutrients and antioxidants that make it a great resource for chronic disease prevention.

How Celery Prevents Cancer

Celery is rich in antioxidants that can help prevent cancer development. Antioxidants help fight against free radicals. Free radicals are small molecules that damage your tissues and lead to oxidative stress. This stress can in turn lead to cancer cell proliferation over time. Cancers can metastasize and spread throughout the body, leading to worse prognoses. Many antioxidants can help prevent cancer proliferation by inducing apoptosis (i.e., death) and stopping gene expression of cancer cells. (2)

One study showed that the apigenin found in celery can help prevent the genesis of pancreatic cancer. Apigenin has been shown to promote apoptotic activity. (3)
Similarly, another study found similar results looking at apigenin and breast cancer. (4)

How Celery Prevents Cardiovascular Disease

Celery can prevent cardiovascular disease by reducing cholesterol levels in your body. Specifically, celery lowers LDL (i.e., bad) cholesterol. This type of cholesterol can often form a plaque and inhibit blood flow in the blood vessels. As a result, it can cause heart-related disorders and stroke. HDL (i.e., good) cholesterol, on the other hand, can help eliminate LDL cholesterol. It is important to maintain a good ratio of HDL:LDL cholesterol to maintain good heart and body health. (5)

One study found that a specific chemical found in celery, phtalide, can reduce bad cholesterol levels by over 5%; blood pressure levels reduced by more than 10%! Phtalide allows blood vessels to expand and relax, enabling more blood flow. (6)

Another study on humans saw that celery seed extract lowers LDL cholesterol levels and increases HDL cholesterol levels. After about 6 weeks, there was significant blood pressure reduction in the case group compared to the placebo group. (7, 8, 9)

How Celery Prevents Diabetes

Celery is high in fiber. Fiber helps you feel full quickly after consuming a meal, preventing overconsumption. Ultimately, this can help regulate blood sugar levels. (10)

Also, celery is low on the glycemic index: consuming celery causes minimal blood sugar fluctuations, but also fills you up. As a result, celery helps prevent diabetes. (11)

Celery Promotes a Number of Health Benefits

How Celery Promotes Digestive Health

As mentioned above, celery is rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber feed healthy gut bacteria and maintain bowel movements, respectively. (12)

Celery has a high water content. High water content supports a healthy digestive tract. (13)

Animal studies have shown that the polysaccharides found in celery, specifically the compound apiuman, decrease your risk of stomach ulcers by preserving the lining of the stomach. Further human studies must be done to confirm these findings. (14)

Another study confirmed that celery reduces your risk of gastritis by reducing inflammation. The flavonoids found in celery actually combat bad bacteria in your gut, ridding them before they can cause chronic inflammation of the GI tract. (15, 16)