Celery and High Blood Pressure
             & Diets for High Blood Pressure

 Celery and High Blood Pressure  

Because diet is a huge factor linked to Hypertension, it is obvious that there are certain food which help or aggravate high blood pressure. For thousands of years, the Chinese have been using celery to help normalize blood pressure. As a support to this claim, recent studies show that both people and animal with a celery intake which is equal to 4 sticks each day have significantly lowered their blood pressure by at least 12%.

Celery is a biennial plant native to Europe and belongs to the Parsley family. It has edible roots, leaves, stalks and fruits – all of which have hypertension benefits. Celery is rich in potassium and this is what helps reduce high blood pressure in people suffering from it. However, there is an active ingredient in celery which has the best antihypertensive effects.

Phthalide (also known as 3-n-butylphthalide or 3-n-b) is an ingredient found in celery which is known to effectively lower and normalize high blood pressure. Because it relaxes tensed muscles by dilating the vessel walls, this allows the blood to flow more easily.

Phthalide and its effect on Hypertension were discovered by Quang T. Le and William J. Elliot. Le’s father began eating a quarter pound of celery each day after he was diagnosed with Hypertension. Quickly, his blood pressure normalized. Le and Elliot were intrigued with this so they began to study how celery works in lowering high blood pressure. They were able to discover Phthalide and how it effectively reduces the production of stress hormones called catecholamines. Stress hormones can restrict blood vessels and interrupt smooth blood flow. When this happens, blood pressure can certainly increase.

Celery and High Blood Pressure - A Natural Diuretic
Aside from this, celery is also known as a natural diuretic. Made up of 90% water, celery has been proven to effectively help the body get rid of excess fluids. Its right combination of potassium and sodium stimulate the production of urine. Some doctors advise their hypertensive patients to take “water pills” or diuretics to flush out excess sodium. However, the side effect of such diuretics is that it also flushes out potassium which the cells need to function properly. 

Celery has a ratio of one part sodium and three parts potassium – and this is why celery is good for people with high blood pressure as it flushes out sodium but the potassium needed is replenished.  Because this is a natural diuretic, it is not seen to interfere with medications which the patient may already be taking.

 What some studies claim is that celery has properties which can be good in helping normalize blood pressure. Because celery has sodium content, some experts think that it can counteract in effectively lowering blood pressure. Some have also said that celery has certain elements which can be toxic to the body when eaten in large quantities. These make it confusing to understand just how good celery is for people with high blood pressure. Nonetheless, it is recommended that people take no more than 4 stalks of celery each day.

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