
Celery is known to most people only as a soup vegetable, hardly anyone has had the bulbs, leaves or shrubs on the table in any other form and is perhaps wondering, can celery be eaten raw? But there is potential in the different types of celery, more than you might think!
types of celery
There are three different types of celery, all three of which you can also eat raw:
- celery stalk
- celery
- celery root
The celery is a popular vegetable for dipping, in salads or as a healthy snack in between meals.
Celeriac is one of the main components of soup greens and is often used to flavor various dishes.
Celery has soft leaves and thin stalks. It is mostly used as a spice or herb, similar to parsley.
Celery as a medicinal plant
The ancient Egyptians knew as early as 1200 BC. Appreciating Christ what nature has bestowed upon them. In ancient Egypt, wild celery was considered a medicinal plant that was used in particular to treat rheumatism and pain.
But there are other areas of application in which celery is still used today:
- Lowering blood pressure
- gout
- purification
- indigestion
Celery as a miracle cure
Celery contains a lot of potassium and is therefore very popular in natural medicine. It is mainly used for gout and rheumatism, and celery should be highlighted here.
One of the most important effects is that celery has a diuretic effect. Frequent urination lowers uric acid levels, which results in alleviation of gout symptoms.
Celery for high blood pressure
The pharmaceutical industry has developed various drugs to treat high blood pressure. Some of them are so-called diuretics (agents for draining the body).
Eating celery can also have a dehydrating effect, which is why the vegetable is used in natural medicine to treat high blood pressure.
Anti-inflammatory celery
Antioxidants have a reputation for being able to fight inflammation and toxins in the body. Celery, regardless of the type, contains numerous antioxidants:
- phytosterols
- phenolic acid
- flavonoids
- furocoumarins
Studies have already been carried out that show that celery is able to alleviate oxidative damage to body tissue.
It has also been proven that regular consumption of celery reduces the risk of inflammatory reactions in the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels.
Stomach saver celery
The stomach is a sensitive organ and not everyone can tolerate every vegetable. However, celery not only offers healthy nutrition, but also protects the stomach.
The polysaccharide it contains is responsible for this. The gastric mucosa is not only protected, but the formation of gastric acid is also regulated. The continuous consumption of celery can also prevent the development of stomach ulcers.
Celery juice as a remedy
Consuming celery in its juice form is an ideal way to take advantage of the vegetable's health-promoting properties. Added to this is the detoxifying effect, which at the same time stimulates the cardiovascular system.
Making Celery Juice:
- Wash and chop the celery sticks
- Squeeze juice from the sticks (juicer)
A celery juice cleanse should be done for a week. Here, 100 ml of juice are drunk three times a day. It is important that the juice is always freshly squeezed.
Buy celery
There are a few details you should pay attention to when buying celery from the supermarket rather than from your own garden.
With sliced celeriac, it is important that the cut edges are fresh and have no dried spots. There should also be no dark interfaces.
You can check celery stalks by bending the stalks very slightly. If you can do this easily, the celery has been stored too long and has lost quality.
Storage of fresh celery
If you have purchased celery, it should preferably be stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Due to an ethereal smell, it is often more pleasant if the sticks are wrapped in plastic foil beforehand. The advantage of this is that the liquid in the celery sticks does not evaporate and you can still squeeze out a good amount of juice even after several days.
It's important that you don't keep celery in the fridge for more than a week if you intend to use it for health purposes.
Studies have already shown that the effect of the antioxidants decreases after about a week. For maximum effect, always use fresh celery.
Beware of fruit
To prevent your celery from wilting too quickly, you should avoid storing it with apples, pears and avocados. A ripening gas emanates from these fruits, which causes the celery to wilt more quickly.
Consume freshly harvested
Celery isn't just a vegetable you can buy at the grocery store. Above all, celery can be grown very easily in your own garden. You then have the advantage that no pesticides were used and you can enjoy our own organic celery.