Celery

A Crunchy Cure
For years, celery has been touted by Chinese medicine as a treat for your blood pressure, thanks to a heart-healthy phytochemical compound called phthalide. It's known to help relax artery walls, allowing for faster, freer blood flow. And in early animal research, a daily extract providing the nutritional equivalent of about four stalks of celery helped reduce blood pressure 12–14 percent. Find out how celery can help prevent your arteries from hardening, too.

However, Bowden notes that celery is one of the more pollutant-prone veggies and so recommends going organic when you can. Find out which other fruits and veggies tend to get dirtiest.

Recipe Corner
What subtle celery lacks in flavour, it makes up for in texture. Use it to enhance soups, salads, side dishes, and even sandwiches. Like with these easy recipes from EatingWell:

• Try this healthier and even more flavorful version of a classic: Curried Waldorf Salad.
• Make this dazzling, savory rice dish that is anything but bland: Jeweled Golden Rice.
• Create this not-so-naughty sandwich that quiets chicken-wing cravings: Buffalo Chicken Wrap.

Braised celery

Ingredients
2 celery hearts
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
300ml/10fl oz veal stock

Method
1. Because celery has a very pungent taste it benefits from par-boiling beforehand.
2. Wash and trim the celery hearts to about 15cm/6in long. Halve lengthways and par-boil in salted water for 7 minutes. Drain well.
3. Put the chopped onions and carrots into the bottom of a heavy-based pan or flameproof dish. Lay the celery hearts on top and cover with a good veal stock.
4. Bring to the boil and then braise, uncovered, at 160-180C/325-350F/Gas 3-4 for 1 hour until the celery is very tender. By this time the stock should be of a syrupy consistency. If it is not, remove the vegetables on to a serving dish and keep warm. Boil the stock rapidly until it reaches the right consistency and pour over the vegetables.

30 minutes to prepare

Cooking time 1-2 hours

More celery recipes

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In a study using mice that suggested some plants help protect the brain, luteolin, a chemical in celery, reduced brain inflammation linked to Alzheimer's disease:

[...] The compound, luteolin, has been shown in previous studies to hinder inflammation in cells belonging to the lungs, prostate and gums. In this study, researchers used luteolin to block the inflammatory response of the brain's immune system, opening the door to potential treatments for diseases of the brain.

"When the body's nervous system is stimulated by pathogens, like a typical infection, the immune system conveys a message to the brain," said Rodney Johnson, professor of Animal Sciences and author of the study. "The immune cells located in the brain respond to that signal and produce more inflammatory molecules, which are thought to contribute to the exacerbation of neurodegenerative diseases.

"Luteolin has the ability to inhibit the production of these inflammatory molecules," Johnson said. "This could slow the progression of certain neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis."

Before you go stuffing your face with celery, know that it may not be enough to stave off Alzheimer's. In order to be able to eat enough celery to get to the comparable levels of luteolin used in the study you'd have to take a dietary supplement.