Celery juice has taken the health world by storm. With curated pictures of glasses of celery juice flooding social media and grocery stores even selling out of this crispy vegetable. But some celery juice devotees aren’t simply sipping on celery juice – they’re swearing by it.

Chances are you’ve heard some of the claims surrounding the potent healing properties of celery juice – with many hailing it as a miraculous superfood that can reverse and prevent diseases, help you shed extra pounds and look younger, detoxify your body, and much much more.

So what gives? Have we truly stumbled upon a health-transforming superfood? Or is it all just hype and nonsense? Let’s investigate a little deeper. 

Celery Juice Nutrition: What Exactly Is In Celery?

Celery is well-known for its bright green, long fibrous stalks, and signature crunchy, juicy, and slightly grassy flavor. Celery is used in countless recipes from soups and salads to childhood favorites like “ants on a log” – the artful arrangement of peanut butter and raisins on a stalk of celery. But chowing down on these crunchy stalks isn't the only way to enjoy celery.

You can also make a refreshing beverage known as celery juice by pressing liquid from fresh celery stalks. Because it requires quite a few stalks of celery to produce a full glass of juice, celery juice contains a super concentrated dose of the health-boosting nutrients found in this tasty veggie. Celery juice contains a potent helping of nutritious compounds such as:^1,2

• Minerals like calcium, copper, magnesium, and zinc
• Vitamins A, C, K, and multiple B vitamins including biotin
• A plethora of antioxidants like caffeic acid, ferulic acid, lunularin, and kaempferol
• Other antioxidant-supporting micronutrients like apigenin, luteolin, phthalides, saponin, and tannins

Because of this powerful blend of nutrients, celery juice has been touted to have some pretty impressive health benefits.  

What Are the Benefits of Drinking Celery Juice?

Some celery juice enthusiasts have made some bold and overstated claims when it comes to this beverage's health benefits – touting it as a sort of magical “cure-all” that can accomplish things like curing cancer, reversing thyroid issues, healing acne, and much more. On the other end of the spectrum, some naysayers dismiss the health benefits of celery juice altogether – claiming that it's nothing more than a health fad with no scientific evidence to back it up.

But the truth about the health benefits of celery juice falls somewhere in the middle – somewhere in between outlandish and over-exaggerated claims and complete dismissal. Let’s look at some of the potential health benefits of drinking celery juice on a regular basis:^3,4,5,6

• Reduction in inflammation: The hefty dose of antioxidants found in celery juice can help combat and reduce inflammation. You see, antioxidants like those found in celery juice work to neutralize free radicals (also known as reactive oxygen species) which are highly reactive molecules that incite inflammation and damage your healthy cells.
• Improved skin appearance: Regularly consuming celery juice may help improve the appearance of your skin in a couple of ways. For one, celery has a high water content – making it a tasty way to stay hydrated. Secondly, the antioxidants found in celery juice can calm inflammation – potentially warding off breakouts, decreasing “puffiness” and dryness, and minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Better gut health: The vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients found in celery juice can help support healthy digestion and a balanced microbiome. The integrity of your gut lining, the health and diversity of the microbes living in your intestines, and how well you’re able to excrete waste are all foundational aspects of a healthy digestive system. And the nutrients in celery juice can help promote all of these pillars of gut health.
• Prevention of chronic disease: Inflammation is the underlying driving factor of just about every chronic disease known to mankind – from cancer and diabetes to  Alzheimer’s and digestive disorders. So incorporating celery juice into your diet on a regular basis may be able to minimize overall inflammation – subsequently slowing or preventing the development of any number of chronic conditions.

When we look at the health benefits of celery juice through the lens of reducing and combating inflammation, it makes sense that this crisp refreshment can potentially have a potent impact on many aspects of overall health. Because when it comes to preventing or healing underlying conditions and creating optimal well-being, addressing ongoing inflammation is the name of the game.

While celery juice can certainly have some potent inflammation-reducing effects and excellent benefits for your health, it’s not for everyone.

Are There Any Negative Side Effects of Celery Juice? 

In general, drinking celery juice is incredibly safe with no real negative consequences. But there are a couple of instances in which it might be best to avoid celery juice which include:

Certain Digestive Conditions:

If you have irritable bowel syndrome, an inflammatory bowel disorder, or an imbalance in your microbiome (like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), you may not tolerate celery juice very well. You see, because celery juice requires a significant amount of celery to make, it can be high in compounds known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols – better known as FODMAPs.⁷ These short-chain carbohydrates are resistant to digestion and can be troublesome for some people grappling with certain digestive imbalances.

Elevated Oxalates or Oxalate Sensitivity

In addition to FODMAPs, celery can also contain high levels of another compound known as oxalates. While oxalates certainly aren't an issue in and of themselves, they can pose a problem for some people if their intake is too high. You should consider examining your oxalate intake and perhaps skipping the celery juice if you have a history of:

• Kidney stones
• Digestive issues (like those listed above)
• Autoimmune diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Chronic inflammation related diseases
• Mold sensitivity or mold-related illness

To learn more about oxalates and how they can impact your body, head over and check out my article Oxalates 101: Are Oxalates Messing with Your Gut?

So overall, there are minimal negative side effects when it comes to consuming celery juice, but it can pose a problem if you have an underlying imbalance.

How to Make Celery Juice

If you’re curious about trying out celery juice for yourself, there are some great premade options available at some health-food stores or even at your local juice or smoothie shop. Or if you’d rather make your own fresh celery juice at home, all you need is:

• One full bunch of organic celery
• Either a juicer or a high-powered blender 

Opting for organic celery is important because juicing vegetables concentrates everything – that means good nutrients right alongside any pesticides or other harmful chemicals that might be lurking in non-organic celery.

How to Make Celery Juice In A Juicer:

Using a juicer is probably the most convenient way to whip up fresh celery juice. All you have to do is:

• Cut off the base of your organic celery to separate the stalks
• Wash them off in clean water to remove any dirt or debris
• Feed all the celery through your juicer
• Drink right away

One whole bunch of celery should make approximately 16 ounces of celery juice.

How to Make Celery Juice In A Blender:

While using a blender adds an extra step, you can still whip up some fresh celery juice in a flash. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Cut off the base of your organic celery to separate the stalks
• Wash them off in clean water to remove any dirt or debris
• Chop celery stalks into one inch pieces and place them in the blender
• Add 1/4 cup of filtered or purified water 
• Blend until smooth
• Place a clean nut milk bag over the mouth of a pitcher or bowl and pour the blended celery through the nut milk bag to strain the juice out

And that’s it – whether you use a juicer or a blender, whipping up some crisp, fresh, and healthy celery juice is super simple.

So, What’s the Bottom Line? Is Celery Juice Healthy or Is It All Hype?

The answer is – a little of both! Celery juice certainly can have some impressive health benefits and be an excellent addition to your daily routine. But at the end of the day, there’s no single juice cleanse, supplement, diet, or “health hack” that’s going to transform your health or create miraculous results.

Celery juice in and of itself certainly can’t cure cancer, reverse chronic diseases, or help you appear 20 years younger. Healing and preventing disease, creating vibrant health, and looking and feeling your best require a whole-life, big-picture approach. Because no amount of celery juice can outdo the effects of heath-zapping habits like a poor diet, crummy sleep, elevated exposure to toxins, and tons of stress.

So sure, if you enjoy celery juice, whip yourself up a glass as often as you like. Because every choice you make is a chance and opportunity to support your well-being. And starting your day off with a refreshing glass of celery juice can be a great way to set the tone for the next choice, the choice after that, and so on and so forth. Just keep in mind that each choice is just a small piece of the puzzle that makes up your overall health.

Are You Ready to Take Your Health to the Next Level?

So there you have it – the scoop on celery juice. Incorporating celery juice and whole celery along with the plethora of delicious and nutritious veggies and fruits out there is a great way to support your well-being. If you’re looking for more ways to add in some health-boosting, antioxidant-packed, and fiber-filled veggies and fruits to your diet, you’ve got to head over and check out my recipe library by clicking right here.

One of my favorite aspects of my job as a Functional Medicine doctor and educator, is empowering my patients and readers to create their own version of a healthy lifestyle that works for them. I’m a firm believer that every choice is a chance to support your body and promote health and vitality. The small, seemingly-insignificant choices you make every single day about what you put in and on your body, how you move, how you rest, how you think and respond – they all add up in a big way and create your overall health.

If you enjoyed this article and are looking for more ways to make health-conscious choices to create the vibrant health and longevity we all deserve, I’ve got you covered. You can head over and check out my blog to browse through hundreds of helpful articles just like this. Then head over and check out my YouTube channel where we dive deeper into some of these topics and I have the pleasure of chatting with some of the world’s leading experts in health and wellness. 

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Resources:

1. A Review of the Antioxidant Activity of Celery (Apium graveolens L) – PMC (nih.gov)
2. Celery: Health Benefits, Nutrients, Preparation, and More (webmd.com)
3. Advances in the research of celery, an important Apiaceae vegetable crop – PubMed (nih.gov)
4. Anti-inflammatory effects of phytochemicals from fruits, vegetables, and food legumes: A review – PubMed (nih.gov)
5. A Review of the Antioxidant Activity of Celery (Apium graveolens L) – PMC (nih.gov)
6. Celery: Health Benefits, Nutrients, Preparation, and More (webmd.com)
7. The most confusing low FODMAP vegetables (bjchealth.com.au)