Celery and High Blood Pressure

Anyone who is suffering from high blood pressure is advised by their doctors to eat vegetables. It is a well known fact that when you include vegetables in your diet your high blood pressure tends to reduce. Vegetables are packed with various nutrients of high nutritional value and hence you get unmatched health benefits which lower your high blood pressure naturally. Eating vegetables like celery promotes healthy cholesterol levels, stabilizes your weight by catalyzing metabolism and helps to maintain normal cardiovascular function.

For centuries celery has been accepted as a treatment for high blood pressure in the Chinese medicine. But the Western doctors used to recommend their high blood pressure patients to exclude celery from their diet because they believed that since celery is higher in sodium as compared to other vegetables, it would harm their patient. We all know that if an individual’s blood pressure is already high then consuming sodium will elevate their blood pressure more. But recent studies have confirmed that celery indeed is beneficial for the people suffering from high blood pressure.

Celery contains abundant nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fiber, powerful antioxidants, sodium and a high amount of potassium. According to the belief of some researchers natural sources of potassium like vegetables and fruits are beneficial in lowering high blood pressure. A chemical called 3-butylphthalide is found in celery which has proved to lower blood pressure. The arterial muscles that regulate your blood pressure are relaxed and the blood vessels are dilated by these phthalide.

The blood vessels of the stress hormones are also reduced by phthalide. These stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict; hence your blood pressure may rise. It is a well known fact that stress is one of the major reasons that causes and elevates your high blood pressure. Since these stress hormones are reduced by phthalide, high blood pressure also gets reduced. So if you are hypertensive and want to lower your blood pressure you can try celery but consume it in moderation.

Celery also contains apigenin which is naturally occurring flavonoids. Apigenin is also found in some other vegetables. Apigenin dilates your blood vessels and helps in lowering your high blood pressure. Advantage of eating celery for the high blood pressure is that since it contains natural sodium it satisfies your desire for salt. Before trying any natural remedies for high blood pressure please take your doctor’s advice.