Celery is a brilliant vegetable to include in your diet for various health and wellness reasons. Not only can it help you to lose weight thanks to the fact that it’s full of fiber and very filling, but it also contains an abundance of useful vitamins and minerals to boot. Celery juice benefits your health in many more ways than one.
So, what’s in celery?
Celery is great for your digestive system, it contains:
- 7 calories per stick
- ½ a gram of fiber
- Less than a gram of sugar
- Vitamin c and k
- Folate
- Potassium
- Antioxidants
Eating celery on a regular basis can help as a natural cure in assisting to ease inflammation, boost brain health, increase your cardiovascular health and even protect against some types of cancer. It’s a great addition to your diet if you want to keep your liver in good health – our most important organ for detoxifying the body in general – and especially during the times when we want the body to lose stored fat deposits.
So, should you juice celery?
It stands to reason that you’re probably thinking that juicing celery must be one of the best things you can do to ensure you get as much celery into your diet as humanly possible, but in reality, celery juice can be over-consumed.
Now, you’re probably confused. Let me explain.
Juicing celery is actually not as good for you as simply eating it. This is because juicing celery increases the concentration of sugar and calories in it, while the fiber it contains no longer fills you up in the same way as it would if you ate an entire stick of celery.
The average glass of celery juice contains around 70 calories and 11 grams of sugar. When compared to a stick of celery eaten whole, which would contain just 7 calories, ½ a gram of fiber and less than a gram of sugar, you may want to think twice before juicing your celery each and every morning.
As a healthier alternative, I recommend instead drinking a glass of plain water, and eating 1 or 2 sticks of celery instead sometimes. You’ll feel fuller as a result due to the increased fiber, and the simple action of actually being able to chew your meal gives better satiety and the psychological feeling of being satisfied that you’ve actually consumed some food.
Should you drink celery juice?
There’s no harm in drinking celery juice – but I would also be sure to just eat celery in it’s original form sometimes too. The average woman shouldn’t consume more than 25 grams of sugar per day – and a glass of celery juice is actually going to give you almost half of that without even eating anything. It’s certainly a surefire way to get a lot of sugar from a vegetable which isn’t really even considered sweet! Like most things, moderation is key.
You can benefit from drinking celery juice in moderation, just as you can from eating it in its original form – but you should favor the latter most often.
Having said this, some Instagrammers are raving about the benefits of celery juice for general wellness and weight loss.
What celery juice is good for
I would personally suggest celery juice is never going to be as good for you as simply eating celery alongside a glass of water. You could even add some hummus to it for extra protein – but I wouldn’t recommend drinking celery juice every single day (or any vegetable juice for that matter, as the sugar and calories are always magnified when you juice any type of vegetable).
Instead, perhaps start your day with celery juice 2 or 3 times per week, and on other days simply take some snacking celery to work with you to get a good mix between juiced celery and non-juiced celery.
Is celery juice effective for weight loss?
On a healthy, sustainable diet, celery can be a useful addition just as any vegetable can. So long as you stick within your calorie limits, it can be included as part of a weight loss diet, and may give some added benefits when it comes to detoxing the liver and boosting your weight loss. At the same time, whole celery can be very useful as a way of filling you up during the day in between meals.
When drank as part of a healthy, balanced diet, celery juice weight loss benefits are possible.
Celery juice recipe
Making celery juice is a very simple process. You will need:
- A bunch of celery
- A Juicer
- A knife
- Clean running water
How to make celery juice
Simply wash the celery, chop it into small enough pieces, leaving any leaves on (they contain more vitamins and nutrients), and add to the juicer.
The juice produced is ready to drink right away.
Here’s a video demonstration:
Celery juice benefits
There are many great reasons to include celery juice (and celery in general) in your diet. Take a look at the following health benefits of celery juice:
- Reduces inflammation
- Boosts brain function
- Improves thyroid function
- Reduces the risk of cancer
- Improves gut health
- Improves mood
- Supports the liver
- Lowers blood pressure
- Helps with acne
- Antiseptic/antibacterial benefits
Yep, that’s a whole lot of health benefits!
What would happen if you drank celery juice for 7 days straight?
Funny you should ask that. This guy did:
Fancy giving it a try yourself? Get juicing!
Want to try different options instead? Check our article about the healthiest fruit juices
