The different health benefits of celery

Popular in salads, sauces, or just on its own, celery has long been a healthy diet staple. This crunchy snack is part of the Apiaceae family¹, which is the same one as other salad staples like carrots, parsley, and parsnips, but has a range of health benefits of its own. Here, we explore the health and nutritional benefits of celery.

Celery’s nutritional profile

Celery is 95% water and contains 1.5g of fibre and 1.4g of carbohydrates (which are naturally-occurring sugars) per 100g. There are only miniscule amounts of protein and fat in celery, which comes in at a total of just 9 calories per 100g.² What about minerals? Celery contains a few vitamins and minerals including potassium, calcium, folate, and vitamin K.

The health benefits of celery

It supports digestion

Celery contains a compound known as apiuman, which has been known to improve the lining of the stomach, reducing the chances of getting stomach ulcers and modulate stomach secretions. Oh, and not forgetting celery’s famously high water content, as well as fibers. Mix all of this good stuff together and you’ve got a healthy snack that supports a healthy digestive track, keeping everything nice and regular.³

It reduces blood pressure

A recent study⁴ looked at the effect of celery seed extracts on blood pressure in rats. The result was that the extracts successfully reduced the blood pressure of rats who had high blood pressure to begin with. But keep in mind that there is not enough evidence to suggest that celery can reduce blood pressure in humans. If you think you have high blood pressure, we recommend booking an appointment with your GP.

How to include celery in your diet

Celery is tasty, healthy, and easy to include in a variety of recipes. There are lots of ways to incorporate celery into your diet, here are just a few recommendations:

• In a soup. Cream of celery⁵ soup is smooth, easy to make, and bursting with flavour. Just mix your celery with onions, garlic, stock, and a few more simple ingredients and you’ve got yourself a delicious healthy lunch.
• In a salad.⁶ Being a vegetable, celery lends itself well to any type of salad. Mix your celery in a bowl with your favourite salad ingredients (we love it with celery root and horseradish), layer on some dressing and voila! A tasty, next-level salad.
• Dipped into hummus. Or cream cheese. Or tzatziki. Or guacamole. The list is endless.

 Last updated: 25 May 2020 Sources 1 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270678 2 https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-celery 3 https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/health-benefits-of-celery#1 4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684138/ 5 https://www.daringgourmet.com/homemade-cream-celery-soup/ 6 https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-salad-with-celery-root-and-horseradish