Published 14th October 2024
Celery juice cleanse: Is it good for you?
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If you spend any time on social media, you’ll likely have come across the celery juice diet or cleanse. The trend has persisted for years, with many claiming it can help you lose weight quickly.
Some also claim it can help reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, reverse liver damage, treat cancer, promote a healthy digestive system, boost energy, and improve mental health.
With a laundry list of potential benefits, it’s no wonder it’s so popular. In this article, we’ll see if there’s any truth to these rather dramatic claims and explore any risks associated with the celery juice cleanse.
We’ll also hear from Dr. Federica Amati, ZOE’s head nutritionist.
Let’s start with two important points for anyone who’s in a rush:
Yes, celery is a welcome addition to a healthy diet (but not a key feature).
No, a celery juice cleanse won’t help you lose weight in the long run, and it may be risky for some people.
What is the celery juice cleanse?
One of the most prominent supporters of the celery juice cleanse is Anthony Williams, aka the Medical Medium.
This is his suggested method:
Drink 16 ounces (475 milliliters) of celery juice each morning on an empty stomach or 24–32 oz (710–945 ml) if you have a chronic condition.
For the rest of the day, eat a healthy diet, including fruits, vegetables, wild foods, and herbs and spices.
Simple. Perhaps too simple?
Can it aid weight loss?
The short answer to that question is, “It depends.”
If you replace your breakfast with celery juice, you might lose some weight due to a reduction in energy intake. But you’re likely to consume more calories throughout the day to make up for the deficit.
Also, unless you plan on having celery juice for breakfast every morning for the rest of your life, even if you do experience weight loss, it's unlikely to stay off once you return to your usual diet.
We should also mention that people often claim that juice cleanses can “remove toxins” from your body. They can’t. We’ve written about cleanses and detoxes here if you’d like to learn more. In short, that’s what your liver’s for.
As for the impressive array of other health claims associated with the celery juice cleanse, there is no robust scientific evidence at all to support them.
Is the celery juice cleanse safe?
Some juice cleanses are relatively extreme: You consume nothing but juice for days at a time. These certainly can be bad for your health, especially if you have a chronic condition, like type 2 diabetes.
There’s no scientific evidence that detoxes and cleanses support weight loss, but there is some evidence they might be linked to eating disorders.
However, the celery juice cleanse as described by Anthony Williams is less full-on. You only need to have one glass of juice per day and can eat as normal for the rest of the time.
For healthy people, this means it’s unlikely to do any harm. But that doesn’t mean it’s entirely safe for everyone. And it’s certainly not the healthiest option.
People with high blood pressure
Celery juice contains a fair amount of sodium — 1 cup (236 ml) contains 189 milligrams of sodium.
If you have a chronic disease and you consume 32 oz (945 ml) of celery juice each morning, as Williams suggests, you’ll consume around 750 mg of sodium.
That’s about one-third of your daily recommended maximum and half of the American Heart Association’s suggested “ideal limit.”
This means that people who already have high blood pressure might be at particular risk.
People with diabetes
Celery juice doesn’t contain a great deal of sugar — just 0.1 oz (3.16 g) per cup. However, if you drink the maximum Williams suggests, that equates to around 0.45 oz (12.7 g).
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So, if you have a chronic condition and opt for Williams’ largest serving, you’ll be consuming over one tablespoon of sugar in one go. This is far from ideal for anyone, particularly people with diabetes.
Store-bought juice
Celery juice is now available online and in stores. Sometimes, it might be relatively pure, but often, it will contain preservatives, sweeteners, and other additives, which are unlikely to support good health.
A sensible swap?
Another important question to ask is “What is the celery juice replacing?” Celery juice is low in fiber — a nutrient many of us are deficient in.
So, if you’re using celery juice to replace a healthy, fiber-rich breakfast with a diverse range of seeds, nuts and other plants, you're going to be worse off.
Federica's thoughts
“Celery Juice cleanses are an example of a 'silver bullet' trend that picked up a lot of attention due to celebrity proponents,” Federica explains.
“There is no good reason to opt for celery juice — it doesn't taste good and it doesn't help to improve health outcomes. It can actually be detrimental to health, so I would not recommend doing this."
Is whole celery healthy?
Just so we’re clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with celery. As with other fruits and vegetables, it contains fiber and micronutrients and can form a delicious, peppery part of a healthy plant-based diet.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a small glass of celery juice, either. It’s just not a magical solution to chronic conditions or weight loss, and it lacks the fiber of the whole plant.
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How to spot pseudoscience and scams
To round things off, let’s use the example of celery juice to explore one way to spot nutrition misinformation.
Is there any research?
If you ever see a health claim on social media or elsewhere, it’s a good idea to search for it on Google Scholar or Pubmed, which are search tools for scientific papers.
If you search “celery juice cleanse,” you’ll quickly see there are no relevant human studies.
While this doesn’t mean that the celery juice cleanse absolutely doesn’t work, it does mean that there’s no good evidence to back up the claims.
In some cases, you might find poor-quality studies mentioned. But these studies alone don't provide enough evidence to support doing a celery juice cleanse.
For more tips on spotting misinformation about nutrition, try our three-part guide on avoiding nutrition nonsense:
Summary
The celery juice cleanse does not have magical health benefits. You might lose weight in the short term, but this is not a long-term fix. Also, for some people — like those with chronic conditions — the celery juice cleanse might be actively bad for their health.
