What is parsley?
Parsley (Parsley) is an annual herb that is thought to have originated in southeastern Europe or Western Asia.
This popular garden herb comes in four different forms: curled-leaf ( Petroselinum crescum ), flat-leafed ( Petroselinum neapolitanum ), hamburger ( Petroselinum tuberosum ), and Japanese ( Cryptotaenia japonica ).
Most people are familiar with curly-leaf parsley and flat-leaf parsley. These are commonly used in cooking and are the types of plants you often see in grocery stores.
Hamburg parsley, on the other hand, is grown primarily for its roots rather than its leaves. Therefore, it is often called "root parsley." Parsley root is common in European cuisine and can be used in soups and stews, or eaten raw as a snack.
Japanese parsley is more bitter than curly or flat-leaf parsley and is often used in Asian cuisine.
Curly parsley is relatively cold-hardy and can withstand the frigid temperatures of the north. However, Italian flat-leaf parsley usually loses its shape and shrinks within a few days of the first frost.
The history of the factory goes back a long way. Both the ancient Romans and Greeks used parsley during death rituals as a way to deodorize corpses.
In the Middle Ages, parsley eventually became a highly superstitious plant.
One belief about the long germination period of seeds is that they must make seven trips to hell before they germinate.
Superstitious farmers will refuse to transplant parsley, and some will not dare to plant it at all. This is pretty comical, especially if you've tried growing parsley before.
Nutritional Facts of Parsley
Parsley is rich in vitamins, minerals, and other important phytonutrients that help support many body processes.
Here are the nutritional facts for 1 cup (60 g) of parsley:
| main | nutritional value | % of RDA |
| Calories | 21.6 kcal | 1% |
| carbohydrate | 3.8 grams | 1% |
| fat | 0.5g | 1% |
| protein | 1.8 grams | 4% |
| cholesterol | 0.0 mg | 0% |
| Dietary fiber | 2.0g | 8% |
| vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 5055 International Units | 101% |
| Vitamin C | 79.8 mg | 133% |
| Vitamin E | 0.4 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin K | 984 micrograms | 1230% |
| Thiamine | 0.1 mg | 3% |
| Riboflavin | 0.1 mg | 3% |
| Nicotinic acid | 0.8 mg | 4% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.1 mg | 3% |
| folic acid | 91.2 micrograms | twenty three% |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.2 mg | 2% |
| Pyridoxine | 0.090 mg | 7% |
| Minerals | ||
| calcium | 82.8 mg | 8% |
| iron | 3.7 mg | twenty one% |
| magnesium | 30.0 mg | 7% |
| phosphorus | 34.8 mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 332 mg | 9% |
| sodium | 33.6 mg | 1% |
| zinc | 0.6 mg | 4% |
| copper | 0.1 mg | 4% |
| manganese | 0.1 mg | 5% |
| Phytonutrients | ||
| β-carotene | 3032 micrograms | ~ |
| Lutein and Zeaxanthin | 3337 micrograms | ~ |
Parsley Juice Benefits
1. Strengthen the immune system
Parsley is rich in apigenin, which has been shown to suppress an overstimulated immune system and help fight allergies, autoimmunity, and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Its high flavonoid content also enables it to enhance the immune system response and inhibit various stages of cancer development.
Not to mention, just 1 cup of freshly cut parsley provides you with over 133% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant known for its beneficial effects on the immune system.
Vitamin C strengthens our immune system by supporting various cellular functions. For example, it supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and protects against environmental oxidative stress.
Vitamin C also accumulates in phagocytes (such as neutrophils) and kills harmful microorganisms that can make us sick.
2. Bad breath treatment
Suffer from (bad breath), or really smelly feet and armpits? Parsley can help!
Parsley is a natural deodorant due to its high chlorophyll content. This means it helps neutralize bad breath and protect against bacteria that cause strong body odor.
While there aren't many studies indicating that chlorophyll helps deodorize the body, one study found that it helped reduce body odor in older adults living in nursing homes.
3. Natural diuretics
Parsley is a great natural diuretic and is an amazing herb for lowering blood pressure and helping to flush out excess toxins from the body. Its diuretic effect helps eliminate excess sodium from the body and helps eliminate excess water from the body.
One study found that parsley may help increase urine production. Recent studies have also confirmed its diuretic properties.
Although this study was conducted in rats, the results suggest that parsley may act as an antiurolithiatic agent by reducing urinary calcium excretion, increasing urinary pH, and reducing urinary protein excretion as well as its nephroprotective activity.
By helping your kidneys eliminate excess sodium and other pollutants, you can greatly improve your body's health.
4. Anti-inflammation
Parsley is an amazing anti-inflammatory herb.
It is rich in vitamin C, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent that helps relieve symptoms in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Like vitamin C, beta-carotene, another compound abundant in parsley, may also help reduce the severity of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Parsley also contains a volatile oil called eugenol , which research shows has strong anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties.
5. Blood replenishing and purifying agent
Parsley is high in chlorophyll, which helps alkalize the body, form new red blood cells, and purify the blood.
Polyacetylene, a compound found in parsley, has anti-platelet aggregation properties that may help prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Parsley also contains high amounts of beneficial flavonoids, which neutralize free radicals and enhance heart function. Studies have even shown that parsley can be used to treat high blood pressure in the arteries and prevent the resulting heart disease.
6. Reduce gas and constipation
Parsley has been used as a traditional remedy for colic, indigestion, constipation, and intestinal gas. It also acts as a diuretic, helping to reduce bloating caused by water retention.
Parsley leaves have carminative properties and relieve bloating by preventing the formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, they help expel gas, quickly reducing bloating.
The essential oil of parsley is beneficial when juicing, but juicing does remove fiber. If you're dealing with constipation, eating raw parsley in salads or putting it into smoothies will go a long way toward relieving constipation without much difficulty.
7. Strengthen bones
Parsley is high in vitamin K, making it an excellent herb to help strengthen bones.
Vitamin K deficiency is associated with a higher risk of fractures and osteoporosis. This is because it, along with vitamin D, regulates osteoclast production and helps regulate bone turnover.
Getting enough vitamin K (provided by just 1/2 cup of parsley) improves calcium absorption, reduces urinary calcium excretion, and changes bone matrix proteins, all of which help improve bone health.
But vitamin K isn't the only nutrient in parsley that supports bone health.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and vitamin that is essential for the production of collagen, which forms the flexible "scaffold" of bones.
Parsley is rich in B vitamins, which are also necessary for bone health. B vitamins reduce levels of homocysteine, a harmful amino acid that weakens bones and disrupts cognitive function.
Parsley also contains the bone-healthy apigenin, a flavonoid that promotes osteoblast growth and increases collagen in bone cells.
8. Prevent Bladder Infections
Parsley juice acts as a natural diuretic and helps clear the urinary tract of harmful bacteria that can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs).
It is also a potent antibacterial herb, perfect for eliminating bacterial infections in the bladder and urinary tract.
Specifically, parsley has been shown to have antimicrobial activity against E. coli , Staphylococcus saprophyticus , and Klebsiella species . , which is the most common urinary tract infection pathogen. It has also been found to be effective against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica , Enterobacter cloacae , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa .
Other compounds found in parsley, such as carotenoids and coumarins, are also thought to enhance its antibacterial properties by boosting immunity and disrupting DNA replication of harmful bacterial strains.
9. Heals the kidneys
Parsley juice is a natural diuretic, so it happens to be one of the best herbs for treating kidneys.
The diuretic properties of parsley oil are attributed to two components in parsley oil - apiol and myristin. This oil can be found in the leaves, but is more abundant in the seeds.
One study concluded: “Parsley exerts its anti-urolithic properties by reducing urinary calcium excretion, increasing urinary pH, being a diuretic, reducing urinary protein excretion and its renoprotective activity.
10. Help digestion
Parsley stimulates appetite and improves the digestive process.
It contains many different enzymes that help break down food during digestion, as well as vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients that help absorb and utilize the other foods we eat.
An enzyme in parsley called carbonic anhydrase plays a key role in regulating pH and fluid balance in different parts of our bodies.
In our stomach lining, this enzyme plays a role in secreting acid. It also helps make pancreatic juices alkaline and our saliva neutral.
11. Soothes indigestion
Parsley juice is rich in vitamin C and folate, which can help relieve an upset stomach and indigestion.
As we've seen, the enzymes in parsley help increase stomach acid, which in itself can help treat those who have trouble digesting food particles.
Parsley also helps stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine and remove excess water from the abdomen. Therefore, it helps relieve discomfort and indigestion.
12. Prevent anemia
Parsley has twice the iron content of spinach.
Iron is the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells and helps prevent iron deficiency anemia.
Research shows that parsley leaves have anti-anemic properties. As an added bonus, parsley is also rich in vitamin C, which itself aids in the absorption of iron in the body.
Just 1 cup of parsley provides 3.7 mg of iron, or 21% of the recommended daily value! So if you juice about 2 cups of fresh parsley (about 1 bunch), you'll get nearly half the recommended amount of iron.
13. Anti-cancer herbs
Considering all the benefits of parsley juice, fighting cancer is at the top of the list.
Parsley contains the compound apigenin , which increases the levels of glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase. These enzymes have been found to shrink certain breast cancer tumors.
Apigenin is reported to inhibit various human cancers in vitro and in vivo through multiple biological effects, such as triggering apoptosis and autophagy, inducing cell cycle arrest, inhibiting cell migration and invasion, and stimulating immune responses.
In addition to apigenin, parsley also contains certain volatile oil components, such as myristin, limonene, eugenol and alpha-thujene. These essential oils strengthen the immune system, thereby slowing the growth and formation of cancer and preventing oxidative stress.
Parsley is also rich in the incredible cancer-fighting vitamin vitamin C. Vitamin C can scavenge DNA-damaging free radicals in the body, which are the main factor in the growth of cancer cells.
14. Regulate blood pressure
Parsley is a diuretic, which means it increases the amount of fluid your kidneys excrete in a short period of time.
This means that if you tend to consume a lot of sodium, the more you urinate, the sodium levels will decrease.
The more you urinate to rid your body of excess sodium, the better your blood pressure will be.
But that’s not the only reason parsley helps regulate blood pressure.
Parsley is rich in carotenoids, which are found to be beneficial to heart health. One way to do this is by improving high blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
Parsley is also rich in nitrates, which help dilate blood vessels. This in turn improves blood flow and reduces high blood pressure.
15. Improve vision
Parsley is a good source of provitamin A, carotenoids, and beta-carotene. It also contains the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.
These three carotenoids are essential for good eye health and help protect your vision.
They also help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that can cause blurred vision in the center of the field or blindness.
Studies have even found that carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin can reduce your risk of AMD by up to 26%.
Beta-carotene is converted into provitamin A in the body and helps protect the cornea and conjunctiva. These two parts make up the majority of the outside of the eye that is exposed to the elements.
16. Accelerate wound healing
The beta-carotene content in parsley (converted to vitamin A in the body) helps maintain and repair skin. This makes it a great herb to not only improve skin elasticity but also speed up the wound healing process.
Let's not forget that parsley is a great source of vitamin C, which also aids in wound healing.
Vitamin C is necessary for collagen formation and can even promote collagen gene expression. Collagen provides structural support to connective tissue, muscles, and skin. It is necessary for skin elasticity and plays an important role in bone and joint health.
Collagen also happens to play an important role in promoting tissue growth at wound sites. This is achieved through vitamin C, which is an important cofactor for dermal fibroblasts to synthesize collagen.
Studies have found that vitamin C can increase the proliferation and migration of dermal fibroblasts.
17. Control hair loss
Hair loss is often caused by a dietary deficiency in essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D and E, zinc, B-complex vitamins, iron, biotin, protein and essential fatty acids.
Anyone who is deficient in these nutrients may experience slow hair growth, or more severe hair loss.
Parsley happens to be an herb rich in nutrients needed to support healthy hair growth. Incorporating it into your diet can help address many nutritional deficiencies that lead to hair loss or brittle hair.
Parsley has been traditionally used as a hair conditioner to control scalp conditions and treat hair loss.
The antioxidant apigenin found in parsley regulates the TGF-β1 gene, thereby controlling hair loss.
18. Antibacterial
This powerful antibacterial herb is a must if you want to prevent bacteria-related illnesses. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Bacillus subtilis .
Parsley essential oil is found in the seeds and leaves of the parsley plant and contains compounds such as apiol, myristin, and b-phellandrene.
These compounds prevent the growth of different strains of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus , Listeria monocytogenes , and Salmonella enterica . They also had fungistatic activity against all fungi tested (mainly Penicillium ocher and Trichoderma viride) .
Other studies have found parsley to be an effective antibacterial agent against natural microbiota, coliforms, yeasts and molds, and Staphylococcus aureus .
So if you're dealing with a high Candida load, or just want to overcome a non-life-threatening bacterial infection, drinking parsley juice may help.
19. Regulates menstrual cycle and relieves cramps
Parsley contains a compound called apigenol , which helps regulate the menstrual cycle and relieve menstrual cramps.
Parsley may also stimulate uterine contractions to induce menstruation, so you should not drink large amounts of parsley juice if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Some Aboriginal cultures used parsley to help regulate fertility because it is a powerful menstrual stimulant.
Let’s not forget that parsley has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which naturally helps relieve period cramps.
If you want to take your pain relief benefits to another level, add a bit of ginger to your parsley juice. The combination of these two ingredients is enough to relieve painful cramps.
20. Excellent source of vitamin K
Parsley is rich in vitamin K. Just 1/2 cup contains more than 615% of the recommended daily value of vitamin K.
Vitamin K plays a role in blood clotting, fights calcification, acts as a beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, and improves brain function.
It also happens to be an essential nutrient that works along with calcium to build strong bones.
Insufficient vitamin K circulating in the blood is associated with low bone density.
On the other hand, some studies show that vitamin K supplementation can improve bone health.
It is particularly important for slowing bone loss in menopausal women and increasing bone strength in people with osteoporosis.
Parsley contains vitamin K and other bone-building nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium, making this herb essential for the maintenance and structure of healthy bones.
Copper is an important trace mineral found in the liver, brain, heart, kidneys and skeletal muscles. It aids in the formation of collagen, plays a role in energy production and increases iron absorption.
While parsley appears to contain only 4% copper per cup, its copper content is still relatively high when considering other plant foods.
How to Make Parsley Juice
Make a simple parsley juice recipe by juicing the following in a slow juicer:
- 1 bunch parsley
- 5-6 stalks of celery
- 2 cups cucumber
- 1 green apple
- 1 lemon, peeled
Juicing parsley also allows you to consume more parsley than if the fiber was intact.
Parsley Juice Risks and Side Effects
While parsley is generally a safe herb to juice, some people should avoid it if it falls into the following categories:
Pregnancy and lactation
Parsley is safe in normal amounts, but if you plan on squeezing several cups of fresh parsley per day, you should abstain from it while pregnant or breastfeeding.
As mentioned above, parsley contains certain compounds that stimulate uterine contractions and may cause miscarriage.
Again, a few sprigs of parsley won't produce these effects, but juicing a lot of it might.
kidney stones
Parsley contains small amounts of naturally occurring oxalates, which may cause problems for people with compromised kidney or gallbladder function.
If you have gout or are dealing with kidney stones, stop juicing parsley if your symptoms worsen.
drug interactions
Parsley, due to its high vitamin K content, can interact with medications such as coumadin. If you happen to be taking any prescription medications, check with your doctor before juicing parsley.
