The mighty celery is a healing food. It is actually underestimated in terms of it’s super (healing) powers.
Those of you who know me or follow me know that I drink 16 oz, of celery juice just about every morning, and I’ve been doing it for over a decade! I drink just celery, nothing else added. So many people ask me, “Why celery?” And because there are so many benefits, I felt it was worthy of it’s own post. So let’s dive in…
Besides the fact that celery is loaded with nutrients such as potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and lots of amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, hydroxy glutamic acid, Lysine, serine, thyroxine, tryptophan, and valine), it also has vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, C, K) and fiber. And because it also contains natural sodium (which won’t impact your blood levels like table salts do), it actually helps the body absorb nutrients, including iodine from the food you eat and it’s said that it can help purge your body of toxins that the body has collected in your organs over the years.
And as if that’s not enough…some claim that it can help deactivate the negative effects of heavy metals in your body such as copper, mercury and aluminum.
BUT WAIT…there’s more!
Celery also has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and immune-boosting effects on the body. And, the enzymes in celery help raise the hydrochloric acid in your stomach so that your food is easier to digest. For those of you that struggle with heartburn, this is a wonderful news!
Often when people hear of any type of acid in the stomach, they think it’s a bad thing, but raising hydrochloric acid in the tum-tum will reduce and often eliminate your heart burn without pharmaceutical or over the counter anti-acid drugs. Hydrochloric acid is actually considered a “good” acid that helps the liver produce bile to break down food which actually helps prevent indigestion, acid reflux and heartburn!
I’ve convinced several of my friends and family to try drinking celery, and those who struggled with heartburn confirm that the heartburn went away completely after several weeks of drinking 16 oz. of celery juice daily. 
My Mom’s eczema also went away completely and everyone I know who drinks it claims to have more energy! So what’s the catch? There really is no catch. It even tastes good…Just like celery but liquid!
Some of the other benefits are as follows:
> Boosts hydration
> Helps prevent urinary tract infections
> Helps prevent and treat high blood pressure
> Beneficial for weight loss (fills you up and can help reduce cravings)
> Helps lower cholesterol
> Contains the antioxidant luteolin that helps protect the lungs, liver and heart tissue
from inflammation
> Rich in apigenin, a bioflavonoid that reduces anxiety
> Helps with digestion
I drink my juice first thing in the morning on a completely empty stomach (experts on the subject claim celery performs best in the body when the stomach is empty). I drink 16 oz. because experts also state that 16 oz. is what’s needed to reach the liver and you want that so that the body can reap all the many rewards of drinking this power juice. And after I’m done with my celery, I don’t eat for at least 30 minutes to an hour after finishing my juice so my body just focuses on absorbing the goodness of the celery vs. working on digesting other foods.
To get 16 oz. of juice, it will most likely take a full bunch of celery to net 16 oz. It will depend on several variables such as the water content of the celery you buy, the size of the bunch and the juicer you use. Just cut of the root and if the tips are brown, cut those tips off too, wash it and load it into your juicer’s chute! I encourage you to juice organic celery if at all possible, but even non-organic is better than none.
When drinking any freshly juiced fruits and/or veggies it’s always best to drink the juice as soon as you can after juicing it. It’s said that many of the valuable enzymes begin to break down and will be mostly gone within 20 minutes of juicing (so you’ll want to drink it within 20 minutes for its full nutritional value).
Sometimes when I know I can’t drink the juice immediately, I put my freshly juiced celery in an empty 16.9 oz. water bottle, and freeze it so that I can enjoy it after thawing it later. If you do this DON’T fill the bottle completely – be sure to leave room for expansion as it freezes. And, if you put it into a glass container the same thing applies as it will break the glass if you don’t leave enough room for expansion as a result of freezing! No matter when you drink your celery juice though, you will benefit in spite of some of the nutrients being compromised as a result of storing it for more than 20 minutes.
One thing worth noting is that you might want to stay close to a restroom until you know how your body will handle the celery juice (or any juice you give it). Some people need to eliminate rather shortly after drinking it. It doesn’t have that effect on me, but every body is different.
If you are traveling, without access to your juicer, many juice bars around the country will make celery (only) juice for you even if it’s not on their menu. I have traveled all over the country (including Hawaii) and I’ve never had anyone turn me down in terms of making me a 16 oz. “celery only” juice.
I’m not a juicing fanatic, but I do drink my daily celery juice every single day, and I do like to enjoy other fresh, unsweetened juice with different fruits and veggies from Mother Nature now and then! I’ll share some of my favorite juicing recipes (beyond just celery) in later blogs as over the years, I’ve experimented with lots of fruits and veggies and have some good tips and recipes. But celery is a GREAT (and uncomplicated) place to start. It’s refreshing, filling and with all it’s great benefits, I say, “Why not?”
If you don’t have a juicer, there are many available on Amazon. The price of juicers range from affordable to down right shocking so if it’s your first time out, you’ll need to do some research to see what works for you and your budget. The link below is a really good “starter” juicer for under $100. that a friend of mine got for Christmas and she loves it. (This is not a paid advertisement for this juicer, I just know it’s a good starter juicer for those who don’t know where to start). Simply cut and paste this into your browser to find it.): https://a.co/d/0WODygJ
Sources: Juicing Made Easy by Organixx & Medical Medium Celery Juice by Anthony William