CELERY JUICE Is the health hype warranted?
A glass of fresh celery juice on an empty stomach every morning can help cure a whole range of health problems, social media tells us. Except, it’s just not that simple
It aids digestion, lowers blood pressure, bolsters the immune system and helps in losing weight. There’s hardly anything that freshly pressed celery juice can’t do — at least if you believe the many posts on social media these days that tout it as the perfect way to start your day.
You probably won’t find many people who sing the praises of its taste though. Be that as it may, are there really health benefits in running ribs of celery through a juicer in the morning and drinking the result?
Celery is used in traditional medicine and does indeed contain things that are good for your body, says nutritionist and home economist Gabriele Kaufmann from Germany’s Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZFE).
It’s high in dietary fibre and minerals such as potassium, iron and calcium. It also contains antioxidants such as carotinoids, which protect the body from free radicals. They play a role in skin ageing. In addition, there’s vitamin C along with B vitamins. Essential oils and healthy, bittertasting compounds give celery its typical taste and have an anti-bacterial effect.
Can celery juice truly remedy various things that ail you?
“A cure-all it most definitely isn’t,” Kaufmann says. Dr. Georg Wechsler, president of the
Association of German Physici for Nutritional Medicine (BDE agrees. While drinking it in mod ation can be beneficial to health says, “There’s no scientific pr that celery juice lowers blood pr sure or aids digestion.”
Nor has it been proven beyon doubt that it has a positive effect other health problems, he ad “Instead of relying on a suppo superfood, it’s better for your w being to have a diet that’s as var as possible,” he says.
Negative effects
According to Wechs drinking too much o on an empty stoma can cause a headache you’d like to make ery juice part of y morning routi Kaufmann says it’s b to start with a sm glass and not a la carafe “to test whet or not it agrees w you.” For some peo she warns, drinking particularly on empty stomach - can cause stom problems. Pregnant women sho consult their doctor before dri ing celery juice. Celery can trig allergies with symptoms like it ing, swelling, and breathing issu Eating a lot and sun exposure cause a phototoxic reaction, res ing in a skin rash. “Stalk celery among the most pesticide-conta nated vegetables,” notes Wechs so if you make celery juice yo self, you should thoroughly w the ribs or use organic-quality ery.
CELERY IS USED IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND DOES INDEED CONTAIN THINGS THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOUR BODY. IT’S HIGH IN DIETARY FIBRE AND MINERALS SUCH AS POTASSIUM, IRON AND CALCIUM.
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