Celery juice: The diet craze is everywhere right now, and photos of the green drink have taken over your Instagram feed with hashtags including #celeryjuicebenefits and #celeryjuicechallenge. How did this happen and what, exactly, are the healing properties of drinking this leafy herb? Let’s do a little Celery Juice 101.
While celebrities — including Kim Kardashian, who revealed in a January Instagram Story that she has been drinking celery juice for its alleged psoriasis benefits, Busy Philipps and Miranda Kerr — have certainly helped the stalk’s spike in popularity, the trend can be traced back to one man: Anthony William.
The New York Times bestselling author, a.k.a., the Medical Medium, calls himself “the originator of the Global Celery Juice Movement,” on his website. To note: His site also contains testimonials from stars Jenna Dewan, Naomi Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pharrell Williams and Robert De Niro.
William, who is not a licensed healthcare professional or doctor, claims that drinking 16 ounces of pure celery juice on an empty stomach every day helps problems including “digestive issues, skin conditions, migraines, fatigue, autoimmune illnesses, brain fog, and hundreds of others” on his site. Some social media commenters have also that claimed the simple morning tonic has helped them lose weight and boosted their energy levels.
The big question is: Does the high water-content plant, in fact, do any of these things? Turns out, there’s not much scientifically proven evidence about the benefits of drinking the crudité platter standby, according to NYC-based registered dietitian Rachel Berman. “There is some, but very limited, research on flavonoids in celery showing a reduction in inflammation in the body,” the General Manager at Verywell tells Us, referring to a 2008 study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “However,” she adds, “celery has not been as widely studied as other fruits and vegetables for its impact on health.”
In other words, that’s not to say it can’t give you a boost. “It does contain a concentrated source of Vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting, and Vitamin C, which is necessary for wound healing and immunity,” says Berman. But she adds that eating “a varied diet can give you enough of those vitamins too.” So while celery juice can be good for you, it “isn’t a particular stand-out when compared to other vegetable juices from a health benefit perspective,” continues the RD.
That said, many celery juice advocates have become true believers. “Anecdotally, people report better digestion and reduced bloating when drinking celery juice,” she says. Although, Berman advises, “it may just be due to the fact that they’re getting an extra boost of hydration” — which, of course, is never a bad thing.
In any case, if you want to try out the vegan and gluten-free trend for yourself, Berman does have some advice. “Be wary of how the celery is juiced, because that process can cause you to lose some of the beneficial fiber present in the whole food.” In other words, if you’re going to make your own, use a blender instead of a juicer to keep the pulp.
