Celery seed: First Aid for Gout – From Menstrual Disorders to Mosquito Bites

The celery seed you put in a Bloody Mary for that extra zing has nothing to do with the celery stalk you use to stir it.

Celery seed comes from a sister plant called smallage that grows in salt marshes and river estuaries throughout Europe and India. Smallage, also known as wild celery, looks similar to the familiar garden-variety celery we eat as a vegetable, but it is so bitter, it’s inedible. The seeds, however, are not only edible—they’re incredible. The tiniest spice in the world (one pound’s worth is 750,000 seeds) may have an oversized talent for healing because it’s packed with cell-nourishing phytonutrients—most notably, phthalides (the anti-inflammatory substances responsible for giving celery and celery seed their distinctive bite) and the volatile oil apigenin (an antioxidant).

Celery seed comes from aplant known as wild celerythat grows in salt marshesand river estuaries.

Traditionally, healers have used celery seed to treat upper respiratory diseases such as colds, bronchitis, flu, and asthma, as well as indigestion, water retention, and liver disease. Today, celery seed it is best known as a home remedy for the pain and inflammation of arthritis—including its toe-torturing form, gout.

Out with Gout

Gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid, a waste product of urine. Over time, the excess acid congeals into sharp-edged urate crystals that travel south to the big toe (though they can end up in other joints).

There are many risk factors for gout. They include: too much meat and alcohol (both rich in purines, a food component that breaks down into uric acid), overweight, diseases such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that weaken the purine-processing kidneys, and being a guy—three out of four gout sufferers are men. (Blame it on genetics—and beer.)

Gout takes two forms: acute and chronic. Acute gout is an attack—pain so severe that brushing your big toe against a sheet can be excruciating. Chronic gout is a condition—the excess uric acid isn’t controlled, and crystals form large, painful lumps called tophi that gradually deform and destroy joints.

Gout requires medical care: an anti-inflammatory medication to control the pain of a gout attack, and allopurinol (Zyloprim) to stop the body from producing uric acid. But celery seed has long been touted by natural healers (and agonized gout sufferers!) as an effective complement (or even replacement) to medical care, helping calm a gout attack and controlling uric acid long-term. Put the words celery seedand gout into an Internet search engine, and you’ll enter a world of gout-beating claims. Are they true?

James Duke, PhD—a noted expert in botanical healing and a long-time gout sufferer—thinks so. “Ever since I started taking celery seed, I’ve abandoned allopurinol,” he said. “For me, celery seed is just as therapeutically effective as its man-made pharmaceutical rival—maybe more so.” (Follow his example only with your doctor’s approval and supervision.)

And there’s some scientific evidence to back up Dr. Duke’s anti-gout anecdote.

Noting that celery seeds have been used traditionally for many inflammatory conditions—asthma, bronchitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout—researchers at Michigan State University decided to chemically dissect the seeds, looking for specific compounds with anti-inflammatory ability. And they found them!

Several compounds in celery seeds “inhibited” COX-1 and COX-2, the cellular enzymes that trigger the inflammation (the hurt, the heat, the redness, the swelling) behind gout and many other pain-causing conditions.

“The biological activities” of compounds in celery seeds “are in agreement with the anecdotal use of celery seeds to alleviate gout and arthritic pain,” wrote the researchers in Phytomedicine.

Citing this and other research, Michael Whitehouse, MD, PhD, of the University of Queensland of Australia, touts the anti-inflammatory power of celery seeds in the journal Inflammopharmacology. “Extracts from Indian celery seed,” he writes, are “powerful nutraceuticals that amplify the potency” of conventional drugs “for treating pre-established chronic inflammation” in diseases such as gout. Celery seed, he concludes, “can be a remarkable resource for supplementing conventional therapy for inflammatory disease.” And he hopes the bad news about the class of drugs called COX-2 inhibitors—such as the now-banned rofecoxib (Vioxx) and valdecoxib (Bextra)—will “stimulate serious re-assessment” of celery seed and other “traditional anti-inflammatory therapies.”

From Menstrual Disorders to Mosquito Bites

Inflammation Nation. The Inflammation Syndrome. Stop Inflammation Now! The Inflammation Cure. The titles of these and other recent popular health books attest to the fact that inflammation is a big problem. In inflammation, the immune system rushes its warrior-like cells to the site of an injury—from a nasty cut to a nasty accumulation of cholesterol. The resulting collateral damage can cause and complicate many health problems. The diminutive celery seed contains approximately two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds—allowing it to fight not only gout, but many other types of conditions.

Menstrual pain. Researchers studied 180 women with painful menstrual cramps, dividing them into three groups: one took an herbal remedy containing extracts of celery seed, saffron, and anise; one took an anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing drug; one took a placebo. After three months, those taking the herbal remedy and the drug had the same substantial reduction in both the intensity and duration of their menstrual cramps. The findings were published in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health.

Heart disease and stroke. Several animal studies have found that celery seed extract can significantly decrease total cholesterol, “bad” LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (another heart-hurting blood fat). The extract has also lowered high blood pressure in laboratory animals. And it helped protect the brains of laboratory animals from damage caused by an experimentally induced stroke.

Celery seed may help prevent and/or treat:

Arthritis, osteo- and rheumatoid

Cholesterol problems (high total cholesterol, high “bad” LDL cholesterol)

Gout

High blood pressure (hypertension)

Liver disease

Menstrual cramps

Mosquito bites

Stroke

Ulcer

Vaginal yeast infection

___________________________________

Celery seed pairs well with these spices:

Allspice

Black pepper

Caraway

Chile

Cinnamon

Coriander

Cumin

Fennel seed

Ginger

Sage

Turmeric

and complements recipes featuring:

Chicken

Chutneys

Eggs

Fish

Tomatoes

___________________________________

Other recipes containing celery seed:

By-the-Bay Fisherman’s Chowder

Chesapeake Bay Seafood Seasoning

Spaghettini with Basil-Tomato Sauce

Spice de Provence

Liver disease. Researchers in India found that celery seed extracts protected experimental animals from liver damage caused by toxic chemicals. The study validates the traditional use of celery seeds in treating and preventing liver diseases, they concluded in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Another animal study, in Cancer Letters, found that celery seed extract protected against liver cancer.

Mosquito bites. Scientists in Thailand put a topical repellent made from celery seed on the skin of volunteers and exposed them to seven different species of mosquitoes—the repellent provided complete protection for three and a half hours. The volunteers successfully continued to use the celery seed repellent for the next nine months.

Drug side effects. A common side effect in men of treatment with the epilepsy drug sodium valproate (Epilim) is damage to the reproductive system from plummeting testosterone levels. In animal research, scientists showed celery seed could block this side effect.

Ulcers. Researchers in England found an extract of celery seed could kill H. pylori, the stomach bacteria that cause ulcers.

Yeast infection. Test tube studies show that celery seed can stop the growth of several strains of fungus, including those that cause vaginal yeast infections.

Getting to Know Celery Seed

After their blowout banquets, morning-after ancient Romans often wore wreathes of smallage leaves and celery seed as a hangover “cure.” Some moderns also favor celery seed in a hangover “remedy”—the Bloody Mary, a vodka cocktail containing celery seed, horseradish, and ground black pepper.

But although celery seed has been used in traditional medicine for millennia, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that it started to gain favor as a condiment, in France and Italy. Today, celery seed is a popular spice in American and European cooking, sprinkled in tomato juice, chicken soup, salad dressings, and coleslaw, and as an ingredient in sausage, knockwurst, and corned beef. In the food industry, it’s used in bologna, hot dogs, and other processed meats, in non-alcoholic drinks, in soups, in pickles, and in ice cream and baked goods.

Celery seed is also a mainstay of North Indian cuisine, where it’s found in curries, pickles, and chutneys.

How to Buy Celery Seed

Celery seed is pungent, with a grassy or hay-like aroma. The miniscule seed is dark brown, with a light hue from tiny ridges you can’t see with the naked eye. You’ll find them whole in any grocery with a well-stocked spice section.

Because they’re so small, grinding isn’t necessary, although you can find seeds sold slightly crushed or ground. Best to buy them whole, though, as grinding causes their good-for-you volatile oils to start to dissipate. Whole seeds keep for two years or more. Use ground celery seeds within a few months.

You’ve probably encountered celery salt in the supermarket aisle and recipes. It’s a mixture of about 60 percent salt and celery seeds, sometimes with the addition of parsley and dill. If celery seed isn’t available, it’s an acceptable substitute.

Most celery seeds imported into the US are from India.

In the Kitchen with Celery Seed

Celery seeds are bitter when raw but take on a sweet flavor when cooked. If adding celery seeds to a raw dish, you can mellow the seeds by dry-toasting them slightly. (See the directions for dry roasting.) Be careful not to burn them.

Be conservative in using celery seeds—their tiny size belies the impact they can have on a dish. (But do use them. In fact, researchers at the University of Tokyo proved that celery seed is indispensible to a flavorful soup—when they asked taste-testers to sample soup broths with and without celery seed, the testers described the seed-rich broth as thicker, more full-bodied, and more satisfying.)

Here are some ways to put more celery seed into your diet:

• The seeds are a natural with anything containing tomato. Add toasted seeds to gazpacho, tomato juice cocktails, tomato soups, and tomato sauces.

• They’re also a natural with eggs. Add a pinch of celery seeds to scrambled eggs or omelets. Sprinkled toasted seeds on top of deviled eggs.

• Add celery seeds to stocks and chicken soup recipes.

Bloody Mary Soup with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

In the summer when tomatoes are in season, you can substitute the canned tomatoes with four fresh tomatoes.

1 medium yellow squash, finely diced

1 medium zucchini, finely diced

6 scallions, thinly sliced

1 twenty-eight-ounce can crushed tomatoes

4 cups V-8 juice

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons toasted celery seeds

1 jalapeño, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black peppercorns

Coarsely ground kosher salt, to taste

½ pound jumbo lump crabmeat

1 lime cut into four wedges

1. Combine the first 10 ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl and refrigerate for two hours.

2. Divide the soup into double martini or old-fashioned glasses. Top with the crabmeat. Slice the lime wedges at the center and put one on the rim of each glass.

Serves 4 as a first course or 3 as an entree.