Low Carb Diet Food

If celery is not already on your low carb diet food list please add it now! 

Most of us probably know that this relative of the carrot is good for us, simply by virtue of it being a green vegetable, and we’ve probably snacked on it now and then. But if you want to know why celery makes a great low carb diet food, here are 3 solid examples of celery’s important health benefits in a low carb diet.

Boosting the Immune System

Celery is very high in vitamin c which supports the immune system. A strong immune system means you’re better at warding away general illness than the rest of the population – you tend to get sick less often than everyone else. Vitamin C is especially well known as a cold fighter. It can help to prevent you from catching a cold in the first place, or if you already have a cold, can help to lesson the severity of it (especially if you consume it inmega-doses). 100 grams of chopped celery provides about 14% of your daily vitamin C requirements.

Because a lot of the low carb diet food we eat tends to be in the meat, cheese and eggs category, we can forget to eat enough vitamin c containing fruits and vegetables, so when we do eat them, we should be going for the ones that contain vitamin c in high doses.

Lowering Blood Pressure

This benefit is a little bit controversial. Celery is considered to be a high sodium food, and people with high blood pressure are supposed to restrict the intake of sodium in their diets. On the other hand celery contains active compounds called phthalides, which can help relax the muscles around blood vessels, allowing them to dilate and thereby create more room inside for blood to flow – reducing blood pressure.

Studies on lab animals have shown reduced blood pressure after being fed celery juice. Also, celery contains other nutrients that are supposed to be good for high blood pressure, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. Finally, although celery is higher in sodium, than other vegetables, 1 cup of chopped celery still contains only 4% of our daily sodium dietary requirements, so you can easily include celery in your low carb diet food list, and then cut out some other high sodium food to keep you within your daily limit.

Reducing Inflammation

Celery has an anti-inflammatory effect in the body, providing relief to people suffering from arthritis, rheumatism, asthma and other diseases linked to inflammation. Through its diuretic (fluid expelling) effect on the body it helps to remove uric acid crystal build up from around the joints which eases joint pains and swelling.

If those 3 reasons aren’t compelling enough, how about the fact that celery is 95% water. You can eat tons of it and are practically guaranteed not to put on weight. There is even a myth that eating celery actually helps you to lose weight, because the calories you burn by trying to digest it, are greater than the calories contained in the celery itself. I don’t think this is scientifically accurate but it sounds good

So celery is an important low carb diet food we should all be eating more of but if you need some ways to make eating celery more exciting (it is mostly water after all) check out these 5 Low Carb Snacks Made With Celery for inspiration.