Could drinking celery juice be the answer to our health struggles?

I first heard about celery juice in a Facebook wellness group. Of course, I was skeptical that following a fad diet could cure all of my gut issues.

Then, I got pregnant and wanted to eat the best food for the baby and me. So, you guessed it. I whipped out my nifty blender and went to town blending up a hefty stalk of celery and water every morning. It doesn’t hurt to try it—am I right?

Drinking this tasteless drink every day was hard to keep up. As a busy working mom-to-be, I didn’t have the time or the energy to make this drink every morning. Now hold on a second, what’s celery juice? Well, celery juice is a drink made up of a stalk of celery and water.

Anthony William is a health and wellness influencer who started this celery juice trend. He claims that celery juice improves all kinds of conditions, like gut and skin issues, fatigue, brain fog, and autoimmune illnesses. If you’re anything like me, this sounded too good to be true. So, I did some digging for myself.

How We Used Celery in the Past

Celery is a close relative to parsley, cilantro (yum), and carrots. Egyptians placed wild celery in King Tut’s tomb in 1325 B.C., and the Romans, in 400 B.C., were the first to use celery for medicine. Also, Greeks drank wine from celery, and winning athletes in Pan-Hellenic games wore crowns of celery. In the past, people used the seeds and fruit of celery for medicine. 

Get this: in 2019 and into 2020, celery has made a surprising comeback.

Popularity Doesn’t Equal Credibility

Celebrities we know and love sing the praises of celery juice—think Pharrell, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert DeNiro. Not only celebs, though, but thousands of folks like you and me praise this miraculous cure-all. Today, scroll through your Insta, and you’ll find tons of photos of people sipping celery juice through fancy stainless-steel straws. While this may be a cool trend to follow, is celery juice backed by science?

There’s no science to support its health claims. Anthony William told Gabi Conti, a journalist and MindBodyGreen contributor, “In celery, there are undiscovered sodium subgroups, so it’s not just salt; it’s called cluster salts that haven’t been taken apart by science. There’s no reason for science and research to care about a celery stick, there’s no reason to fund celery research. But the point is there are cluster sodium subgroups and cluster salts can kill off pathogens.” What does this even mean? (Mind you, this unclear and unscientific information is coming from someone without a medical background.)

Instead, he claims he gets his information from “Spirit.“ Can we trust a spirit with our medical needs? Uh, no, and why would we? Rachel Goodman, a registered dietitian, told Gabi Conti, “Celery is a good source of potassium, vitamin K, and flavonoids—compounds that have been shown in studies to help keep electrolyte balance, function as antioxidants, and can help lower blood pressure and inflammation.” This might explain the benefits of drinking celery juice: it provides hydration that our bodies need. Should this encourage us to revisit the health claims? If you don’t think so, check this out: there are tons of other health care providers not buying into the hype.

Consider These Options Instead

I don’t know about you, but I think we ought to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables. I cringe when I hear people make blanket diet recommendations. Like, you must eat this (fill in the blank), or don’t eat that—or something tragic will happen to you.

Let’s be real. It’s better to eat a balanced diet than to rely on one drink or a certain food for our wellness needs. Will drinking celery juice in the morning and eating McDonald’s every day improve our health? No way. Let’s not think one juice can solve all our health problems. 

I’m all for us putting on our big girl or boy pants and doing our research on health stuff. But I think with the internet, we have endless access to credible resources to help guide our decisions. In this way, we know that a particular cure or treatment will help us. 

But let’s not put all our hope into some miracle cure that claims to fix every single disease on the planet.

We ought to opt for a more safe, balanced, and realistic approach to our health. If you are having real trouble spots in your health, know that celery juice won’t work magic. Now, if you love drinking this tall, green drink—go right ahead! I won’t say stop, but I ask that those who have health challenges or a desire to be fitter, leaner, or healthier—please don’t put your hope in this drink.

The Bottom Line

Some people are spending upwards of six bucks on celery juice at their local bodega or somehow rushing out to buy a super expensive Vitamix right away. That’s hundreds of dollars out of our pocket—just like that.

Whaaaaat? Believe me, I want to eat clean—but not that clean. If the main benefit of celery juice is hydration, I’d rather stick to drinking tons of water and devouring as much fruit as I can.

What are your thoughts on celery juice?