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How celery can help you sleep
9th June 2008
On the 23rd of May I wrote you a Good Life
Letter about celery ('the Diet Food that Helps Alzheimer's').
If you didn't get it, then take a look on the
website here
Now, while I'm about to recommend celery
AGAIN.... but this time for blood pressure,
insomnia and even weight loss... let me
make something clear.
Please don't think that I'm a merciless
'celery pushing' maniac
Yes, I'm getting into celery as a home
remedy...
But you won't find me in the Collins kitchen,
lining up my weeping children, forcing them to
munch down celery sticks 'or NO TV!'
Neither do I leave sticks of celery in a jar of
water by my wife's bedside, with a note
saying 'Try this to shift some extra pounds,
love, Your Hubbie.'
I already tried that and was surprised by the
extremely negative response... but at least I
got to spend a night camping in a tent in the
back garden.
What I'm trying to say is...
I'm aware that lots of people can't bear the
taste of raw celery.
I know, because many readers emailed me to
ask whether cooked celery would be as good
for your health as eating it raw.
Others asked if I knew some pleasant ways to
eat celery without the harsh taste, and still get
all the same benefits.
So here are some useful tips...
Why cooked celery is OK
As you know, many foods lose their nutritional
value when cooked.
The good news is that celery keeps its
important nutrients rather well. Remember
that it's the leaves that contain the most
nutritional benefits.
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So if you're not keen on raw celery, try a
Good Life reader's fantastic recipe for celery
soup:
- 1 whole head of celery with leaves -
chopped in a pan and just cover with
water.
- 2 vegetable stock cubes
- Ground black pepper
- Star anise - about one and a half
'stars'
- Bring to boil and simmer for twenty
minutes liquidise and serve with
- Crusty bread.
- Eat.
- DELICIOUS
And here are some other tasty ways to get
the benefits of celery.
- Add celery - with the leaves - to
soups, stews and casseroles to give it
a strong flavour and an extra healthy
kick.
- User a juicer to extract the celery juice
and mix it with your favourite fruit and
vegetables for a healthy punch.
- Saute the celery in a pan and have it
as a side dish. This helps retain most
of the potassium in the vegetable, and
takes away some of taste you get
when you eat it raw.
While looking into the 'cooked vs. uncooked'
theories about celery, I came across some
really surprising benefits...
Celery as a diet aid
If you're trying to lose weight, one of your
worst enemies is that hunger pang that drives
you to bolt down a massive dinner and still
crave more.
A nice trick is to reduce your appetite before
you eat. This allows you to enjoy the food for
its taste, and not see it as fuel for your blood
sugar. Eating more slowly will mean you get
more full, quicker, and eat less.
One way of fighting food cravings is the
'honey, garlic and vinegar' method, which I've
covered many times before.
In fact, I'm about to release a book on the
subject of honey, garlic and vinegar, so I
won't go into it today (look out for news on
this in the coming month!)
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But you can also use celery....
- Add a tablespoonful of honey to a
small cup of celery juice, extracted
with a juicer. Sip it slowly.
Many believe that this can help reduce your
appetite if taken half an hour before a meal.
Celery for insomnia
Celery has a calming effect on the central
nervous system. In fact, celery seed is often
used as a herbal remedy for nervousness,
insomnia and anxiety.
So if you're suffering sleepless nights, take
the same honey and celery juice mixture I've
described above.
Sip it half an hour before you go to bed. It
should help you relax and get to sleep.
Could celery lower blood pressure?
Here's an interesting idea. Some early studies
on animals are linking celery to low blood
pressure.
Why could this be?
Well, celery contains 'pthalides', compounds
which could not only give you a GREAT
Scrabble score, but which help relax your
artery muscles.
With more room in the arteries, the blood can
flow at a lower pressure.
The same compounds also reduce your levels
of stress hormone, which also help keep your
blood vessels relaxed and open.
It's still early days for this research, but
there's no harm in trying to add some celery
to your diet.
Hopefully today's letter has given you plenty
of ways to do this without gagging!
Finally...
A WARNING!
While celery is natural and safe, please be
aware that it's a strong diuretic, meaning you
might find yourself weeing more.
Don't drink more than 3 glasses of celery
juice a day. Pregnant women should talk to a
doctor first.
As I always like to remind you, I'm here to
offer you ideas, tips and food for thought. I'm
your personal researcher and companion, but
I'm not a doctor.
So if you are worried about a serious health
problem, please talk to a medical
professional.
This is also why I can't answer any Good Life
health enquiries on a one-one-one basis. This
would be construed, quite rightly, as medical
advice.
That said, I use all the Good Life Letter
enquiry emails as a springboard for my
research, so hopefully I answer everything in
these twice-weekly letters.
Remember, if you want information on a
specific ailment, you can try the free search
tool on my website:
www.goodlifeletter.co.uk
If I've covered the topic in the past, you
should see all the relevant articles
miraculously appear before your eyes!
Technology. Wonderful. |
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