I have been following @medicalmedium, @celeryjuicebenefits and @celeryjuiceheals on Instagram for a while now and have been fascinated with the healing benefits of celery juice as well as the various testimonials they post. I dabbled in juicing a while back with my fancy Breville Juicer, but found I didn’t really know what I was doing and why. So the juicer ended up on a shelf in our basement gathering dust.
Fast forward a few years later, after reading all the healing benefits of celery juice, I started thinking, hmm, maybe it’s good for you! So out came the juicer once again. I fortunately don’t really have any obvious symptoms as mentioned in a lot of the healing stories (severe eczema, auto-immune diseases, etc), so I knew my “before and after” story wasn’t going to be amazing like some of the ones I read, but I still wanted to challenge myself to drink 16 oz. of celery juice every day for 30 days to see how I felt.
Why 30 days? This is actually my 3rd 30-day challenge. My first was walking a mile-day for 30 days, which you can read about here, and the other, which I haven’t shared yet, was intermittent fasting for 30 days. I picked 30 days because I feel like it’s a fair length of time to give something a try. It’s usually enough time to assess changes in my mind or body, determine if it’s something I want to stick with or not, and long enough to establish a habit if I do want to keep it going. So on a completely random day in October (October 8th to be exact), I made myself a tall glass of celery juice, and I haven’t stopped since!
What changes have I noticed? The main thing I’ve noticed after 30 days is that my skin looks clearer and brighter. I could make several other arguments on why this is the case (my new skin care regimen, not being out in the sun as much) but I have to believe at least some of it is because of the daily 16 oz. of celery juice. It’s been a while (like never) that I would post a makeup-free picture, but if you follow us over on Instagram, you will see more than your fair share of no-makeup pictures of me. And just for reference, my skin is a little over 46 years old! Must be something in the juice! 😉
I do think if I continue to stick with it, I will start to notice other improvements to problems I don’t even realize I have right now. So it’s a good thing I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon!
Since starting this daily morning ritual, I’ve googled many a question on the how, what and why of drinking daily celery juice. So to save you the trouble, here are some of my questions and discoveries:
What are the benefits of celery juice? If you follow the 3 accounts I mentioned in the beginning, you will get to read about ALL the benefits! But some of the ones that keep showing up in testimonials is clearer skin, healed eczema, removes toxins, reduced depression and anxiety, reduced acid reflux, fights auto-immune disease, anti-inflammatory, just to name a few.
What is the ideal amount of celery juice to drink every day and why? 16 oz is ideal but it may take some time to work up to it. Why 16 oz.? Because anything less just isn’t enough for it to do its thing in cleansing your body of toxins.
How much celery makes 16oz of juice? Approximately one head or stalk of celery will produce 16 oz of juice. I buy these packages from Costco and can get about 2.5 servings out of it.
I juice an entire package at once and store in a mason jar for up to 2-3 days.
How much water is found in celery juice? Celery is made up of about 95% water. So, since I have started juicing, I have increased my water intake by, oh, almost 100%! 🙂 Could be another reason I’m seeing improvements in my skin.
Celery juice tastes salty. Is it high in sodium? What I discovered is not all sodium is the same, similar to how not all sugars are the same. Celery contains sodium clusters which are healing and beneficial to our bodies. But if you are someone who has been told by your doctor to watch your sodium intake, please ask your doctor first before adding daily celery juice to your diet.
What is the benefit of drinking it on an empty stomach? An empty stomach has a lot less “barriers” for celery juice to get through before it can begin its healing process. With a full stomach, celery juice will get swept up in food and digestion, rather than having a clear path to the rest of the body.
What if you can’t or forget to drink it first thing in the morning? My motto during this challenge was always better late than never. So there were a few days I drank it later in the day, even a couple times at night. If you can’t drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, then try for 15-30 minutes before you eat, but an hour or 2 after your last big meal.
What is the best juicer to use? There are so many out there. Medical Medium recommends Omega Juicers, but I personally went for a slightly cheaper option and have been happy with the Breville Juicer.
Why does my celery juice taste so bitter? It’s all in the leaves! If I get any leaves in the mix while juicing, I have a TOUGH time drinking the juice. Do yourself a favor and cut off the leaves, or buy something like the Costco pack above.
Why is juicing better than blending? What I gathered when researching is that it’s mainly about quantity (but also a little bit about quality). When you eat or blend celery, you may consume 2 or 3 sticks. But if you are juicing and drinking 16 oz, the amount of celery you consume increases to an entire STALK. Drinking a stalk is much easier to put down than eating through one. But there’s also something about blending and chewing that breaks down the nutrients that are part of its healing properties.
If you want to read more about the how, what and whys of celery juice, I recommend the Medical Medium FAQ here. In the meantime, let us know if you’ve healed through celery juice or if you are now inspired to try!
Cheers and stay healthy!
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