Celery, also known by its Latin name Apium graveolens, provides several important health benefits from every part of the plant, including the juice. Adding the vegetable to your juicer when you make a smoothie could improve your health. Celery is a common garden plant that grows easily in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, according to Medicinal Herb Info. Before you begin to use celery to improve your health, consult your health care provider.
Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis
So far, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but there are treatments that may help lessen the symptoms or slow the progression of the disease. One of them, called MS14, contains celery and other herbal ingredients. This herbal-marine drug was the subject of a recent research study. The results of this study were published in the June 2010 issue of "Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine" and showed that this drug containing celery does improve the quality of life for MS sufferers.
Stomach Protection
Stomach ulcers are miserable for anyone who has one, so learning about a natural way to help protect the stomach from getting them or helping to heal them is good to know. Celery juice and celery itself are actually able to do just that, according to a recent research study. The study was conducted at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and its results were published in the July issue of "Pharmaceutical Biology." Researchers gave celery extract to animal test subjects with stomach ulcers and studied the results. The study concluded that celery is able to heal ulcers more quickly and helps protect the stomach from forming new ulcers.
Anti-Inflammatory
Celery possesses powerful anti-inflammatory properties. This ability was investigated recently in research that took place at M/P Biomedical Consultants LLC in Mill Valley, California. The animal study looked closely to the potential for toxic reactions in the test subjects when they were given the celery extract for 28 days. The results of the study were published in the June 2010 issue of "Inflammopharmacology" and concluded that the celery extract is an anti-inflammatory that has no toxic effects.
Antioxidant
One of the healthy benefits of eating celery or drinking celery juice is its antioxidant effect. One recent research study analyzed celery to confirm its antioxidant properties. This in vitro study, that was conducted at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, China, isolated a number of components of celery that are antioxidants and deemed it a healthful way to fight free radicals in the body.
Parkinson's Disease & Stroke Treatment
Parkinson's disease is another life-changing neurological disorder that may be helped by celery juice. Celery as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease was studied in an in vitro trial at Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in Suzhou, China and the results were published in the May 2010 edition of "Neuroscience Letters." The study concluded that celery is a potentially helpful treatment to reduce neurological damage from Parkinson's as well as stroke.
Lowers Cholesterol
High cholesterol puts a person at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke, if left untreated. Fortunately, celery has been found to help lower cholesterol in a recent research study held at Da-Yeh University in Changhua Hsien, Taiwan. Researchers found that celery was able to reduce triglycerides, LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, while leaving the HDL, or "good" cholesterol alone. These results were reported in the February 2010 issue of "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." So if you have high cholesterol, don't forget to add some raw celery to your next salad.
Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease is a devastatingly difficult disease for the patient and for their loved ones. But drinking celery juice or eating celery has been shown to slow the progression of the disease. Celery was investigated for its potential as a treatment for Alzheimer's in a recent research study held at Harvard Medical School Center for Neurologic Diseases in Boston, Massachusetts. This animal study discovered that the neuroprotective properties in celery were potentially useful as a preventive measure and treatment for the disease. The results were published in the June 2010 edition of "Journal of Neuroscience."
References
- "Journal of Neuroscience"; ...reduces amyloid in model of Alzheimers disease; Y Peng et al.; June 2010
- MedicinalHerbInfo.org: Celery
- "Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry"; Hypolipidemic effect... celery; M Cheng et al.; Feb 2010
- "Pharmaceutical Biology"; Antiulcer... properties of celery; T Al-Howiriny et al.; July 2010
- "Inflammopharmacology"; Investigation of celery seed extract...; MC Powanda et al.; June 2010
Member Comments