It’s amazing how underrated parsley juice is, especially when we consider how familiar we all are with the herb itself. After all, we all know this little herb – you’ve seen the pretty green leaf elegantly perched atop your main dish or fished it out of your soup at the Mediterranean restaurant you visited last week.
But, full of the vitamins and minerals your body needs, parsley is far more than a decoration. In fact, this densely leafy green plant is bursting health benefits that are just too good to toss away. Like what, you ask? Here’s a rundown of reasons you want to add parsley to your juice recipes!
10 Surprising Benefits of Parsley Juice
Here’s the thing about parsley: it’s easy to find, pretty darn affordable (as far as leafy greens go), and chock full of nutrients…but it’s not the most appetizing leafy green to eat. Unlike other, more palatable greens like lettuce, spinach and arugula, parsley is not the sort of thing you’d want to make a salad out of.
Which is what makes it the perfect green to juice – it’s very dense so you get good juice volume out of it and each drop comes with benefits galore, like…
Promotes Gentle Detox
Feeling bloated and in need of a no-fuss, gentle cleanse? Want to get rid of excess water weight? Add some parsley to your juice recipes. Parsley is a highly effective natural diuretic and it’ll gently help to flush your body of excess toxins and water.
The really cool thing about parsley is that its effect on your body’s electrolytes is mostly neutral since it increases urine output (getting rid of excess water) without affecting important electrolytes like sodium and potassium.
Perfect for PMS
Starting from about a week before my period – and all through the actual period – I tend to feel really, really bloated. My face feels fuller. My body feels swollen. And it’s not a welcome feeling.
Turns out this is a totally common menstruation symptom, with an estimated 70% of women experiencing bloating during that time of the month. But just because it happens, doesn’t mean we have to live with it.
Especially since that diuretic effect that parsley has makes it one of the best ways to gently get rid of the excess water weight that contributes to period bloat.
And it’s not just helpful for bloating – parsley also contains a compound called apiol, which helps regulate the menstrual cycle as well as to soothe menstrual cramps. It’s even known to act as a potent menstrual stimulants and was historically used as an effective treatment in the absence of a menstrual period!
Prevent and Treat Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
It’s not just cranberry juice that can help keep those pesky UTIs at bay – parsley is a great option to both prevent and treat UTIs, thanks to its role as a natural diuretic. Simply by increasing urination, it helps flush the bladder and urinary tract of bacteria.
But it’s not just its diuretic nature that makes parsley so helpful – parsley also has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties that can help ward off infections before they start.
Protects Your Peepers
We tend to associate Vitamin A with red and orange fruits and veggies so it’s easy to overlook just how much of this skin-benefiting, eye-protecting vitamin parsley contains. But that’d be a mistake ’cause just one cup of parsley fulfills 101% of your DV for Vitamin A, which supports cornea health and improves night vision.
Parsley is also rich in phytonutrients like antioxidant zeaxanthin, which protects against ultra-violet light and age-related macular degeneration. Want more juicing ingredients for eye health?
Fights Belly Fat
One of the flavonoid compounds in parsley can be particularly helpful for those looking to prevent belly flab. Apigenin is a compound that’s found not only in parsley but also celery and chamomile tea and it’s one of the compounds that encourage our cells to burn fat rather than storing it.
The other helpful flavonoid compound to fight belly fat? Naringenin – try grapefruit, tomatoes, oranges and mint to get your fill of it.
Lowers Blood Pressure and Boost Immunity
Apigenin isn’t just useful for warding off belly fat – this flavonoid is also known to relax the central nervous system, lowering high blood pressure. It also boosts the immune system and is being studied for possible effects on cancer.
Prevents Anemia
Anemia, or iron deficiency, is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States today, but just 100 grams of parsley provides a full 77% of your recommended daily allowance.
If you’ve been suffering from chronic tiredness or feeling mentally sluggish, be aware that those are some of the more common symptoms of iron deficiency. Try adding some parsley into your juice recipes and get first-hand experience of the energy boost the little herb provides!
Very Rich Source of Vitamin K
Parsley also contains enormous amounts of vitamin K, 1640 µg per 100 grams. This vitamin promotes healthy blood clotting functions and has also been shown beneficial to bone health. It even acts as a helpful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
But that’s not all – Vitamin K is now showing itself to play a critical role in brain function!
Excellent Source of Vitamin C
We associate Vitamin C with oranges but did you know that parsley is also a seriously rich source of the infamous cold-fighting beauty vitamin? Yup, just one cup of parsley gives you 133% of your DV for Vitamin C.
Bursting with B Vitamins
One little known fact about parsley is that this leafy plant is rich in B Vitamins. The B vitamins – B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12 – play essential roles in everything from keeping us energized throughout the day to promoting healthy skin and hair.
These important vitamins are also crucial for preventing memory loss, migraines, as well as supporting the growth and development of the fetus during pregnancy. In fact, folic acid, one of those B vitamins, has been shown to prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.
Adequate consumption of folic acid by expectant mothers in early pregnancy has been shown to decrease the incidence of spina bifida and other neural tube defects by 70%. There’s no better way to make sure you’re getting your B vitamins and folic acid than with a tall glass of parsley-added fresh juice!
Best Parsley Juice Recipes
Want some energizing parsley juice recipes you can try today? Here are a few yummy ones you can whip up righ away!
Immunity Parsley Juice
So simple, so refreshing and so good to whip up when you’re looking for a little protection against cold season. Here’s a delicious immunity boosting parsley juice, courtesy of The Clean Dish:
- 1 small bunch parsley (e.g. Italian flat leaf parsley)
- 1 apple, (e.g. Granny Smith), quartered
- 1 orange, peeled and quartered
- freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
- Optional: chia seeds
Of course, if you’ve had enough of apples, you can always replace it with pears or a couple grapes. Kiwi (more recipes with Kiwis here) instead of apples also works very nicely in this recipe.
Fiery Veggies Juice
This lovely juice recipe contains a great mix of veggies, including sweet and detox-aiding beets, weight-loss-promoting celery and eye-health-promoting carrots – and the whole delicious combo is topped off by zing-y, fiery ginger and a whopping handful of energy-giving, blood-cleansing parsley 🙂
Ruby Red Parsley Juice
Want a super simple parsley juice recipe with just a few ingredients and tons of benefits? Here’s a brilliant one, courtesy of Shutter Bean:
- 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
- 3 medium beets, quartered (juice the stems too!)
- 2 apples, quartered (I used Lady Gala)
- 1/2 lime
Quick tip: The recipe is sweet enough with just the beets so you can feel free to skip the apples (or replace them with cucumbers) if you’re on a low-sugar diet.
Belly Bliss
If you’re looking for a juice recipe that’s gentle on the stomach and packed full of energy-giving nutrition, Belly Bliss is the one to jucie up – hydrating cucumber, flavonoid-rich apple, and vitamin-A-packed carrots provide a nourishing, soothing base and chlorophyll-laden parsley gives a nearly-zero-calorie energy boost.
Clean Sweep Parsley Juice
Here’s a lovely detox-aiding juice that has just a few ingredients and is high in nutrients and low in sugar:
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- handful of parsley
It’s a quick and easy way to combat belly fat, aid a gentle detox and get a heap of antioxidants!
All-Star Green Team
Here’s a delicious green juice recipe packed full of nutritional goodness, with mineral-rich cucumber (buy organic and leave the peels on!), antioxidant-packed kale, and chlorophyll-laden, energy-boosting parsley!
Want some more wonderfully nutritious herbs you can juice?
