Celery: A wonder food that makes you lose weight and improves heart health

While eggs and spinach walk away with most of the health accolades, a healthy veggie that needs attention is celery. It is loaded with minerals like calcium, sodium, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium and contains fatty acids and vitamins including vitamin A, C, E, D, B6, B12 and vitamin K. That's not all; celery is high in riboflavin, folic acid and fibre.

Most people choose to eat only celery stalks, but the leaves and seeds of celery are equally edible and beneficial. If you want to consume celery in the most basic and easy manner, you can use the leaves to make tasty stir-fries and soups.

Here's a list health benefits that'll make you join the growing list of celery lovers.

  1. Helps in weight loss: Celery also provides dietary fibre which boosts digestion and weight loss--one large stalk contains only 10 calories. The high percentage of water and electrolytes in celery further prevents dehydration, that also reduces bloating.
  2. Prevents ophthalmological diseases: Celery tea drops can improve your eye health, by reducing the chances of developing cataracts, and protecting you against macular degeneration. According to naturecures.co.uk, raw celery juice is very valuable for nourishment of the optic system.
  3. Keeps your kidney and urinary bladder healthy: Celery is antiseptic in nature and can eliminate bladder disorders, kidney problems, and urinary tract infections in women.
  4. Helps in keeping cancer at bay: Celery contains phthalides, flavonoids, and polyacetylenes, which are considered cancer-fighting components. Eating celery helps neutralise free radicals floating in the body and hence the development of serious conditions like cancer.
  5. Is great for heart health: Administered as an anti-hypertensive agent in traditional medicines, celery proves to be of great help when it comes to maintaining your cardiovascular health. Studies also demonstrate celery is high in antioxidants which can help improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels too.

Here are some useful tips that you should look for before buying celery:

" Select celery with upright stalks that snap when bent
" Darker the colour, the stronger the flavour.
" Freshly chopped celery retains its nutrients much better than if you chop and store it even for a few hours.
" Steamed celery not only retains its flavour, but also most of its nutrients--almost up to 99 percent of them.

indiatoday

 

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