The celery it is a vegetable that offers the duality of being able to be consumed fresh or boiled. Many food lovers use it to dress their salads for the crispy and slightly spicy touch offered by its flavor.
In addition, it is a vegetable full of fiber, vitamins and minerals with practically no contribution of fats and calories. Based on this nutritional set and the presence of some natural phytocompounds, the properties of celery offers health benefits.
If you are interested in knowing what this simple vegetable of easy cultivation can bring you, keep reading.
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Characteristics of celery
Celery is a plant species used by humans in cooking for millennia. Its scientific name is Apium graveolens and belongs to the plant family of apiaceae.
The properties of celery are known all over the world and therefore the celery benefits they are out of the question.
So without further delay we will introduce this wonderful culinary element.
Origin and history
Celery has its origin in the Mediterranean area and the specific point at which it began to be cultivated is not well known, but already at the time when Charlemagne was emperor it was ordered to cultivate areas of the empire with celery for the interesting healthy properties that were discovered.
Celery can be grown throughout the year, although it is true that the best growing seasons are winter and spring. Its consumption is made both raw in salads and boiled in all kinds of broths and soups. In the same way it is also consumed in purees with vegetables as protagonists.
Nutritional composition
The nutritional composition of celery is distributed as follows:
Nutrients provided
For each 100 grams of celery consumption it is estimated that there is an amount of nutrients composed of
- 88 grams of water
- 1.5 grams of protein
- 0.3 grams of fat
- 9.2 carbohydrates
It also provides numerous minerals to the body, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium or zinc.
It mainly highlights the high phosphorus concentration, with an amount of 115 mg per 100 grams of celery consumption, 16% of the body’s daily needs.
Vitamins present
Celery is a very complete food in terms of variety and amount of vitamins that contribute to the organism.
For every 100 grams of celery it is estimated that there are 0.05 mg of Thiamine (vitamin B1), 0.06 mg of Riboflavin (vitamin B2), 0.7 mg of Niacin (vitamin B3), 0.352 mg of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), 0.165 mg of Vitamin B6, 8 mg of vitamin C and 41 μg of vitamin K.
A wide range of vitamins that improve the health and well-being of people.
Natural celery phytocompounds
Celery is also known to include in its composition one of the most interesting phytocompounds that exist: quercetin. Celery contains up to 170 mg of quercetin per 100 grams of celery, something very interesting to prevent cancer due to its anti-cancer properties.
This quercetin is also present in medicinal plants such as hawthorn.
It also has coumarins (also present in the tonka bean), which stimulate the immune system and have antioxidant action
Beneficial properties of celery
The properties of celery are numerous and make its consumption highly recommended by doctors and expert nutritionists.
This vegetable is considered as Healthy, helps reduce uric acid, promotes good digestion, is antiflatulent, helps reduce high blood pressure, promotes the normalization of menstruation and is also ideal for falling asleep at night.
Properties of celery for weight loss
In addition to the above properties of celery, it is an excellent depurative and diuretic, so which is generally recommended in control and weight reduction diets.
Also very important is the high fiber content, which favors intestinal transit and contributes to weight loss and the elimination of toxins. Not forgetting also that it has satiating properties, so it decreases appetite during the meal.
Benefits of Celery on an Empty Stomach
There are many ways to consume celery but one of the most recommended is its consumption on an empty stomach.
Why fasting?
Because it is proven that on an empty stomach celery is able to double the benefits it brings to the level of health, so we achieve twice the effect with the same level of intake.
Fasting has shown great benefits by fighting heartburn, improving vision, reducing bad cholesterol and even improving sexual performance.
Differences between raw celery and boiled celery
The benefits of consuming celery are different if celery is consumed raw or if it is consumed boiled. Consumed raw, celery retains its texture better and fiber becomes more resistant to digestion, which favors intestinal transit to a greater extent.
In the same way consumed raw celery preserves vitamins and antioxidants better, although if the objective is to store it to consume it later it is better to proceed to a heat treatment before storing it without cooking.
How to take celery infusion
Celery is also very interesting consumed in the form of an infusion, for which there are multiple recipes. For example, if the desire is reduce hypertension, you can mix celery (with stems and leaves), with valerian, hawthorn and star anise, in equal parts each of the ingredients.
This mixture is added to half a liter of water (two spoons is enough) and boiled to consume later in the day.
It is also usually consumed with fennel or green anise to achieve a very powerful carminative effect.
Recipes with celery
Celery has countless applications in the kitchen, both in salads and in soups and broths. The best combinations in recipes are given with green leafy vegetables (lettuce, turnips, chard …), with carrots and tomatoes.
It also marries very well with onions, leeks, pumpkins, artichokes or potatoes, but on the contrary it does not combine too well with red peppers, mushrooms or asparagus.
Outside the realm of vegetables, celery feels great in recipes with rice, pasta, legumes like chickpeas and lentils or even with quinoa. So we can affirm that they can be present in hundreds of different recipes.
Buy Celery Extract
To make the most of the properties of celery, we also have the option of buy concentrated extract of this vegetable. It often also comes in capsule form, much more comfortable in intake.
These products are recommended when we do not finish convincing the taste of this vegetable or we do not have many recipes with celery available.
Contraindications of celery
Despite its multiple benefits, the truth is that there are cases in which celery should not be consumed. For example, in people with recurrent cystitis or kidney conditions. Nor during pregnancy, since it is related to a higher rate of abortions. There are also people who do not feel good to eat it raw.
