Celery

Celery (Apium graveolens) has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity however it is the dried seeds that are used for medicinal purposes. Matriarch of Australian herbal medicine, the late Dorothy Hall, said “celery seeds condense all of celery’s virtues into even greater concentration.” She recommended its use for people with diabetes because of its beneficial action on the liver, adrenal glands, fluid retention and digestion. “For the fluid-engorged diabetic, celery’s gentle but balanced persistence in stimulating liver, adrenals and kidneys can be beneficial indeed.” 

Celery has been used for acute, and chronic, painful or inflammatory conditions. It is used traditionally for the clearance of acidic metabolites via the kidneys and traditional sources recommend its use for rheumatism, arthritis and gout. 

A recent study conducted on humans found that celery seed extract is at least as effective as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen in treating arthritis, and relieved the stomach inflammation often caused by these medications.