Celery

Perfect when eaten alone, as a dipping food or in soups, salads and dressings, the versatile vegetable celery scores a 94 out of 100—among the very highest ratings—in Dr. T.C. Fry’s “A General Guide to Food Selection.” Some raw fooders such as this writer enjoy eating celery with fruit meals.

The culinary terminology for celery is “rib” for one piece, or stick, and “stalk” for the whole bunch. In common parlance, however, “stalk” commonly refers to a piece, or stick, in a bunch, or sometimes, “head.”

A medium-size stalk measures 7½ to 8 inches long and weighs 40 grams.

An excellent source of sodium and electrolytes, celery requires moisture-rich soil to flourish. As with lettuce, wilted celery can perk right back up and even continue growing when placed in cold water.

Celery is considered a “neutral” vegetable along with lettuce, for example, because its “starch, protein and fat content is low and, thus, [its] digestion will not interfere with the digestion of fruit,” according to Dr. David Klein‘s Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s. Celery leaves, however, are highly irritating and bitter, Klein writes.

Stats for 100 Grams of Celery (Raw)

• 16 calories

Notable Nutrients

Percentages based on the Reference Daily Intake for a 2,000-calorie diet

• Fiber: 6.4%
• Folate: 9.0%
• Vitamin K: 36.6%
• Potassium: 7.4%

Carbs/Protein/Fat

• Carbohydrates: 73.2%
• Protein: 17.3%
• Fat: 9.6%

Food Type

• Greens

Sources

• Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s by Dr. David Klein
• http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2962
• http://www.cronometer.com
• http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2396/2
• http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/celery.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celery