There's no scientific proof that celery juice lowers blood pressure or aids digestion. — Photos: dpa
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 carotenoids, which protect the body from free radicals (unstable molecules made during normal cell metabolism). They play a role in skin ageing.
In addition, there’s vitamin C along with B vitamins. Essential oils and healthy, bitter-tasting compounds give celery its typical taste and have an anti-bacterial effect.
But can celery juice truly remedy various things that ail you?
“A cure-all it most definitely isn’t,” Kaufmann says.
Adding celery to your smoothies gives extra fibre and minerals like potassium, iron and calcium.
No proof
Dr Georg Wechsler, president of the Association of German Physicians for Nutritional Medicine (BDEM), agrees. While drinking it in moderation can be beneficial to health, he says, “There’s no scientific proof that celery juice lowers blood pressure or aids digestion.”
Nor has it been proven beyond a doubt that it has a positive effect on other health problems, he adds.
“Instead of relying on a supposed superfood, it’s better for your well-being to have a diet that’s as varied as possible,” he says, as this has the greatest health effect.
Celery juice can even have negative effects. According to Wechsler, drinking too much of it on an empty stomach can cause a headache.
If you’d like to make celery juice part of your morning routine, Kaufmann says it’s best to start with a small glass and not a large carafe “to test whether or not it agrees with you.” For some people, she warns, drinking it – particularly on an empty stomach – can cause stomach problems.
Pregnant women should consult their doctor before drinking celery juice.
What’s also important to know is that celery can cause allergic reactions. In fact, it’s one of the most frequent triggers of food allergies, causing symptoms that can include itching, swelling in the mouth and throat, a skin rash and difficulty breathing.
And spending time in the sun after eating a large amount of it can cause a phototoxic reaction marked by a skin rash or sunburn.
“Stalk celery is among the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables,” notes Wechsler, so if you make celery juice yourself, you should thoroughly wash the ribs or use organic-quality celery. – dpa
