The anti-inflammatory superfood that strengthens bones

When looking to boost our health we often look to eat more foods that can help us stay healthy, raising their intake in our diets. And often we’re well aware of which foods can provide benefits; on the other hand there are some superfoods we eat without even being aware of the many advantages they can bring us. One of those foods is celery, a vegetable with innumerable virtues.

Although the best known and most often used part of celery is the stem, other parts of the plant can also be used in cooking. In this article, we’ll talk about celery seeds, a common spice that is brown in color, with an earthy aroma and a slightly bitter taste. As Spanish newspaper El Español explains: a tablespoon of celery seed has 25 calories, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of fiber; as well as a good amount of calcium, manganese and iron.

And what are the health benefits? Celery seed can help lower blood pressure, making it a valuable addition to diets looking to control high blood pressure, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. The study showed in animals that treatment with celery seed extract lowered blood pressure. But this is not the only benefit.

Celery seeds can strengthen bones

As explained, celery seeds contain large amounts of calcium, magnesium and manganese, but also phosphorus and iron, which help to maintain strong bones. These nutrients improve people’s bone health and help prevent the body from taking calcium from the bones.

What’s more, manganese is very useful for activating the enzymes that produce proteins to form bone tissue and cartilage in the human body, which makes it very attractive for people who want to maintain and improve the health of their bones. Finally, a good level of magnesium and phosphorus can help prevent chronic bone diseases, such as osteoporosis.

Reduces inflammation and pain

In 2017, the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine reviewed the aforementioned study and concluded that there was more than enough evidence to ensure that celery may have antioxidant properties, which would help eliminate free radicals from the body. . In addition, before the review, the benefits of celery seeds in reducing pain and inflammation had already attracted attention, especially for people with arthritis and ulcers.

Cancer prevention

A study in rats published in Cancer Letters in 2005 found that the consumption of celery seeds interferes with the development of liver cancer, which could point to anticancer properties of this food.

Furthermore, another study of human cells published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention in 2011 explained that celery seed extract induces apoptosis —programmed cell death that stops the proliferation of cancer cells. — in stomach cancer.