Surprising Health Benefits of Celery
I love the simplicity and power of celery. It is too easy to quickly break off a stalk out of the refrigerator and eat it plain, or take a few extra minutes to eat several stalks while dipping into almond butter. I’ve had entire breakfasts where I just had celery and almond butter. Celery tastes and feels so pure and clean, like you are eating the very essence of what makes the world a good place. There is a surprisingly large amount of research backing up the health benefits of celery, showing why it deserves its place as a revered health food.
Overview of Celery
The scientific name for celery is Apium graveolens, and it is geographically widespread. In the United States, the vast majority of celery is produced in California; in 2017, 1.46 billion pounds came out of that state alone, accounting for over 90% of the United States’ total production. It also grows wild throughout most of Europe and was first intentionally cultivated in European areas around 3,000 years ago. Humanity’s use of celery is nothing new, but with modern scientific technology and testing, we are just finding out how powerful celery truly is.
Nutrients in Celery
There are a wide variety of nutrients in celery, including conventional vitamins and minerals along with other phytochemicals. A 2017 study in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine described compounds in celery with powerful antioxidant effects, including “caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, apigenin, luteolin, tannin, saponin, and kaempferol.” Terpenes including limonene and selinene, the former of which is also found in lemons, are also present. The most prevalent vitamins are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K, while potassium is the dominant mineral.
Health Benefits of Celery
1. Anxiety and Depression Relief
When you think of ways to reduce anxiety, eating celery is probably one of the last things that comes to mind. Most research that supports celery as an anxiety treatment focuses on individual components. For example, the terpene limonene has been shown to have antidepressant effects in animal models. Another study in 2021 demonstrated how limonene induced anti-anxiety effects in mice by increasing release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and GABA. Additionally, a 2013 study by researchers with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that an extract of celery leaves had activity as a monoamine oxidase A (MOA-A) inhibitor. Inhibitors of the A and B forms of MOA are standard antidepressant treatments, so the ability of celery to inhibit MOA-A may influence its mood-boosting abilities.
Interestingly, a short article from the 1877 edition of the San Francisco newspaper Pacific Appeal contained a testament to the ability of celery to stabilize nervousness, shakiness, and agitation. For example, the writer reports that even those who became significantly agitated from minor annoyances found relief through celery intake. It is impossible to know how exaggerated this is, or if celery really was the cause of the reported improvements, but scientific evidence does suggest that celery intake could result in these kinds of anti-anxiety effects.
2. Cardiovascular Benefits
Celery is a notoriously healthy food for the cardiovascular system and weight control simply because it has so little calories, but the advantages appear to extend far beyond that. A 2015 study used a fructose-induced model of hypertension in rats to ascertain the ability of celery to reverse the condition. Measures of hypertension, including increased blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides were all reduced by celery leaf extract. Researchers concluded, “Celery leaf extract with its blood pressure and lipid lowering effects, can be considered as an antihypertensive agent in chronic treatment of elevated [systolic blood pressure].”
In addition, a review article published in 2019 in the journal Phytotherapy Research stated that flavonoids in celery reduce cardiovascular inflammation, and compounds called phthalides expand blood vessels to lower blood pressure.
An impaired cardiovascular system can also lead to strokes or intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH), both of which can cause severe brain damage and lifelong symptoms. A unique compound called L-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) from celery seed was shown in a 2020 study to counter chemical-induced ICH in rats. The animals given NBP had decreased hematoma volume, lower inflammatory markers like tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and less blood-brain barrier permeability than untreated rats. Researchers concluded, “Our findings also provide a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of ICH with NBP.”
A later study published in 2021 tested an extract of celery on rats prior to the induction of cerebral ischemia from a surgical procedure. Rats given the extract had less brain tissue death and improved density of neurons than those who did not receive it. The neuroprotective effect was linked to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects. Apoptosis is a normal process by which cells undergo programmed cell death, but when it happens in a pathological manner, too many cells die and organ function is impaired.
3. Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Celery
Excessive inflammation is at the heart of many chronic diseases, and celery appears to work at a fundamental level to reduce this process. Researchers with Jeonju University in Korea published a study in 2019 that tested celery leaf extract on chemically-stimulated immune cells derived from mice. The extract was found to reduce immune cell proliferation, particularly T cells, as well as decrease production of cytokines (cell signaling proteins) that drive inflammation. Nitric oxide production and COX-2 expression were also reduced. The presence of the flavonoids apigenin, luteolin, and kaempferol may have been responsible for these effects.
An excellent review article from 2015 published in Progress in Drug Research summarized research showing potentially practical effects from celery seed extract (CSE). According to this article, CSE may be at least as effective as aspirin or ibuprofen in suppressing arthritis, although more human research is needed to ascertain the real potency in patients. Importantly, the review also showed no toxicity from CSE at doses relevant for humans, and it does not interfere with metabolic enzymes used to process conventional pharmaceuticals. It was concluded, “CSE may be a prototype of a natural product that can be used therapeutically to treat arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.“
A 2018 study looking at luteolin specifically stated that epidemiological data has linked consumption of foods rich in luteolin with protection from inflammatory diseases. These anti-inflammatory effects may have been responsible for the analgesic impact of luteolin, as the compound was found to decrease pain signaling in two mouse models.
4. Cognitive Boosting Abilities
The benefits of celery appear to extend beyond the mind to the body. A 2017 study by researchers with Tianjin Huanhu Hospital in China showed that butylphthalide (apparently NBP specifically) from celery seeds exerted neuroprotective effects in a mouse model of cognitive decline in diabetic rats. In a water maze test, rats given butylphthalide performed better than those who did not receive it. These benefits were associated with increases in the natural antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase and reductions in inflammatory markers.
Epilepsy is a severe brain condition that causes brain damage through seizures and cognitive decline. In a chemical-induced model of epilepsy in mice, the celery seed compound NBP was found to reduce seizure severity, at least partially normalize brain electrical activity, and mitigate cognitive and emotional impairments. These benefits were potentially associated with the protection of neurons and increasing expression of proteins within neural synapses to help facilitate neurotransmission. The study also showed NBP increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that helps neurons survive, grow, and mature.
Another study with NBP found that its beneficial effects extended to mice with genetically-induced Alzheimer’s disease. The compound helped increase memory and the expression of proteins associated with growth and survival, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
Yet another study in 2017 further showed how NBP benefits the brain, increasing cerebral blood flow in a mouse model of hypoperfusion (reduced cerebral blood flow). This enhancement of blood flow was linked to improved memory. Furthermore, NBP administration was linked with reduced brain inflammation and better survival of neurons.
5. Blood Sugar Control
Having too much sugar in the blood is harmful for anyone, but is especially problematic for those with diabetes. Thankfully, emerging evidence suggests celery leaf extract could have a significant impact on blood sugar levels in humans. Unlike other studies mentioned in this article, the following study conducted in 2018 at Syiah Kuala University actually followed humans. 16 elderly pre-diabetic patients were sorted into a placebo group and a celery leaf extract group. The treatment group received 250mg of the extract three times per day (750mg per day total), 30 minutes before a meal, for 12 days. In the treatment group, both pre-meal and post-meal glucose levels were lower than the control group. Importantly, insulin levels were not higher in the treatment group, possibly suggesting that the celery leaf extract was improving insulin sensitivity and enabling the hormone to work more efficiently.
In addition to celery leaf extract, celery seed extract also appears to help control blood sugar. While not using humans, a 2016 study using diabetic rats found that the seed extract reduced glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels. The treated rats, which had diabetes induced through a chemotherapeutic agent called streptozotocin (STZ), also had less cell death and inflammation than the untreated rats. Researchers concluded, “The results indicated that celery seed extract can be effective in controlling hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in diabetic rats, and demonstrated its protective effects against pancreatic toxicity resulting from STZ-induction.”
Organic vs. Non-Organic
Celery is particularly important to buy organic as it has no protective layer that is peeled off before consumption. Organic varieties are also not much more expensive than inorganic varieties, so for most people it is not problematic to purchase organic. Furthermore, organic celery appears to have significantly higher levels of at least some nutrients. A 2009 study by researchers with the China Agricultural University found that organic celery had 70.22%, 47.93%, and 118.18% higher levels of potassium, zinc, and Vitamin C, respectively, than inorganic celery. The only nutrient that was lower in organic celery was manganese. However, given the benefits of avoiding pesticides in general, and the ease of obtaining recommended levels of manganese from other sources, it is easy to say that organic celery is superior.
Heavy Metal Detoxification
Celery is often promoted as a means of detoxifying the body of heavy metals. However, there appears to be no scientific research that shows celery is effective in humans for this purpose. It will be interesting to see if human research ever indicates this property. Whether it works in humans or not, celery may actually have industrial use for cleaning lead from the environment. A 2017 study published in Bioresource Technology showed that biochars derived from celery (which are essentially burnt celery) could remove lead from a solution. In theory, celery biochar could be combined with contaminated fluids or soils as a way to capture heavy metals present. Whether celery works in humans or not, it may be part of the answer to cleaning our environment and thus improving our health indirectly.
Summary
After seeing all this research, it is clear why celery is so highly regarded as a health food. While more studies are needed to determine how effective it can be for certain conditions that preclinical research indicates it might help with, there is no harm in utilizing it now for general well-being.
