Drink
Celery-cucumber juice
Two of the most water-heavy things in the vegetable aisle, pressed into a glass. It tastes green and faintly salty, and is one of the few juices that is not sweet.
Celery is diuretic, and it does the job without emptying you of potassium the way water tablets do. Cucumber is almost pure water with potassium in it, and the two do exactly the same thing from different directions.
It works best if you drink it mid-morning and move a little afterwards. Fluid that needs to leave your legs needs muscles to pump it upwards. A walk does more for swollen ankles than any glass.
Ingredients
- 3 celery stalks with leaves
- ½ cucumber
Equipment
- Juicer, or blender and a nut milk bag
- Glass
Method
- 1
Juice 3 stalks of celery and ½ cucumber.
Dosage
One glass daily, mid-morning.
Take a walk afterwards. It sounds trivial, but the muscle pump in your calves does more for fluid in the legs than the juice itself.
Shelf life
Drink fresh. Keeps at most 1 day refrigerated, losing both colour and nutrients along the way.
Safety
Celery is a common allergen, particularly for birch and mugwort allergy sufferers. The reaction can be strong. Try a small amount first if you know you have pollen allergy.
Celery can make skin more sensitive to sunlight with large daily intake.
It is diuretic and can amplify water tablets. If you have kidney disease or heart failure, speak with your doctor.
Celery contains oxalate. If you have had kidney stones, do not drink it daily without speaking to your doctor.
Not in medicinal amounts during pregnancy. Celery seed is traditionally used to bring on contractions, and celery stalks in large amounts belong to the same family.
And most important: swollen legs can come from the heart, kidneys or liver. If the swelling is new, in one leg only, warm or tender, or comes with breathlessness, see a doctor first. One-sided swelling can be a blood clot, and it is urgent.
How the herbs work
Celery contains apiol and other compounds that increase how much water and salt the kidneys pass. It is the same mechanism as in parsley, only milder, which makes celery suited to daily use where parsley is not.
Celery is also rich in potassium. That matters, because ordinary water tablets flush potassium out and often need supplementing. A diuretic plant that contains potassium itself gives back what it takes.
Cucumber is over ninety-five per cent water and contributes potassium and a little silica.
Note that neither addresses the cause. They move fluid. Why the fluid gathers is another question.
The content here is general knowledge and folk herbal lore, not medical treatment. In illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding or alongside medication: always talk to your doctor first.