Why consume more Celery?

In case you didn't notice it in the nutritional profile, celery is incredibly low in calories – only 16 per one-cup serving. This is one reason why it's so popular for dieters. The reputation celery has for being a "negative calorie" food may actually be deserved. At the same time, celery is worth its weight in fiber, which moves food through the digestive tract more quickly, and therefore helps lower your risk for colon cancer.

An interesting tidbit about this vegetable is the many different vitamins and minerals it offers - a little bit of a lot for a good balance: nine percent each of the DV in vitamin A and folate, eight percent of the potassium, and between two to five percent in manganese, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium in the minerals category. In vitamins: vitamin C, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin. Vitamin K plays the most dramatic role – 37 percent of the daily value per cup.

Celery is a rich source of flavonoids like zeaxanthin, lutein, and betacarotene, which studies have shown lowers inflammation as well as the risk of heart disease, enhances the immune system, and inhibits the growth of abnormal cancer-causing cells. Antioxidants in celery include natural phenolic dihydrostilbenoids, such as lunularin, and furanocoumarins like bergapten and psoralen. The flavonols quercetin and kaempferol also are present.

Celery leaves (which contain the most vitamin C, calcium, and potassium) and seeds also contain a number of little-heard of volatile oils, such as terpenes (which consists mostly of limonene), and the sesquiterpenes β-selinene and humulene. The compound 3-n-butyl phthalide, which gives celery its fresh, earthy essence, may play a part in both reducing cholesterol and blood pressure levels by relaxing blood vessel muscles. Coumarins help thin the blood, and linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid. What all these and other compounds do for the body is pretty impressive.

Source: Dr. Mercola