Is celery juice really worth all the hype?

The popularity of celery juice

The Medical Medium: Anthony Williams, has recently made the benefits of celery juice popular. On his website he states that drinking 16 ounces of clear and pure celery juice on an empty stomach in the morning will give you some amazing health benefits. He claims that celery juice contains undiscovered clusters of sodium salts that can fight against pathogens and bacteria. He does, however, mention that science has not yet caught up with the benefits of celery juice.

Luckily, science has researched celery as a whole food and it has been considered one of the healthiest low-calorie foods to include in ones diet. The celery plant, scientifically named Apium Graveolens L, is packed with phytonutrient groups like phenols, steroids, flavonoids and alkaloids..

Phytonutrients are micronutrients that plants use to protect themselves from the environment and pests. Humans aren't capable of manufacturing phytonutrients, so the only way we can benefit from their amazing health benefits is through eating as much fresh fruits and vegetables as possible. Phytonutrients have been studied for their myriad of health benefits, and science has proven their beneficial health effects.

Let's have a look at some of the vitamins and minerals that celery contains

• High in vitamin K
• High in vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Folate
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Vitamin B6
• Calcium
• Riboflavin
• Magnesium
• Vitamin E
• Niacin
• Pantothenic acid
• Iron
• Phosphorus
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Phytochemicals including limonene, selinene, frocoumarin glycosides and flavonoids, gives it high antioxidant action.

A cup of chopped celery only contains 14 calories and 2.9 grams of carbohydrates. This is what makes is a great food that encourages detoxing. You can gain a lot of nutritional value from one cup of chopped celery stalks without adding a large number of calories to your daily allowance. Celery also contains nutritional fiber that will benefit the digestive tract which we know is central to good health.
Because of the nutritional profile of celery, science has been examining it for its health and medicinal benefits in the following areas:

• Supports heart health
• Supports healthy digestion
• Gout
• Urinary tract disorders
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Antibacterial effects that can help for skin disorders
• Celery root can be used for colic
• Lowers inflammation
• Fights oxidative stress and cell damage through high antioxidant action

So, what about celery juice?

What is the difference between chewing on a few stalks of celery vs. juicing them? According to Anthony Williams, by juicing the celery, you remove the pulp and fiber, and this is believed to increase its health benefits as the juice is able to bypass digestion, much like taking in "liquid nutrition" in a more direct manner. Juicing your celery allows you to consume way more celery than if you were just munching on a few pieces. This is because you need to juice many stalks of celery or even the root of celery in order to obtain some juice.

Because of celery juice's advantage in boosting liver function, it is used increasingly for its detoxification effects. By doing a celery juice cleanse you can remove unwanted toxins affecting your gut health, boost digestion and give your system an overall break from the continual consumption and processing of solid foods.

Celery root juice has many health benefits. The celeriac or celery root is juiced in order to extract the liquid and the taste and benefits on the body are phenomenal.

Let's do a quick comparison between using celery stalks vs. celery root to extract juice from.

Celery root, commonly known as celeriac, contains many of the same vitamins and minerals found in celery stalks at higher concentrations. There are some key differences between the two. Celery has a higher concentration of phytonutrients and contains phytosterols and vitamin A. Celery root does not contain any vitamin A or phytosterols but are higher in vitamin and mineral concentrations.

When raw celery root is juiced the presence of specific types of vitamins and minerals will relatively be the same as those in celery stalk juice (without the Vitamin A). The concentration of vitamins and minerals in juiced celeriac will be higher than that of celery stalk when the same amount of liquid is measured and compared.
Let's compare the nutritional values of celery and celeriac per 100g:

When you decide to consume celery juice, consider the following factors::Celery is on EWG's dirty dozen list of foods, meaning commercially farmed celery is likely laden with many pesticides and environmental toxins.

• Make sure to only drink the juice extracted from organic celery.
• Celery juice is best consumed alone and is not mixed with other ingredients such as lemon or apple juice.
• It's advisable to eat something 15–30 minutes after drinking celery juice for better health benefits.
• The convenience of purchasing an organic top quality celery juice. Most people find that shopping for juicing ingredients and then washing and preparing them for juicing, setting up the blender or juicer and then having to clean the equipment afterwards, is just too much work and is too time and energy consuming. This stops most people from drinking celery juice and gaining its wonderful health benefits.

References :
https://www.medicalmedium.com/medical-medium-celery-juice-movement.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871295/
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169988/nutrients
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6254272/
https://goop.com/wellness/health/the-medical-medium-on-the-virtues-of-celery-juice/
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170400/nutrients