Category: Nutrition

Celery is grown in the ground across the world and quite frankly is one of the worst tasting vegetables, however its probably the best vegetable for its mineral and nutrient content. Personally i find celery boring and very dull, but i do understand and respect the health benefits of eating and drinking it on a daily basis.

Celery is part of the Umbelliferae family of plants and typically grows across the world to a height of around 40cm. The plant has two distinct areas, the greener region at the top of the plant which contains more chlorophyll and Vitamin A and the whiter region at the bottom of the plant which is grown shaded from sunlight but contains a high concentration of B-vitamins and minerals to include potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and essential amino acids.

Health Benefits

Celery contains a high concentration of sodium which is explains it salty taste, however even for those with a low salt thresh-hold, celery is an idea choice for a fruit juice at breakfast, however typically most people will mix celery with another fruit or vegetable to slightly sweeten the taste.

Typical Health Benefits Include:

Acidity – Celery contains a low pH scale when compared to other acidic fruits such as oranges which are very acidic and therefore does a great job of effectively balancing out the bodies acidic level.

Blood Pressure – celery does contain sodium which has been linked to high blood pressure, however it also contains Phtalides which are a mineral that acts as a muscle relaxant. By drinking or eating celery every day, phtalides will dilate the muscles around the arteries and allow the blood to flow smoothly.

Constipation – Celery is a natural laxative that will help to relieve constipation and counteract against (the opposite of laxative) in your diet to ensure that your bowel movements are smooth and consistent.

Electrolytes – Celery juice contains a rich supply of minerals and therefore is a fantastic natural way of replacing those lost electrolytes from a heavy sweating session in the gym.

Inflammation – Celery contains polyacetylene and luteolin which are a natural inflammation reduction agent and will help to fight against inflammations in the body such as arthritis, gout, asthma and bronchitis.

Kidney Stones – Celery provides the kidneys with minerals and nutrients that it need to function correctly. Whilst eliminating toxins from the blood, it also helps to prevent kidney stone from forming.

Reduce Stress – Celery contains coumarins which help to reduce the effect of stress hormones such as cortisol which have a tendency to constrict blood vessels and can lead to hypertension.

Fighting Cancer – Whilst not scientifically proved as yet, medical research is on-going with two substances apigenin and luteolin which both have been shown to help prevent the spread of cancer and are contained within celery.

Blood Detoxing – celery juice contains a high concentration of nutrients, alkalising and hydrating minerals and diuretic minerals which all help clean the blood, remove excess water from the body whilst at the same time flush out any unwanted toxins from the body.

Skin Benefits – Celery contains a wide range of vitamins to include Vitamin K to preserve skin firmness and Vitamin A/B for health skin tone.

Sleep – Celery is well know for its effect on reducing blood pressure, hypertension, stress hormones and increasing electrolytes in the body, but it also contain magnesium which is a calming mineral and can help you relax and in-turn get to sleep at night.

Lowers Cholesterol – Celery contains a chemical called 3-N-Butylphthalide that has been proved to have a positive effect on reducing the cholesterol in the bloodstream whilst increasing the secretion of bile which can also help to combat cholesterol.

Hair Care – As mentioned above, celery contain vitamin A that is needed for healthy hair.

Follow Up

Celery is a fantastic vegetable that you should be consuming in your diet given all the benefits that it contains. Look out for celery with darker leaves as these are likely to contain the most nutrients given they have had more exposure to the sunlight.

One point, celery is a succulent plant that produces it’s own pesticide to protect itself from fungi. Whilst this is not a problem in small quantities, it’s highly recommended that you stay away from consuming celery everyday and focus on consuming celery as part of a well balance diet.

This question is the result of the internet and so called medical experts reading a small amount of medical research, thinking they know everything and writing about it. So what’s the answer – it depends what it’s made from.

Whether its white or brown bread is not really the question that is important. It’s very easy to taken a loaf of white bread, dye it and thus make it look like brown bread even though it does not have the nutrients that brown bread comes with.

What Should You Be Eating

When your choosing a loaf of bread, you need to focus on what the bread is actually made from and not the colour of the bread. The best type of bread contains the words “WholeGrain” Or “Whole Wheat” where the outer husk of the flower seed has no been removed. With this process, the bread will contain the highest concentration of finite, protein, vitamins, folic acid and biotin.

White Bread

The process of making white bread is very similar to brown bread with the key difference being that the wheat flour is dyed white using potassium bromate, benzoyl peroxide and often chlorine gasses. Whilst white bread often contains more calcium, the chemical used to dye the wheat flower from brown to white are very dangerous in large doses. Whilst bread makers do not use large quantities medical research does not show the side effects of eating white bread over time. There is still question mark over whether the build up of these toxins over would time has an effect on the body or whether the kidneys remove these toxins from the body.

The other key problem with eating white bread is that you’re eating refined carbohydrates. The body needs to produce insulin to absorb the sugars out of the blood stream which are in turn converted into glycogen and then triglycerides which are stored in your bodies fat cells and is the cause of weight gain.

Brown Bread

So what you’re trying to say is that white bread is very bad for you and therefore we should be eating brown bread? Well this is partly true, however just because your bread is brown does not means that it’s 100% made out of whole wheat bread. Research has shown that bread manufactures have simply altered the why they produce bread and rather bleach the cheaply made wheat flow to produce white bread, the process is exactly the same with the only difference being that they colour the bread with caramel to create the brown bread that you buy on the supermarket shelf.

The other process bread manufactures like use is the “Enriched” process where rather than making brown WholeMeal Bread from scratch, they simply add back into the mix a selection synthetically manufactured vitamins and nutrients that the body will struggle to absorb and digest.

Brown Vs. White Bead

It really does not matter what colour the bread is. What’s important is what is made from. Look at the ingredients on the back on the bread and make sure the first ingredient is either Whole Wheat or Whole Meal Flour.

To make whole wheat or whole meal flour bread, the wheat germ and the bran and grounded down together to make the wheat flower. This bread making process means that the nutrients and vitamins remain in the bread and the fibre content helps to slow down the digestion process which gives the blood a greater chance to take out the healthy nutrients that it needs.

Better Still Don’t Eat Wheat Bread

If you enjoy eating bread, but are worried about the side effects there are a few options that you can consider that are better for you than wheat bread.

Rye Bread – is less refined, contains a much high concentration of fibre and due to it being digested slower will satisfy your hunger and has a lower effect on your blood sugar level. Patients with diabetes often eat rye bread rather than wheat bread because its so much easier to digest and at the same time keep blood sugar levels in the optimum scale.

Spelt Bread – is very similar to wheat bread in terms of texture and taste, but also contains a better range of nutrients. Like rye bread above, spelt bread is high in fibre, but also high in a range of minerals from Manganese to phosphorus and vitamins such as thiamine and folate.