Throughout history, people have regarded the common celery as a delicacy. Legend has it that Wei Zheng, a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was obsessed with celery, eating it with sugar and vinegar almost every day to accompany his meals. The "Lüshi Chunqiu" (Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals) also contains the record, "Among the fine vegetables, there is the celery of Yunmeng." When people eat celery, they mostly prefer to remove the roots and leaves, keeping only the fresh and tender top parts, little realizing that this method of consumption wastes the nutritional and medicinal value of celery.
"Celery has high medicinal value," Professor Zhang Hude, from the Health Preservation Department of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, told a reporter from the Life Times. "Celery is cool in nature and sweet in taste. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving vexation, calming the liver, strengthening the stomach, and promoting urination to reduce swelling. It also has a supplementary therapeutic effect on hypertension, neurasthenia, edema, and irregular menstruation in women." "Compared to other parts, the medicinal value of celery root is higher; the root itself is a traditional Chinese medicinal ingredient," Zhang Hude said. Among them, the nutritional content of celery leaves and roots is particularly high and should not be discarded lightly.
Common celery is divided into celery (Apium graveolens) and water celery (Oenanthe javanica). Celery is mainly produced in the north, while water celery is mainly produced in the south. Compared to water celery, celery has a stronger aroma, better nutrition, and is more suitable for medicinal use. "However, water celery contains various amino acids, volatile oils, and watercress素, which has a liver-protecting effect. People with poor liver function can eat more of it," Zhang Hude said.
Celery can be stir-fried, mixed, or stewed, and there are many ways to prepare it. So, how is the best way to eat celery root for its therapeutic effects? Zhang Hude introduced some wonderful methods: use 90 grams of celery root, add 9 grams of sour jujube, and simmer into a soup. Drinking it before bed can treat insomnia; an appropriate amount of celery root, washed and chopped, stir-fried with eggs, can treat headaches; chop celery root and cook it into celery congee with japonica rice, adding a little rock sugar, has a supplementary therapeutic effect on hypertension, vascular sclerosis, and neurasthenia in middle-aged and elderly people. Finally, Zhang Hude reminded everyone that celery is suitable to be eaten with tomatoes, beef, and mutton, but it is incompatible with chicken, cucumber, and pumpkin. Try to avoid these combinations when consuming it.