What is this world of ours without a new wellness trend popping up every few months? We've had the kale-craze, everything oat milk, the Keto diet, and the use of cauliflower as a replacement for basically any type of carb. I'm not hating on it or anything (I'm actually very into wellness), but you can't deny the facts.
Right now, the trend of the moment is celery juice — and supposedly, it has the ability to completely change your life.
Chances are your Instagram feed is infiltrated with celebrities and influencers sharing their love of celery juicy. Personally, it was first put on my radar by Hannah Bronfman, but the trend actually started with Anthony William of Medical Medium, a best-selling author and sort of medical "psychic" who swears by his ability to heal people with "insights from Spirit." Sounds legit.
Celery juice's popularity has spread beyond the reaches of social media, and has been covered on every news source and publication from Vogue to Good Morning America. Celebrities, influencers, and commoners like you and me have embraced the trend — because who are we kidding? — we're all in search of whatever promises to make all our problems go away. Jenna Dewan swears by it, Selma Blair swears by it, Miranda Kerr swears by it. Will I swear by it too?
THE CLAIMS:
Before we take things from Instagram to reality, let's go through some of celery juice's biggest claims:
It's an anti-inflammatory — chronic inflammation is thought to be the precursor to almost every disease and ailment out there, from arthritis to cancer.
It helps with autoimmune disease — celery is apparently able to break down and flush out viruses.
It restores gut health — a healthy gut means better digestion and less bloating.
It restores the body's pH balance — a huge factor for those suffering from acid reflux.
It relieves brain fog, depression and anxiety.
It improves your skin and boosts deep cellular hydration.
THE RESULTS:
Given the lengthy list of benefits, and the fact that I'm always interested in something that'll improve my health, I knew I had to try celery juice for myself. And so for 10 days I followed the Medical Medium's instructions of drinking 16oz of celery juice every morning on an empty stomach — and, well, it was pretty uneventful.
For the sake of convenience and not having to make juice in my Vitamix every morning, I ordered 10 celery juices from Pressed Juicery. Concerned about them expiring, I consulted the juice experts themselves, and the guy at Pressed Juicery told me I should freeze half of them. If you want to do the same, be sure to first pour out a little of the juice to prevent the bottle from exploding when it freezes. Yes, you're wasting a tad bit of precious celery juice, but it's better than dealing with a disaster in the freezer. Also note that the thawed juice has a slightly different consistency than the juice in its untouched form.
I'm sorry to report that my 10 day celery juice adventure was pretty underwhelming compared to what I was promised. I didn't notice a difference in my digestion (though, I wouldn't say it was particularly bad before), and my anxiety certainly didn't disappear (damnit). That being said, one thing I did notice was my skin stayed breakout-free throughout.
Going into the experiment my skin was doing really well, but I am someone prone to breakouts, especially as I near that time of the month (yay hormones!). Purely by coincidence, the 10 days of juices lined up almost exactly with the 10 days leading up to my period. Low and behold, a day or two after my last juice I noticed a few pimples popping up. Was this because of the lack of miracle celery juice in my system? Or was it simply because aunt flo was about to arrive into town? I'm really not sure.
Personally, I didn't mind the taste, and it definitely felt good to get a juice in first thing in the morning, and for that, I have no complaints. Do I think celery juice is the cure for all my maladies? No, I don't. But do I think it's good for hydration, your general health, and potentially your skin too? Sure, I'd say so. And for that reason, this experiment is one I would consider doing again.
If you were to ask my not-so-expert opinion, I would say celery juice, just like kale and quinoa, is a trend that will be on its way out in the near future. In the meantime, stick to your eight glasses of water a day and you'll be just fine.
Have you tried celery juice? Let us know your thoughts below!
