Fast Facts
Changing your mind
Top Gear presenter, Richard Hammond, likes celery for the first time as a result of his 280 mph crash. Co-star Jeremy Clarkson revealed the odd effect on the 36-year old ‘Hamster’ – who suffered brain injuries in the dragster horror. Jeremy, 46, who has “He’s fine”, on a T-shirt, told TV viewers his pal was completely better.
Urban Myths
Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece
of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.
Relax
In traditional Oriental medicine celery was used to treat hypertension. The phthalide compounds in celery can act as a sedative as well as lower blood pressure.
We love Celery
In the UK we crunch through 120 million sticks of celery a year!
Food of love?
Celery has a formidable reputation as an aphrodisiac, going back to Roman times (they dedicated the plant to Pluto, god of sex and hell!). Madame de Pompadour swore by celery and truffle soup washed down with hot chocolate – and even in the enlightened 1990’s a TV programme about Millennium babies recommended that couples eat plenty of celery to ensure they didn’t miss the deadline!
The Bloody Mary
The Bloody Mary cocktail was invented in the 1920’s at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris . However it wasn’t until the 1960’s that celery was associated with the drink, when a guest at a Chicago hotel was given a Bloody Mary but nothing to stir it with. He improvised with a stick of celery from the buffet!
Sweet dreams
Celery is thought to promote a good night’s sleep because of the vitamins, mineral salts and nutrients it contains; it is also thought to have a calming effect on the central nervous system.