CELERY helps calm the nerves naturally, according to Hippocrates. It is perhaps because of its rich calcium content. Celery is a part of the Apiaceae family and also has a strong effect on the kidneys, helping to eliminate wastes via urine. And worldwide, it has a high reputation as an antirheumatic.
Research carried out by Dr. David Lewis at Aston University in Britain has demonstrated the presence of celery as an anti-inflammatory agent that clears uric acid from painful joints. This compound is more concentrated in the seeds and leaves than in the edible root. Therefore, — and in traditional medicine, it’s the seeds that are specifically recommended, in the form of a tea, for gout, rheumatism, and other problems resulting from poor elimination.
In Japan, rheumatic patients are sometimes put on a celery-only diet; celery stewed with milk and eaten with it — or celery seed tea — is standard. Romany treatment for rheumatic ailments; and a daily half-glass of celery juice, first thing, for 15-20 days is worth trying. More than this would be counter-productive — and the kidneys irritated rather than stimulated.
Celery appears to function as a useful antiseptic in the urinary tract too. In the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, celery seed — in which the healing powers of this vegetable seem to be concentrated — is specifically indicated for rheumatoid arthritis and mental depression, and as a sedative. Animal studies have shown marked anti-inflammatory action for the seeds.
Celery is also recommended for stomach ulcers, as it contains anti-ulcer compounds like cabbage. As well as these admirable properties, celery has a high reputation in folk medicine as a sexual stimulant: according to Dr. Vogel, it does in fact stimulate not only the thyroid and pituitary glands but also the gonads. There seems little scientific evidence in support of this claim: but folk medicine is seldom wholly misguided.
