The last three days, I have started my morning with fresh celery juice. Sounds gross, but it’s actually quite refreshing and gave me a ton of energy. The past few months, I have seen a lot on social media about celery juice — how it has cured gut problems across the world. Sounded interesting, but I shrugged it off until I couldn’t ignore it any longer. The health freak in me knows whole foods are always better than processed foods (juice), so I started adding a couple of stalks of celery into my famous morning smoothies. I enjoyed the brightness it brought to the flavor, and I knew I was doing something good for myself. Naturally I wondered if this was enough to make a difference, especially since I’m already such a healthy eater. So I brought out “the Google Machine.”

What I found makes perfect sense… Firstly, the suggestion of juice over the whole food, is so you can get much more of the benefits at once. One large bunch of celery fills one 16oz glass. Just two celery stalks are only about one fifth of a large bunch. The Medical Medium suggests this is the perfect amount to drink fresh, by itself, first thing on an empty stomach, without eating 15-30 minutes after. It’s best to go with organic when you can, since celery is listed on the Dirty Dozen List.

Benefits of drinking celery juice:

• Celery may help cure cancer. Throughout social media, there is a lot of social proof that tumors have been reduced in size or eliminated when someone drinks a large glass of fresh celery juice on an empty stomach every morning. Where there is less human research, there is a good amount of research on rats showing celery’s healing properties.
• Celery helps reduce high blood pressure and inflammation. Luteolin, a bioflavonoid found in celery has high antioxidant properties, producing a reduction in oxidative DNA damage that is double the amount produced by vitamin C. More research on celery and luteolin.
• Celery helps your hair, nails and skin. It is packed with vitamins, including Vitamin Vitamin K, Vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and more. All of these vitamins are good for your health, especially hair, skin and nails. They hydrate and brighten your cells.
• Celery can help cure common illnesses. Celery’s antioxidant properties help cure many illnesses and help with overall health. According to Dr. Gabriella Safdieh: “In addition to it’s anti-oxidative properties, celery can prevent cardiovascular diseases, jaundice, liver disease, urinary tract obstruction, gout, and rheumatic disorders. Celery can even reduce blood sugar levels, blood lipids, and blood pressure. Experimental studies show that celery has antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Celery seeds have even been used in the treatment of skin conditions including psoriasis, and respiratory diseases including asthma and bronchitis.”
• Celery helps with digestion. When drinking celery juice, think of it as a detox. It will get rid of any toxins in your body since it stimulates stomach acid, so if you’re not already a clean eater, it may give you diarrhea at first or some bloating. But this should subside quickly. Many studies can be found on why your gut loves this green juice. 
• Celery can help reduce your waistline. With zero sugar and almost no calories, this superfood is pure nutrients. No empty calories here! It will boost your immune system and metabolism. In the afternoon, you could replace a sugary soda drink with celery juice, and if you blend it keeping all the fibers in check, it will fill you and continue to aid in digestion.

I am finding that there are SO many benefits to drinking celery juice; I may just have to incorporate it into my daily routine. Here is a great resource that includes more research as well: More benefits of celery juice.

So how do you make it? It’s simple! If you have a basic juicer, that will do the trick. I pull off the leaves, and add the leaves and the fiber leftover from juicing to my smoothie 30 minutes after finishing the juice to keep all the benefits of the whole food. If you don’t have access to a juicer, you can blend a large bunch of celery and strain out the solids.

Have you tried drinking celery juice? Tell me about the benefits you have experienced!