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Health Benefits of Celery Against Cancer & Brain

By on January 6, 2015
health benefits of celery

Celery Shrinks Cancer & Sports Awesome Brain Benefits

Celery is the proverbial low-cal snack… also the taken-for-granted turkey-stuffing ingredient and predictable garnish in a Bloody Mary. But don’t underestimate this little food gem. In today’s Wellness Wednesday we will explore the health benefits of celery!

Not only is it a dieter’s delight… It’s also a potent cancer fighter. And this little-appreciated edible can help you remember important stuff, like where you parked your car at the mall, or your wedding anniversary. Let’s discover how much this humble food can do for your health.

Most of us don’t know much about it, except that it has “practically no calories”, is “mostly water”, and is “stringy”. But there’s a lot more to it than that. . .
The health benefits of celery are many and that’s why it make it a powerful cancer fighter.

Both celery and one of its relatives, parsley, contain the cancer-fighting bioflavonoid called apigenin, which has been studied in relation to breast and ovarian cancers.
Meanwhile another study, this one at Rutgers University, found other anti-cancer compounds in it called acetylenics — which can actually stop tumor cells from growing. They suggest that drinking raw celery juice can prevent free radicals from harming your cells, which can stop cancer from developing in your stomach and colon.

So promising, you’d think the pharmaceutical companies would be all over this. But it’ll probably be hard to even get funding for more research, because they can’t profit from a compound so easily extracted from a plant. But you can…

Celery contains another compound, a phytochemical known as coumarin. Studies on coumarins show they’re effective for cancer prevention, and are capable of enhancing the immune activities of certain lines of white blood cells.

In a study done at Tokyo Denki University, scientists examined 21 coumarins for their anti-proliferative activity towards these kinds of cancers:

• Lung carcinoma
• Melanin pigment producing mouse melanoma
• Human T-cell leukemia
• Human gastric cancer which had metastasized to the liver

But it bestows other benefits on you too…

Health Benefits of Celery: Best Brain Food in Your Fridge

As you age, your brain tends to overreact to every slight provocation by spitting out clouds of inflammatory compounds linked to memory lapses, fuzzy thinking, and brain fatigue. Celery protects your brain from these problems by telling the hyperactive immune cells to settle down.

This has implications for diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Inflammation is a factor in cognitive and behavioral impairments associated with aging.
A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition evaluated luteolin, a plant flavonoid known to squelch inflammatory responses outside the central nervous system.
Who ever knew it was so nutrient-dense and had so many health benefits — for cancer and so much more? Bet you never thought a watery “diet” food could offer so much.
This long, thin, green vegetable is actually part of the carrot family, along with parsnip, fennel, and parsley.

It’s outer stalks, also called ribs, surround its tender, mildly flavored innermost ribs, the celery heart. It also has leaves which are often mistakenly discarded as “inedible”. But nothing could be farther from the truth, as the health benefits of celery leaves contain its highest concentration of nutrients.

It is chock full of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K (good for blood and bones), vitamin C (an immune booster), amino acids, essential fatty acids, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and E… plus more.

It is one of the “Dirty Dozen”… According to the latest report from the Environmental Working Group, conventional celery is one of the worst types of produce to purchase. Its soft, absorbent skin makes it especially prone to soak up and retain pesticides. Testing revealed residual traces from a staggering 67 pesticides in conventional celery. Would you like a little celery with your pesticides? Not me. I buy it organic.

Buying it organically can be a terrific food to add to your daily anti-cancer eating plan. It’s inexpensive, and you have to eat anyway, so bring some home today.
Naturally, eating it raw will give you the most bang for your buck.

Read below for a list of more benefits and a juice recipe with the benefits of both celery and parsley.

1. Lowers blood pressure and tones your vascular system. Magnesium deficiency is known to affect your blood pressure. Celery is packed with magnesium, which can relax the muscle cells in your arterial walls. This dilates your arteries, allowing your blood more room to flow freely.
2. Healthy flexible joints. Celery’s anti-inflammatory attributes help reduce joint pain and swelling, which means it can help those suffering from arthritis, rheumatism, and gout. It also contains a diuretic that can help remove uric acid crystals from your joints.
3. Asthma. Celery’s high vitamin C levels can help alleviate asthmatic conditions.
4. Colds/Flu. Vitamin C also helps prevent viral illnesses.
5. Insomnia. Sleeplessness can wreak havoc on your health. For a good night’s sleep, drink a glass of freshly-juiced celery with one tablespoon of honey before bedtime. This can help you relax into a restful sleep. Plus, its medicinal properties can work while you sleep.
6. Kidney stones/gall stones. Celery juice can help by clearing the toxins that form these painful stones. Since celery juice is a diuretic, it can help with passing the stone. If you’re prone to stones, a daily glass of celery juice can help keep them away.
7. Possible remedy for migraines, based on celery’s coumarin activity.
8. Aids digestion and alleviates bowel problems.
9. Lowers cholesterol.
10. Rebuilds blood cells.
11. Builds up your immune system.
12. Regulates body temperature.
13. Terrific anti-inflammatory.
14. Supports liver as a potent detoxifier.
15. May help protect women from urinary tract infections.

Organic celery can be a terrific food to add to your daily anti-cancer eating plan. It’s inexpensive, and you have to eat anyway, so bring some home today.
Naturally, eating it raw will give you the best health benefits of celery.

Source: Cancer Defeated Newsletter

Healthy Green Juice Recipe:

This healthy green juice recipe combines parsley, spinach, pears and celery to make a juice packed with bone-supporting vitamin K and delivers apigenin, a compound that promotes the death of cancerous cells, according to new research from Ohio State University.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 3 cups spinach
• 1/2 lemon, peeled
• 2 medium pears, cut into eighths
• 6 large stalks celery, trimmed

Preparation
Working in this order, process parsley, spinach, lemon, pears and celery through a juicer according to the manufacturer’s directions. (No juicer? See Tip.)

Tip: No juicer? No problem. Try this version of blended and strained juice instead: Coarsely chop all ingredients. First, place the soft and/or juice ingredients in the blender and process until liquefied. Then, add the remaining ingredients; blend until liquefied and strain.

 

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About Lionel Correia

Lionel is a fitness enthusiast, juicing advocate, and serial entrepreneur. He loves real estate, but is even more passionate about health, wellness and a positive mindset. He’s a graduate of the University of Arizona and prides himself on establishing great habits because great habits lead to great results. His favorite workouts include, yoga, spin class, sprints on the track and resistance training. He believes that if you desire a strong healthy body, you must first build mental toughness because a healthy body requires a disciplined mind and great habits.

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