Green juice isn’t anything new to the wellness world. We put greens in our smoothies, in our protein powders, and we include all the leafy green vegetables we can for ultimate detox mode. But what about celery?
Had you ever thought of putting celery in your green juice, or even drinking just straight celery juice by itself? Ha, I definitely would have never thought of doing that!
You may have heard about it from Medical Medium, from someone speaking on your favorite podcast, or maybe you saw someone drinking a bright green celery juice on Instagram.
Celery juice is the newest green juice fad, here to revolutionize the wellness community with its ability to reduce our inflammations, reset our guts, and help reverse chronic and autoimmune based disease. So have you tried it yet?
I first heard about celery juice while listening to a podcast episode on the way to work. I remember thinking, what!? You’re drinking pure celery juice? Gross. I had little to no interest at all in partaking in this trend. But then I started to hear more about the associated benefits of this highly underrated vegetable and I started to get just a bit more curious… People literally swear by this as a huge health benefit, so I guess I eventually felt like I had to check it out. *insert eyeroll here*
I’ve never been particularly fond of celery in general, but in more cases than not I’m willing to try anything once. In January I happened to come across a local smoothie juice bar, Nektar, that was selling already packaged celery juice in sets of 6, marketed as a celery juice cleanse for the new year. I decided to pick up a pack to see what this was really all about, and was happy to see that the ingredients in their packs also contained some lemon juice and mint – hopefully to take the celery edge off, because I knew this was going to taste exactly like … well, celery! Let’s just say that I was quite skeptical that drinking pure celery juice would ever taste anywhere near appetizing.
Tell us about the benefits already!
Described as having ‘potent healing effects’ by Medical Medium, celery juice is now referred to as a superfood. When it comes to chronic illness, that a lot more of us than we think are suffering from, celery juice could be here to rescue us after all.
Here are some of the benefits:
Calming inflammation
Celery juice is full of powerful anti-inflammatory properties and can be extremely beneficial for those who suffer from chronic disease, autoimmune disease, or even other “mystery” diseases. It’s also said to help those with IBS, celiac, Raynaud’s, diabetes, Lyme disease, migraines, vertigo, and a whole slew of other ailments. Celery juice is said to reverse inflammation by starving the pathogens and unproductive bacteria that cause the inflammation in our bodies.
Ability to fight off pathogens, kill viruses and heal all
Celery juice is also said to have undiscovered mineral salts that act together as antiseptics in our bodies. When these mineral salts would make contact with viruses and other pathogens they are said to break down the pathogens cell membranes immediately and work to kill and destroy them.
Reduce sugar cravings, control mood & appetite
Our gut is also our second brain, and a place we tend to hold a lot of our fears and anxieties. Enzyme rich celery juice has an overall calming effect on our gut and our nervous systems. It can help us ease our nerves and calm our guts, where our second brains live!
Balancing your bodies PH levels
Celery juice has the ability to strengthen hydrochloric acid in our guts. But why is this important? Because that acid is super critical to our digestive process and it’s what keeps our digestive system alkaline. So in other words, it’s what keeps us balanced. The stronger the acid is the better chance we have at staying balanced.
Preventing gut rot
Referred to by Medical Medium as ammonia permeability, or otherwise known as ammonia gas floating out of our digestive track and into our bloodstreams. Celery juice helps stop and prevent that from happening to us! When our livers are fatty and sluggish they can also cause ammonia permeability, and celery juice can help heal the liver overall so it can produce ample bile to help ease bloating in our gut.
As Medical Medium puts it, “Celery juice is alkalizing, enzyme-rich, electrolyte enhancing, live repairing, blood sugar balancing, antiseptic, and more.”
Okay, so how do we get started?
It’s recommended to drink 8-16 ounces of raw celery juice in the morning, on an empty stomach, while waiting to eat anything else afterwards for at least 15-30 minutes. The celery itself is going to be the most potent and powerful when you consume it alone, and don’t combine it with other green superfoods. Drinking celery juice alone and on an empty stomach has powerful potential to help you digest foods better all day. I’m not going to lie, the main curiosity that got me interested in trying this trend was the fact that it could have a positive affect on my digestive system too – something I’ve had a multitude of issues with since I was a kid.
The moment of truth: I tried celery juice, and what did I think?
I drank Nektar pre-packaged celery juice for a total of 12 days. The first day, quite honestly, was not the most promising experience and I was worried if I was actually going to continue with it or not.
At first, the taste was just not something I would call enjoyable. But it was fresh. I literally felt fresh after drinking it. And the longer I continued to drink the juice each morning, the better I was noticing I started to feel.
I had more energy. I didn’t even need to rely on my coffee as much. In fact, I reduced down from my regular two cups of coffee in the morning to just barely finishing my one cup. I felt alert.
What a way to wake yourself up in the morning by drinking a cold pure vegetable juice first thing. I also felt good –– no stomach aches or cramps, my insides just felt good overall, and no bloating. I would even say I felt like my appetite was more under control too. I didn’t feel as strong of a desire for sweets!
The best part? After a few days I literally began to crave the juice in the morning, taste and all. It totally grows on you!
Celery juice curiosity is totally a thing!
I wanted to continue with things further and really see what kind of benefits could come from it longer term, but in order to do so means you have to commit to a juicer. (And man are there a lot of juicer options out there –– many of which that cost a fortune.) (Editor’s note: You can also use a blender and use a strainer!)
After doing a lot of research on the lower end of the scale, I settled on a juicer choice from Target that cost me under $60. I went with the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor – Black 67601, as did a friend of mine who is also experimenting with celery. The juicer is a great starter one, until you are really trying to get more serious in the juicing world, and it won’t break the bank either.
Juicing celery consistently requires a large stockpile of celery itself, and is a much easier process when you cut the celery stalks down into chunks and pieces. I try to go organic with my foods when I can, and it can be a challenge to find enough celery in Minnesota during the winter, especially during a celery juice craze. I do often find it in stock at Whole Foods though, and have been told you can even ask to buy in bulk to one of the workers there and they will give you stock from the back room.
After things are all said and done, I’ve tried celery juice for 12 days consecutive, but 15 days total now when writing this and I’m honestly very curious to continue with it more. Call it the celery juice curiosity, but I want to learn and explore more into how this could help reset and restart different areas of my health.
Some critics out there will argue that the benefits those are experiencing from celery juice are just simple results of being more hydrated, and try to claim that the healing powers of celery aren’t completely backed by science. However plenty of scientists in the wellness world would disagree.
If you are on the fence about trying the healing powers of celery, I would encourage you to try a drink and see what you think, and see how you feel. It ultimately depends what relief you are looking for in celery, and what ultimately brought you to it in the first place.
You just wait, celery juice is going to revolutionize wellness!
I would describe celery juice as a sweeping health movement across social media platforms right now. Influencers everywhere are pictured with their green tonic in hand, counting the continuous days in a row they have been drinking it and reporting all the health changes and resets they have been experiencing. People are picking up on this trend quickly, and I have many friends drinking it now too. I’m happy to see such an otherwise poorly liked vegetable be put on such a pedestal and it will be really amazing to see it continue to transform so many people’s lives in a positive way!
Have you tried it yet? Share your thoughts in the comments.