Yes, I’ve seen it too. Everyone is drinking celery juice and either claiming a health miracle has happened or in most cases, taking a “I saw this on Instagram, it looks like a miracle. Watch me drink this juice and reverse my aging process!” approach.
I have seen a lot of health trends come and go in the last decade that I’ve been in this field. However, I am not sure I’ve seen anything hit so fast, and so wide, and with such a limited amount of (read: none) actual evidence. It’s rather peculiar. Since I am now receiving nearly daily private messages asking for my thoughts on the subject, I thought this would be the best approach.
Is Celery Juice Really The Cure For Everything?
Here I break down the real deal on celery juice.
Now, this isn’t to totally dissuade anyone from trying it, but perhaps invite you to think critically as to whether this is the best way to spend an extra $3 -$8/day (or up to $56/week) plus the time it takes to clean, juice and then clean your juicer.
I am the last person to tell anyone not to do something that could potentially be beneficial. However, I also often look to how we can maximize our efforts when it comes to health habits, which is why this one has me scratching my head a little.
How Did The Celery Juice Craze Start?
The celery juice movement was started by a health expert who calls himself the “Medical Medium”. He intuits his health advice, and has so since he was a child. I too often intuit health issues, or more often, health questions to ask. I just find it curious that so many people have hopped on to this guidance without knowing much beyond the claims being made on social media.
Medical Medium has written a lengthy post that details how “Celery is truly the savior when it comes to chronic illness” and that he’s “seen thousands of people who suffer from chronic and mystery illness restore their health by drinking 16 ounces of celery juice daily on an empty stomach.” There isn’t a single reference in the post or in any of his articles for that matter. That’s not to say it’s all wrong and misleading; only that there is nothing to back up the claims being made.
Celery juice is part of a bigger protocol that Medical Medium recommends. After the initial publishing of this, many of you came forward to share how his protocols have helped you. I am thrilled to hear that!
I have been challenged for a decade about how I healed my auto-immune disease, and was told by dozens of experts that what I was attempting to do was impossible. I do believe when it comes to health that the guidance can come from anywhere and that often we shouldn’t knock it until we try it.
That being said, there will never be one single health habit or ‘savior’ that will transform you or your health.
I reached out to a few people who claim to be among these people that suffered from chronic illness and had their health restored with celery juice. My two main questions were:
Did you make any other diet or lifestyle changes in addition to adding celery juice when you started seeing benefits?
Was the celery juice in addition to usual beverage intake and/or did it replace any beverage(s)?
As so many of you have shared, the results you have had with celery juice, were due to it being part of a more complete protocol. The celery juice, however, as happens with health trends, has been taken well out of context.
Are There Unique Health Benefits To Celery Juice?
Despite a lot of claims and anecdotal proclamations, research on celery juice really does not exist, yet. I found just a couple of studies on animals – one showed that it could improve sperm production in male rats and another that it may protect against oxidative stress. Perhaps with the current popularity, the research may start to happen.
Purported Health Benefits of Celery Juice
improved digestion
a reduction in inflammation
improved autoimmune disease symptoms
better immunity
greater cardiovascular health
clearer skin
While there isn’t a wealth of research on celery juice, there are known benefits to celery, celery seed, celery root and celery oil. You can read more abstracts about the health benefits of celery here, but for example:
Celery’s wide range of antioxidants, including coumaric acid, ferulic acid, apigenin, luteolin, tannin, saponin, and kaempferol help to reduce free radical damage in the body. Oxidative damage can lead to a variety of inflammatory conditions, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Vegetables such as celery can help prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce hypertension. (Note that fibre plays an important role in cardiovascular health and digestion, which you are not getting with celery juice.)
This might lead to the conclusion that high concentrated doses of these nutrients in the form of highly absorbable juice daily on an empty stomach might boost some nutrient levels.
And maybe celery juice does do this – but we don’t know for sure.
Important Note: Celery Is Part of The Dirty Dozen
Whenever I teach classes about juicing I stress the importance of using organic produce, as the chemical load in conventional produce is concentrated when we are juicing. Celery is #10 on the Dirty Dozen List in the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. How many people drinking celery juice daily are using organics?
What About Cucumber Juice Or, Um, Water?
Or carrot juice? Or romaine lettuce juice? Non-starchy vegetables are all exceptionally nutrient rich. Hydration matters and combine that with nutrient density and we have a winning combination.
I am a big proponent of green juices – the darker and greener the juice, the more I love it. Juicing can help us take in a concentration of nutrients – more than we could eat or put into a smoothie – and it’s easy to digest, having a positive effect on our microbiome. Why is celery juice being put on a pedestal as the only juice that is beneficial for health? I have been unable to find concrete answers to this question, given the wide variety of conditions celery juice is assumed able to resolve.
We need a variety of foods and nutrients in our diets. There really isn’t any one food that I recommend people must consume every day – except water. Perhaps if we started off our day with a glass of water, or water with lemon, or water with fresh herbs, or water with fruit added to it, we would notice the same results as we would after drinking celery juice.
What If We just Acted Like People Who Drank Celery Juice?
As I’ve said, I love cheerleading for new healthy habits. But I also like to find habits that are sustainable, that make sense and that can easily become part of our everyday life ongoing (more on this below). I have seen the posts on social media about everyone’s claims of how they have healed with celery juice. I have no doubt they have experienced wonderful health benefit, but I can’t help but also wonder if juicing celery every morning led to other beneficial habits.
Maybe by drinking 16oz of celery juice, they were no longer drinking coffee, or they were taking some time to have breakfast after their juice, or being more mindful of what they ate throughout the day. Maybe the act of washing, cutting, and juicing celery was in and of itself a meditation that calmed the nerves and then rapidly hydrated the body. Perhaps that flush of liquid first thing in the morning also helped with better elimination, which all on its own could improve gut health, digestion and skin health.
Would it be possible to get the same benefits, that those drinking celery juice are getting, simply by drinking 16 oz of clean water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and being mindful of our food intake and lifestyle habits for the rest of the day?
Is Celery Juice Just A Fad?
I think so. I think it’s a fad that many, many, many people are trying and will try, but that only a very small minority will continue doing. For every diet trend out there, there will be the 10% who have amazing results and tell the world about it. There will be 10% who will have adverse affects and you likely won’t hear from them. And there will be the majority, the 80%, who maybe have a mild result and may or may not share what they’re doing.
How can I say that this celery juice thing is just a fad? The reason is that it can’t last. It can’t be sustained.
When I look at and evaluate health trends, I ask the following basic questions:
Can someone do this ongoing for five years? If not, I think of it as a therapeutic measure in which case, it may not be beneficial or even necessary for most.
Is this something that could be sustainable financially?
Is this a health trend that could be sustainable if everyone on the planet started trying it? Like, would we see a massive celery shortage and suddenly a fresh head of organic celery becomes a sought after item?
Is it cost effective?
Can there be a simpler solution that garners similar results?
I’m always skeptical when someone claims that a certain trend, or single food is a ‘miracle’, as the Medical Medium claims about celery juice. There is no one thing in isolation that will boost our health – it’s the collection of health habits that we practice. Dietary choices, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, human connections, being in nature and more all play a role.
If celery juice is working for you, I am thrilled that you are finding benefit and would love for you to share your experience in the comments below.
For everyone else thinking about trying it, please keep it all in perspective. Celery juice or any other single action, food, or supplement on its own is not going to be the sweeping solution to good health. It can, however, be part of a greater plan. It seems like this is being lost for a lot of people who are putting all their eggs in the celery juice basket, and chasing their 16 ounces with the same conventional diet and lifestyle practices that might be the greater health challenge to overcome.
Juicing one head of organic celery juice everyday for a month will cost around $200 (at least in Canada in the winter). I can’t help but feel that we might see greater impact by doing a lot of other things. Discussing the ecological footprint of this habit is a topic for another day, though you can get a taste of it here.
Photo: iStock Karisssa
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Great article. I wanted to respond for a few reasons. I’m juicing celery and wanted to offer some answers to your questions and I totally agree that this is not sustainable.
In the medical medium’s 3rd book about thyroid health in particular he’s doesn’t advocate that the celery juice should continue passed his 90 day protocol. He outlines a 30, 60 and 90 day protocol to rid the body of the EBV virus. Since I had mono at 19 and later developed a few auto immune disorders I decided to give the 30 days a try and committed to 5 days. After 5 days I was actually sleeping more soundly. The only thing that changed was that I had swapped my morning lemon water ritual for celery juice, but heck it was only for 5 days. With all that great sleep under my belt I progressed to 30 days. I haven’t been a saint and have had a few pieces of cake, and greasy spoon breakfast with eggs, bacon and toast… all of which are off the menu for the 30 days. Each time I fall off the schedule of food, my old disrupted sleep pattern returns. I’m now entering the next 30 days and have added a blueberry green smoothie and cucumber juice to the routine. Most likely one or two of the omitted foods (eggs, dairy, pork and corn) ( I was already off gluten and soy)I probably have some sort of sensitivity to and I’ll need to carefully test them as I add them back in after 90 days. So that’s my celery juice journey so far. Thanks for the article and I’ll be sure to add the lemon juice back into my routine too! Stephanie
I tried juicing celery for closeto 2 weeks. I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I honestly didn’t find any huge difference in my health but I eat fairly well to begin with (I’m a CNP). I don’t think this is sustainable either. Have you seen the cost of organic celery? It’s nuts! Kudos to all those who have found some health benefits but I agree that I think if people chose to start their day with 16oz of lemon water, they might start to notice changes in their health and perhaps make better food choices.
Celery juice is not a trend or fad, Medical Medium has been advocating for celery juice long before social media and some celebrities got on board. The many people who drink it and share about it are people who had a lot of serious chronic health issues, who reached out to doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists and were not able to get answers that worked for them. The fact is that it’s working for a lot of people and we need to just be happy for them. Wether we drink it or not. Wether we believe or not, wether we it’s backed by science or not. Science also says dairy and eggs can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease yet people still choose to eat these foods (see research by T Colin Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn). Eating meat and a lot of fats clogs our arteries get people still out butter and ghee on foods. I’m not judging I’m just pointing out that science is irrelevant in this case. Celery juice (and other lifestyle changes) is helping those who really suffered and I for one am happy for them. Labelling this a trend or fad is misleading as it’s been around a long time.
So fantastically put! I love the reasoned approach you take to reviewing health trends. Such practical application and common sense clearly articulated! Thanks for this.
Megan,
After discovering you via Broken Brain podcast, I now subscribe to your newsletter. I must say in the online forum where often “strong” perspectives are pervasive in the online health community, I found your balanced, reasonable tone and information refreshing. I am grateful for your quick release of your perspective on celery juicing. I do subscribe to many health related blogs and have found myself overwhelmed with what is right, what is just a trend and what I should really listen to. Your voice and knowledge really resonates with me as being measured and thoughtful. Thank you. I have been a juicer for 10 years and could hardly imagine having a juice that did not contain my delicious lemon, or ginger, or kale, romaine or carrots, just to name a few. I typically use celery or cucumber as a base then add more nutrient dense greens and herbs to my juice for a amazing nutrient rich drink. Mostly, I want to say thank you for contributing your perspective in our information overload age especially in the health arena.
Hey Meghan, thanks for covering this topic. As a person with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, I too became curious when Medical Medium came out with his book about the thyroid. Through trial and error, and following the guidance of naturopaths, and a handful of other dietary and health programs of other natural practitioners and online functional medicine practitioners, I had already arrived at a place where I feel pretty darn good most of the time. The only thing to still persist is some tingling, and monthly migraines. I decided to give celery juice a try because it is apparently supposed to be helpful for migraines. I feel like I have tried everything else so I decided to give it a whirl, because it’s JUST celery. It may not be sustainable in the long run, but it’s an experiment…We’ll see how it goes ;)
My name is Tina. I follow you because I had the pleasure of meeting your Dad when he visited LONDON a few years ago.
He gifted me your Undiet book and is very proud of you and your achievements.
I’m commenting because you obviously have had no luck with responses from people who follow the MM and consume celery on a regular basis.
I came across the MM in October 2016. I was getting more and more unwell with my mystery illness. I’ve been on a health regime since 1992 and have tried EVERYTHING and probably could be a health advisor myself. I had been to every naturopath, nutritionist, herbalist etc. etc. Had million stool tests, every blood test and all doctors told me was that I’m so healthy. Strangely enough I haven’t been ill in nearly 30 years but suffered from many many ailments.
By 2016 I was riddled with muscle pain, bad skin, digestive problems, even more weight issues, tinnitus, adrenal fatigue and on and on. The reason I still had pretty decent energy, could run 2 businesses and wasn’t bed ridden is because I had a very healthy diet, don’t smoke or drink alcohol, spent many years in psychotherapy (see the glass half full) etc.
When I read the MM’s first book I cried throughout it because I knew I had found the answers to my questions after 27 years of searching.
You will find that the hard core followers suffer from a mystery or chronic illness. We understand the depth of the information.
Am I feeling better? I immediately did the 28 days cleanse but then went back to my usual eating. I had a high protein diet and as I don’t consume gluten, dairy or sugar I over compensated on animal proteins.
It took me a whole year to psychologically give up animal proteins and since 1 January 2018 I’m low fat whole food plant based. The low to no fat is the hardest but that’s what I need to do to cure my EBV stage 4 and Strep and and….
So, does celery juice work? It’s a stupid question that is asked by people who want to be health conscious and understand this ‘latest fad’.
I’m a little surprised about your blog post. I thought you would understand what the MM is doing, but then ,of course, he throws out everything that all you health advocates are teaching. And I used to follow very similar protocols to you and I believe they work BUT NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC AND MYSTERY ILLNESSES.
You healed yourself, so did Ella (Deliciously Ella) and that is fantastic and admirable but we’re all different and I do believe that the MM has the answers to many conditions.
Celery juice in the morning (after water with lemon) DEFINITELY works. You failed to mention that it restores hydrochloric enzymes (which I had none left). However, as I mentioned above, the hard core followers (we all have results) follow his protocol – so the celery juice is not in isolation.
Does it work in isolation? I don’t know. As you said it gets people possibly drinking less coffee, get more greens in them…
will someone see major results? I’m not sure. All I know that after drinking celery juice for 2 years, I have seen great results.
For the past few months I’ve upped it to 32oz every day and there’s been an even greater shift for me. But I also drink the heavy metal detox smoothie and follow his protocol, so for me it works.
I appreciate your blog post and good luck to everyone making their own decision.
To conclude, at 54 I’ve never felt better, looked younger and have incredible energy. My liver is still sluggish and fatty so weight takes longer to shift but I’m not so concerned about that. My skin glows and life is good. I cannot thank the MM enough for his information and trying to make people healthier – by giving all his information for free. All I have spent in 2 years is £40 on his 4 books. I think that says it all.
On another note, your son is gorgeous. Give my love to Ron and Patsy.
Hi Megan, love your website love being part of your tribe but I have to say I was pretty shocked with this article on celery juice I have been following Anthony William for five years now and he is absolutely the real deal.I’ve read all his books and followed his podcast on Hayhouse radio and YouTube. I have a feeling you haven’t read him any of his books. I was able to relate to almost everything he wrote about that is the reason Anthony writes sees books so people can actually do the work and trying to heal themselves instead of waiting for a doctor to do it. I too have an auto immune disease called Ménière’s disease. I had extreme vertigo and hearing loss and through doing certain protocols of Anthony’s I have got my hearing back I am definitely a lot better than I was four years ago. I feel better I’m totally active Have an amazing energy level that never stops just ask my kids( Melanie )for one. His new book Liver Rescue is probably the best one yet.That’s a hard one they’re all so amazing and informative . I’m pretty sure you’re going to get a lot a reaction on this subject but for me hey has a gift that I am so happy I was pushed in his direction. What I do in the morning as I wake up with a lemon water and 20 minutes later I have my Celery juice and after 30 minutes I have breakfast when I’m not having celery juice in the morning I will have cucumber juice other than that I never have juice. I always have organic but right now organics hard to find because like you say celery juice is getting well known yours truly Cathy Leeder I often think of that bike ride that you and your mom and Melanie and I took years back and your mom falling I never go through the gate that I don’t think of her.
Morning! Long time follower, and was very interested in this post as I am a 3mth long celery juice consumer. I suffered from a concussion in September. Through social media the words brain fog caught my attention and I quickly became aquatinted with the “fad”. I didn’t change anything else in my treatment plan, and I still had my morning coffee 20m post juice. I didn’t feel any meditation vibes from juicing the celery….. it was loud and a pain to clean up! But it was a game changer with how my head felt, and my quality of life changed drastically.
After reading this I quit the celery juice. I didn’t consume any juice for less than a week….. HeadAches are back, along with many of the other symptoms.
I was trying to explain the celery juice regime to a friend who suffered from Fibromyalgia. She tried it as she was at her wits end. The next time I saw her she couldn’t flag me down fast enough. The clairity she felt was astounding. She could understand why or how, but something major happened and she felt different.
I don’t have the scientific answers, but the proof is in the pudding. It doesn’t cost me as much as you had stated, and considering the amount of money I have spend in supplements, superfood powders, green powders, treatments and so forth…. there is no comparison to the cost of celery.
I have a lot of mixed emotions about the article. I appreciate the opportunity to reassess what I am doing with regards to my health and treatment plan. In saying this I will be busting out the juicer again, and resuming with the celery juice“fad”.
I was thrilled to read your article about celery juice and thought it was well done and thought provoking. I was especially curious to read the comments as I was hoping to hear from others who had similar experiences to mine but so far it doesn’t seem as if I will be able to find it. It seems that everyone ELSE is only posting the positives of celery juice and the ones who had adverse reactions don’t bother to share. I too jumped on the celery juice bandwagon back in October. It was literally the ONLY change I made in my nutrition and lifestyle (I generally eat healthy and exercise regularly). The first two weeks, I felt AWFUL – tired and sick and blah. Then upon reading further on my symptoms, oh, that’s my body going through detox – ride it out. After that period, I started feeling good. BUT then after several months, my body went totally out of whack. My period was insanely heavy (not sure whether that’s related) then I developed pain and discomfort in my knee and shoulder. I was feeling nauseous ALL. THE. TIME. whatever or whenever I ate. My health was deteriorating. After consulting with my internal doctor she told me to try stopping celery juice. I ignored her because – after all, something so good for me couldn’t possibly be causing these symptoms! Then I consulted with my naturopath who told me to stop immediately. Apparently oxidation is a real issue with celery juice. That was when I finally decided to just take a break for a week or so only to see how I felt. My joint pains went away. My nausea subsided. I started feeling better. It was shocking. I was still hesitant to believe it. But then a friend who was drinking celery juice as well complained to me she was experiencing pain in her head and her shoulder. Her psoriasis which had gone away was returning in full force. I suggested she try to stop for a bit and see if symptoms subside. Sure enough, she confided in me recently that she was feeling so much better. I don’t know what to make of this because I am not hearing from others who have had adverse reactions to celery juice – only those who are touting its awesome benefits.
Well said but I haven’t drink celery juice for many years. I do not like to taste alone as celery juice. I prefer add with apple and celery to sweeten. Doesn’t have to drink daily. I know buy organic and still wash it. Can drink 1-2 times weekly. I like carrot with apple juice., etc…
Drinking freshly made organic celery juice has helped my digestion. I, however, do not drink 16oz daily, which is extremely costly. I drink 8 oz at least 3 times a week. The medical medium now has published another book all about the benefits of celery juice, I have become skeptical of his in formation.
April 15, 2018 I began juicing organic celery and have drunk this every morning (I did miss about 5 days total within this time). Since I find most celery juice nasty (bitter), I guzzle it down with a straw.
I also went 100% organic and vegan (no grains at all, only seeds, fruit and vegetables) at the same time. Vegan is not vegetarian. It seems a lot of people don’t understand the difference.
Within 2 weeks my fibromyalgia symptoms dropped about 80%. Prior to this way of eating I was in so much pain I was bed ridden and planning sucide.
While I can’t say it’s just the celery juice, I can say it’s the 100% organic and the removal of gmo’d foods and any that contain glyphosate and other toxins.
I’ll also add that the juice did not replace other fluids since all I drank before and now is water.
I am now looking into replacing the celery juicing with essential celery seed oil in water on a daily basis for convenience and taste.
I’ve heard people say they couldn’t stick to something like this or that it’s too costly, but all of this is easy when you consider extreme pain and immobility vs the cost of eating clean.
Thank you Megan for your informative and balanced article about celery juice. I have recently read Anthony Williams books, including the Celery Juice one. Although I tend to examine health claims that are made with a critical eye and a tendency to be skeptical (especially those with a “miracle” claim attached to it), I also believe, as you do, that there are things that work that can’t always be proven and for which there is no “scientific” evidence. Anthony Williams claims he gets his information from spirit. That’s entirely possible though there is no way for anyone to actually prove this. I have decided to believe what he is saying for now and to simply try it and see if it helps me with my own health issues. I am particularly intrigued by the idea that the celery juice is helping to rebalance stomach acids. If that occurs then all kinds of health issues would clear up. Even with a lot of evidence-based information and help out there (and despite taking the Functional Nutrition course with Josh), I am still experiencing health problems. I do agree with Anthony Williams that science has simply not caught up with many of today’s health problems and may not for decades. He also says that some of the theories about the causes of many of our present-day illnesses are simply wrong. That isn’t hard to believe when you look back at medical history and see the mistakes, misdiagnoses and outright negligence that has occurred. Time will tell if Anthony Williams is correct.
I loved your post! I recently wrote a piece about the celery juice trend as well and really appreciate your balanced perspective. Most importantly, I was glad to see your mention of celery being part of the Dirty Dozen, as I believe this has not been highlighted enough. I did spend a lot of time into looking into the Dirty Dozen designation and some of the critique so I wanted to pass along some of my findings if you were interested!
Thank you!
I love this post. We are all scratching our heads as well at our organic, online Market pick up. We pack up a lot of celery, and even offer it in bunches of 10 packages. The price of celery is fluctuating quite a bit more now. We finally have local celery but it won’t be for long. Celery is one organic product we sell that isn’t always local. The fluctuating price is frustrating for all, especially those on a strict budget that just want celery as part of their diet. This is a the negative affect that can happen when consumers go crazy over one product. It isn’t sustainable. I support all your well researched and thoughtful comments. Thank you for this informative post.
Celery Juice tastes the worst in the start, however once you start drinking it constantly you kind of get used to the taste and plus think about the benefits of celery juice!
Hi Meghan,
I usually don’t leave comments, but I felt compelled for this article. As someone who suffered with several chronic autoimmune diseases I have been on a health journey for many years. The majority of my healing was done well before I ever heard of Anthony Williams….or rather I thought I was done healing.
When I started drinking celery juice I had made no other changes to my diet or supplementation, as you suggested most people do.
The celery juice increased my health to another level and now at age 58, it is a sustainable part of my morning along with the lemon water…which also is a huge recommendation of Anthony William’s.
If all you’ve read of his information is his instagram, as you posted, you only know a small part of what celery juice offers.
As for hard core research…I am still looking for that when it comes to fermented foods and gut biome, lots of people, including you pushing that, without hard clinical research. If you have any please share because I can’t seem to find it and would love to read some peer reviewed research.
I guess the long and short of it is, If you have never given celery juice a try, at least a month or longer than it’s difficult to actually speak to its efficacy.
It has helped millions of people recover from crippling illness and for that I am thankful.
Reading Time: 8 minutes 
Great article. I wanted to respond for a few reasons. I’m juicing celery and wanted to offer some answers to your questions and I totally agree that this is not sustainable.
In the medical medium’s 3rd book about thyroid health in particular he’s doesn’t advocate that the celery juice should continue passed his 90 day protocol. He outlines a 30, 60 and 90 day protocol to rid the body of the EBV virus. Since I had mono at 19 and later developed a few auto immune disorders I decided to give the 30 days a try and committed to 5 days. After 5 days I was actually sleeping more soundly. The only thing that changed was that I had swapped my morning lemon water ritual for celery juice, but heck it was only for 5 days. With all that great sleep under my belt I progressed to 30 days. I haven’t been a saint and have had a few pieces of cake, and greasy spoon breakfast with eggs, bacon and toast… all of which are off the menu for the 30 days. Each time I fall off the schedule of food, my old disrupted sleep pattern returns. I’m now entering the next 30 days and have added a blueberry green smoothie and cucumber juice to the routine. Most likely one or two of the omitted foods (eggs, dairy, pork and corn) ( I was already off gluten and soy)I probably have some sort of sensitivity to and I’ll need to carefully test them as I add them back in after 90 days. So that’s my celery juice journey so far. Thanks for the article and I’ll be sure to add the lemon juice back into my routine too! Stephanie
I tried juicing celery for closeto 2 weeks. I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I honestly didn’t find any huge difference in my health but I eat fairly well to begin with (I’m a CNP). I don’t think this is sustainable either. Have you seen the cost of organic celery? It’s nuts! Kudos to all those who have found some health benefits but I agree that I think if people chose to start their day with 16oz of lemon water, they might start to notice changes in their health and perhaps make better food choices.
Celery juice is not a trend or fad, Medical Medium has been advocating for celery juice long before social media and some celebrities got on board. The many people who drink it and share about it are people who had a lot of serious chronic health issues, who reached out to doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists and were not able to get answers that worked for them. The fact is that it’s working for a lot of people and we need to just be happy for them. Wether we drink it or not. Wether we believe or not, wether we it’s backed by science or not. Science also says dairy and eggs can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease yet people still choose to eat these foods (see research by T Colin Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn). Eating meat and a lot of fats clogs our arteries get people still out butter and ghee on foods. I’m not judging I’m just pointing out that science is irrelevant in this case. Celery juice (and other lifestyle changes) is helping those who really suffered and I for one am happy for them. Labelling this a trend or fad is misleading as it’s been around a long time.
So fantastically put! I love the reasoned approach you take to reviewing health trends. Such practical application and common sense clearly articulated! Thanks for this.
Thanks for the article M – always like reading them. :)
I was hoping you would write something up on this particular topic as there was a lot of buzz going around for it!
Megan,
After discovering you via Broken Brain podcast, I now subscribe to your newsletter. I must say in the online forum where often “strong” perspectives are pervasive in the online health community, I found your balanced, reasonable tone and information refreshing. I am grateful for your quick release of your perspective on celery juicing. I do subscribe to many health related blogs and have found myself overwhelmed with what is right, what is just a trend and what I should really listen to. Your voice and knowledge really resonates with me as being measured and thoughtful. Thank you. I have been a juicer for 10 years and could hardly imagine having a juice that did not contain my delicious lemon, or ginger, or kale, romaine or carrots, just to name a few. I typically use celery or cucumber as a base then add more nutrient dense greens and herbs to my juice for a amazing nutrient rich drink. Mostly, I want to say thank you for contributing your perspective in our information overload age especially in the health arena.
Hey Meghan, thanks for covering this topic. As a person with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, I too became curious when Medical Medium came out with his book about the thyroid. Through trial and error, and following the guidance of naturopaths, and a handful of other dietary and health programs of other natural practitioners and online functional medicine practitioners, I had already arrived at a place where I feel pretty darn good most of the time. The only thing to still persist is some tingling, and monthly migraines. I decided to give celery juice a try because it is apparently supposed to be helpful for migraines. I feel like I have tried everything else so I decided to give it a whirl, because it’s JUST celery. It may not be sustainable in the long run, but it’s an experiment…We’ll see how it goes ;)
Hi Meghan,
My name is Tina. I follow you because I had the pleasure of meeting your Dad when he visited LONDON a few years ago.
He gifted me your Undiet book and is very proud of you and your achievements.
I’m commenting because you obviously have had no luck with responses from people who follow the MM and consume celery on a regular basis.
I came across the MM in October 2016. I was getting more and more unwell with my mystery illness. I’ve been on a health regime since 1992 and have tried EVERYTHING and probably could be a health advisor myself. I had been to every naturopath, nutritionist, herbalist etc. etc. Had million stool tests, every blood test and all doctors told me was that I’m so healthy. Strangely enough I haven’t been ill in nearly 30 years but suffered from many many ailments.
By 2016 I was riddled with muscle pain, bad skin, digestive problems, even more weight issues, tinnitus, adrenal fatigue and on and on. The reason I still had pretty decent energy, could run 2 businesses and wasn’t bed ridden is because I had a very healthy diet, don’t smoke or drink alcohol, spent many years in psychotherapy (see the glass half full) etc.
When I read the MM’s first book I cried throughout it because I knew I had found the answers to my questions after 27 years of searching.
You will find that the hard core followers suffer from a mystery or chronic illness. We understand the depth of the information.
Am I feeling better? I immediately did the 28 days cleanse but then went back to my usual eating. I had a high protein diet and as I don’t consume gluten, dairy or sugar I over compensated on animal proteins.
It took me a whole year to psychologically give up animal proteins and since 1 January 2018 I’m low fat whole food plant based. The low to no fat is the hardest but that’s what I need to do to cure my EBV stage 4 and Strep and and….
So, does celery juice work? It’s a stupid question that is asked by people who want to be health conscious and understand this ‘latest fad’.
I’m a little surprised about your blog post. I thought you would understand what the MM is doing, but then ,of course, he throws out everything that all you health advocates are teaching. And I used to follow very similar protocols to you and I believe they work BUT NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC AND MYSTERY ILLNESSES.
You healed yourself, so did Ella (Deliciously Ella) and that is fantastic and admirable but we’re all different and I do believe that the MM has the answers to many conditions.
Celery juice in the morning (after water with lemon) DEFINITELY works. You failed to mention that it restores hydrochloric enzymes (which I had none left). However, as I mentioned above, the hard core followers (we all have results) follow his protocol – so the celery juice is not in isolation.
Does it work in isolation? I don’t know. As you said it gets people possibly drinking less coffee, get more greens in them…
will someone see major results? I’m not sure. All I know that after drinking celery juice for 2 years, I have seen great results.
For the past few months I’ve upped it to 32oz every day and there’s been an even greater shift for me. But I also drink the heavy metal detox smoothie and follow his protocol, so for me it works.
I appreciate your blog post and good luck to everyone making their own decision.
To conclude, at 54 I’ve never felt better, looked younger and have incredible energy. My liver is still sluggish and fatty so weight takes longer to shift but I’m not so concerned about that. My skin glows and life is good. I cannot thank the MM enough for his information and trying to make people healthier – by giving all his information for free. All I have spent in 2 years is £40 on his 4 books. I think that says it all.
On another note, your son is gorgeous. Give my love to Ron and Patsy.
Tina x
Hi Megan, love your website love being part of your tribe but I have to say I was pretty shocked with this article on celery juice I have been following Anthony William for five years now and he is absolutely the real deal.I’ve read all his books and followed his podcast on Hayhouse radio and YouTube. I have a feeling you haven’t read him any of his books. I was able to relate to almost everything he wrote about that is the reason Anthony writes sees books so people can actually do the work and trying to heal themselves instead of waiting for a doctor to do it. I too have an auto immune disease called Ménière’s disease. I had extreme vertigo and hearing loss and through doing certain protocols of Anthony’s I have got my hearing back I am definitely a lot better than I was four years ago. I feel better I’m totally active Have an amazing energy level that never stops just ask my kids( Melanie )for one. His new book Liver Rescue is probably the best one yet.That’s a hard one they’re all so amazing and informative . I’m pretty sure you’re going to get a lot a reaction on this subject but for me hey has a gift that I am so happy I was pushed in his direction. What I do in the morning as I wake up with a lemon water and 20 minutes later I have my Celery juice and after 30 minutes I have breakfast when I’m not having celery juice in the morning I will have cucumber juice other than that I never have juice. I always have organic but right now organics hard to find because like you say celery juice is getting well known yours truly Cathy Leeder I often think of that bike ride that you and your mom and Melanie and I took years back and your mom falling I never go through the gate that I don’t think of her.
Morning! Long time follower, and was very interested in this post as I am a 3mth long celery juice consumer. I suffered from a concussion in September. Through social media the words brain fog caught my attention and I quickly became aquatinted with the “fad”. I didn’t change anything else in my treatment plan, and I still had my morning coffee 20m post juice. I didn’t feel any meditation vibes from juicing the celery….. it was loud and a pain to clean up! But it was a game changer with how my head felt, and my quality of life changed drastically.
After reading this I quit the celery juice. I didn’t consume any juice for less than a week….. HeadAches are back, along with many of the other symptoms.
I was trying to explain the celery juice regime to a friend who suffered from Fibromyalgia. She tried it as she was at her wits end. The next time I saw her she couldn’t flag me down fast enough. The clairity she felt was astounding. She could understand why or how, but something major happened and she felt different.
I don’t have the scientific answers, but the proof is in the pudding. It doesn’t cost me as much as you had stated, and considering the amount of money I have spend in supplements, superfood powders, green powders, treatments and so forth…. there is no comparison to the cost of celery.
I have a lot of mixed emotions about the article. I appreciate the opportunity to reassess what I am doing with regards to my health and treatment plan. In saying this I will be busting out the juicer again, and resuming with the celery juice“fad”.
Thanks for all that you do :)
I was thrilled to read your article about celery juice and thought it was well done and thought provoking. I was especially curious to read the comments as I was hoping to hear from others who had similar experiences to mine but so far it doesn’t seem as if I will be able to find it. It seems that everyone ELSE is only posting the positives of celery juice and the ones who had adverse reactions don’t bother to share. I too jumped on the celery juice bandwagon back in October. It was literally the ONLY change I made in my nutrition and lifestyle (I generally eat healthy and exercise regularly). The first two weeks, I felt AWFUL – tired and sick and blah. Then upon reading further on my symptoms, oh, that’s my body going through detox – ride it out. After that period, I started feeling good. BUT then after several months, my body went totally out of whack. My period was insanely heavy (not sure whether that’s related) then I developed pain and discomfort in my knee and shoulder. I was feeling nauseous ALL. THE. TIME. whatever or whenever I ate. My health was deteriorating. After consulting with my internal doctor she told me to try stopping celery juice. I ignored her because – after all, something so good for me couldn’t possibly be causing these symptoms! Then I consulted with my naturopath who told me to stop immediately. Apparently oxidation is a real issue with celery juice. That was when I finally decided to just take a break for a week or so only to see how I felt. My joint pains went away. My nausea subsided. I started feeling better. It was shocking. I was still hesitant to believe it. But then a friend who was drinking celery juice as well complained to me she was experiencing pain in her head and her shoulder. Her psoriasis which had gone away was returning in full force. I suggested she try to stop for a bit and see if symptoms subside. Sure enough, she confided in me recently that she was feeling so much better. I don’t know what to make of this because I am not hearing from others who have had adverse reactions to celery juice – only those who are touting its awesome benefits.
Well said but I haven’t drink celery juice for many years. I do not like to taste alone as celery juice. I prefer add with apple and celery to sweeten. Doesn’t have to drink daily. I know buy organic and still wash it. Can drink 1-2 times weekly. I like carrot with apple juice., etc…
Drinking freshly made organic celery juice has helped my digestion. I, however, do not drink 16oz daily, which is extremely costly. I drink 8 oz at least 3 times a week. The medical medium now has published another book all about the benefits of celery juice, I have become skeptical of his in formation.
April 15, 2018 I began juicing organic celery and have drunk this every morning (I did miss about 5 days total within this time). Since I find most celery juice nasty (bitter), I guzzle it down with a straw.
I also went 100% organic and vegan (no grains at all, only seeds, fruit and vegetables) at the same time. Vegan is not vegetarian. It seems a lot of people don’t understand the difference.
Within 2 weeks my fibromyalgia symptoms dropped about 80%. Prior to this way of eating I was in so much pain I was bed ridden and planning sucide.
While I can’t say it’s just the celery juice, I can say it’s the 100% organic and the removal of gmo’d foods and any that contain glyphosate and other toxins.
I’ll also add that the juice did not replace other fluids since all I drank before and now is water.
I am now looking into replacing the celery juicing with essential celery seed oil in water on a daily basis for convenience and taste.
I’ve heard people say they couldn’t stick to something like this or that it’s too costly, but all of this is easy when you consider extreme pain and immobility vs the cost of eating clean.
Hope this helps anyone with more questions.
Thank you Megan for your informative and balanced article about celery juice. I have recently read Anthony Williams books, including the Celery Juice one. Although I tend to examine health claims that are made with a critical eye and a tendency to be skeptical (especially those with a “miracle” claim attached to it), I also believe, as you do, that there are things that work that can’t always be proven and for which there is no “scientific” evidence. Anthony Williams claims he gets his information from spirit. That’s entirely possible though there is no way for anyone to actually prove this. I have decided to believe what he is saying for now and to simply try it and see if it helps me with my own health issues. I am particularly intrigued by the idea that the celery juice is helping to rebalance stomach acids. If that occurs then all kinds of health issues would clear up. Even with a lot of evidence-based information and help out there (and despite taking the Functional Nutrition course with Josh), I am still experiencing health problems. I do agree with Anthony Williams that science has simply not caught up with many of today’s health problems and may not for decades. He also says that some of the theories about the causes of many of our present-day illnesses are simply wrong. That isn’t hard to believe when you look back at medical history and see the mistakes, misdiagnoses and outright negligence that has occurred. Time will tell if Anthony Williams is correct.
Hi Meghan,
I loved your post! I recently wrote a piece about the celery juice trend as well and really appreciate your balanced perspective. Most importantly, I was glad to see your mention of celery being part of the Dirty Dozen, as I believe this has not been highlighted enough. I did spend a lot of time into looking into the Dirty Dozen designation and some of the critique so I wanted to pass along some of my findings if you were interested!
Thank you!
I love this post. We are all scratching our heads as well at our organic, online Market pick up. We pack up a lot of celery, and even offer it in bunches of 10 packages. The price of celery is fluctuating quite a bit more now. We finally have local celery but it won’t be for long. Celery is one organic product we sell that isn’t always local. The fluctuating price is frustrating for all, especially those on a strict budget that just want celery as part of their diet. This is a the negative affect that can happen when consumers go crazy over one product. It isn’t sustainable. I support all your well researched and thoughtful comments. Thank you for this informative post.
Celery Juice tastes the worst in the start, however once you start drinking it constantly you kind of get used to the taste and plus think about the benefits of celery juice!
Medical Medium Anthony says it is the sodium cluster salts that make it different
Hi Meghan,
I usually don’t leave comments, but I felt compelled for this article. As someone who suffered with several chronic autoimmune diseases I have been on a health journey for many years. The majority of my healing was done well before I ever heard of Anthony Williams….or rather I thought I was done healing.
When I started drinking celery juice I had made no other changes to my diet or supplementation, as you suggested most people do.
The celery juice increased my health to another level and now at age 58, it is a sustainable part of my morning along with the lemon water…which also is a huge recommendation of Anthony William’s.
If all you’ve read of his information is his instagram, as you posted, you only know a small part of what celery juice offers.
As for hard core research…I am still looking for that when it comes to fermented foods and gut biome, lots of people, including you pushing that, without hard clinical research. If you have any please share because I can’t seem to find it and would love to read some peer reviewed research.
I guess the long and short of it is, If you have never given celery juice a try, at least a month or longer than it’s difficult to actually speak to its efficacy.
It has helped millions of people recover from crippling illness and for that I am thankful.