Unlikely Cancer Killer?

Celery and parsley.  Besides ending in “y” and being absurdly low in calories (one stalk of celery=10 calories; two tablespoons of parsley= three calories), these are two foods you probably didn’t think have too much in common.  In actuality, though, parsley and celery are related.  Their both members of the Umbelliferae family, they’re both “relieving agents” (celery is known as the “great nerve builder,” parsley is renowned for being a great breath freshener) and they’re both LOADED with vitamin K (one stalk of celery has almost 50 percent of your recommended daily vitamin K value; two tablespoons of parsley has over 150 percent of your recommended daily vitamin K value).

But there’s something else that these family members have in common that was just recently discovered by Dutch scientists:  They may help prevent leukemia!

That’s according to research from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where researchers say the flavonoids found in parsley and celery may help prevent the formation and development of leukemia cells, killing them before they’re able to take shape.

(Bear in mind this is not to say that it may help treat leukemia; only that it may help prevent leukemia cell formation.  And even then it’s not definitive.)

The curative ingredient found in parsley and celery is apigenin, the porcine-sounding antioxidant that’s also found in red wine, tomato sauce, apples, beans and cherries.  Past studies have found apigenin to be a potent foe in protecting women from ovarian cancer, which is the deadliest form of reproductive cancers in women.

You can find the full details of the study in the scientific journal Cell Death and Disease.

See that?  Celery is not some good for nothin’ stalk that’s best drenched in peanut butter.  It’s a crunchy, tasty treat that can be enjoyed as a snack (best when smeared with a generous helping of almond butter), as a vegetable juice flavor enhancer (best
used with carrot juice), diced into a tuna fish sandwich to give it an added crunch, or as an after dinner delight.  Believe it or not, celery was—and perhaps still is—a part of Italian cuisine.  In ancient day Pompeii, Italians would roast the celery and add honey and ground pepper to it.

The same goes for parsley; it’s not an ingredient that dishes can do just as well without.  True, it’s mostly used as a garnish, but it’s a critical ingredient to a number of dishes (i.e., Mediterranean food fans know how critical it is to taboule).  What’s really great about parsley is its universality.  It works as a great garnish for virtually any dish; be it fish, vegetable or poultry, parsley brings out the natural flavor of foods, but it also tempers dishes.  For example if you were to make a dish that calls for garlic and you add a bit too much, adding some parsley sprigs will diminish its pungency.

But as the aforementioned study shows, parsley and celery don’t just improve the flavor profiles of food; they improve your quality of life by diminishing your risk for disease.

Sources
newsmaxhealth.com
healthdiaries.com
whfoods.com
ehow.com