You know this vegetable for being light and crunchy. You can get it in all supermarkets and probably already have it in your fridge.
And there is good reason to chew on this vegetable.
Consuming it daily has been shown to drop both diastolic and systolic blood pressure by more than 8 points.
And you get all this without doing anything else.
Celery is rich in phytochemicals called ‘phthalides’, making it a boon for those with high blood pressure. This chemical relaxes the artery walls and increases blood flow, thus bringing down blood pressure, easily and effectively.
The celery stalk is also high in magnesium and potassium, which both powerfully lower blood pressure.
Celery seeds contain a chemical compound called 3-n-butylphthalide (3nB), an active compound that lowers blood pressure.
In a recent study published in The Natural Medicine Journal, 30 patients were given celery seed extract containing 85% 3nB (150 mg/day). In just 6 weeks, the average systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings decreased by 8.2 and 8.5 mm Hg.
Celery extracts are available in most health food stores and you can take the supplements if you are not keen about eating a small cup of chopped celery (or about four stalks).
However, it’s generally good to eat real vegetables, raw or steamed, to get the best benefits. While extracts provide many useful properties, they do not supply everything that the original vegetable does.
Celery can be consumed as fresh stalks, seeds, tablets, capsules with celery seed oil, and celery seed extract.
Common drugs used for lowering blood pressure can lower blood flow to your brain, causing side effects like dizziness and depression. But celery extract improves blood flow to the brain while reducing the risk of stroke.
Eating celery daily begins improving blood pressure within a week or two, so please try it out for yourself.