Celery juice, and eating celery in general, has become very popular because of celebrities coming out and stating that it cured their eczema, psoriasis, other kinds of dermatitis, helped their digestive issues, autoimmune conditions, and more. But does celery really help with these conditions? My goal is to give you a well-rounded perspective of the benefits of celery based on the research and historical uses of this fascinating plant.
This post contains affiliate links. Visit the disclosure page for more information.
Table of Contents
Does the Science of Celery Juice Support the Claims?
Some medical experts and skeptics may say we don’t have enough evidence yet backed by randomized clinical trials in regards to the benefits of celery. I would argue that waiting for big randomized clinical trials is fool-hardy. All combined, animal research and early human research suggest many health benefits of drinking celery juice and eating celery in general.
This includes the easing of emotional states that trigger digestive issues, reduces toxins, antioxidants, and may have many additional benefits that nootropics like celery may afford.
One of the most renowned medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine, recently published a paper about the need to encompass many forms of research when making informed decisions about how to help heal people. What a fresh breath of air in the sometimes snooty world of medical research.
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.” Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own.
Yes, Virginia. I believe.
Let’s dig into the research about celery juice as well as its history in medicine.
Where’s the Science?
The history of plants and their use to aid human survival gives us clues and windows into the rich past, about life, and how we need to move forward with progress in the modern world which abounds with poor quality of health.
In that context, research is mounting in regard to the health benefits of celery. First, let’s take a look at celery’s rich history regarding how it has been used as medicine for thousands of years.
History of Celery as Medicine
Imagine a time when celery was used strictly for medicine; this happens to be true for most of recorded history according to the text World Vegetables: Principles, Production, and Nutritive Values. Archeological evidence suggests that celery seeds were transported to Switzerland around 4000 B.C.
Celery is believed to have been cultivated for at least 3000 years; most of this time it is known to be used exclusively for medicine. The first time celery was first recorded to be used as food in France was in the 1600s.
Originating in the Mediterranean, Celery (Apium graveolens) wild celery, also known as smallage, also grows in wet places over Europe and Asia.
Celery that we know today was domesticated around the 1700s in Europe and became widely used for food after that point.
Celery legends are nothing if not vibrant. “He now has need of nothing but celery” meant that some unfortunate person was about to die, according to the ancient Greeks. The Greeks also gave celery to their prized athletes.
The famous Grecian, Hippocrates, described celery as a nerve-rebuilder. He was likely on point and keenly astute about this matter as you will soon find out.
Evidence of celery offerings to the tomb of Tutankhamun has also been found according to the text Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Cultivated Plants in West Asia, Europe, and the Nile Valley
Romans were also known to revere celery; they dedicated celery to Pluto, their God of sex.
More Celery Legends
Celery was famous in history as a passion promoter, from the nymph Calypso owing her seven-year-long love fest with Odysseus to celery, in Homer’s Odyssey, to the mistress Madame de Pompadour invoking lust from Louis XV with celery soup.
Celery has been used for centuries to treat impotence and as an aphrodisiac. Casanova is well-known to owe his amorous ways to the daily consumption of celery.
Celery Nutrition
Celery is very rich in nutrients. This is because celery contains good amounts of vitamin K, potassium, folate, sodium, and magnesium. This juice makes a great electrolyte replacement after exercise too. Beyond these nutrients, celery is rich in complex antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Here are some of the antioxidants and beneficial compounds in celery:
- Apigenin
- Luteolin
- Polyacetylenes
- Caffeic acid
- Coumaric acid
- Ferulic acid
- Tannin
- Saponin
- Kaempferol
- 3-n-butylphthalide
This antioxidants in celery are the reason that celery has so many medicinal properties.
Celery Reduces Blood Pressure
Celery seed extract is very effective at helping reduce blood pressure according to research. One study found that 1.34 grams of celery seed extract reduced systolic blood pressure by over 10 points and diastolic blood pressure by 8 points. This study isn’t an isolated study either. A review of 10 clinical studies with over 500 study subjects concluded that celery seed extract significantly reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
By reducing fluid retention and acting as a calcium channel blocker, celery seed is a natural approach for people who want to help naturally maintain a healthy blood pressure level. Even better, celery seed is very safe and effective for this purpose.
Celery Benefits for Mood and Brain Health
Celery cools a hot temper according to Danish folk medicine. Hot tempers and mood disorders are related to digestive issues in modern medicine.
Other facts we know today:
Celery contains apigenin, which has anti-anxiety effects in early research. This antioxidant in celery also helps improve memory and may enhance social interactions.
By enhancing GABA receptors, celery may help with anxiety too. GABA is an important neurotransmitter for relaxation.
High concentrations of apigenin also occur in other foods like chamomile, parsley, artichokes, peppermint, red wine, and licorice root.
Celery also reduces cortisol levels indirectly because it is rich in bioflavonoids coumarin and apigenin. These compounds help to prevent your body from producing stress hormones in excess, which helps to calm your nervous system.
Additionally, celery is also rich in magnesium, which promotes a calming effect, as well.
Celery Helps Nerve Health
Perhaps most intriguing of all of celery’s benefits is its ability to help with neurological health. Its rich apigenin content stimulates nerve growth, or neurogenesis, in adults. This makes celery a nootropic compound. By having nootropic effects, celery helps the growth of new nerve cells. Hippocrates gets it right again.
Another compound in celery called 3-n-butylphthalide may help with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and epilepsy.
Celery Juice As A Skin Tonic
Early research shows that the antioxidant compounds in celery may reduce inflammation in the skin.
Celery compounds may also increase collagen formation in the skin as well, according to cell study research about one of its antioxidants called apigenin. Another possible benefit of celery for the skin is that it may reduce UV damage from the sun.
Apigenin from celery also reduces eczema in mice according to the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. By drinking celery juice, you are getting concentrated antioxidants that may help heal your skin.
Some celery juice reviews note that they have some skin breakouts in the first few days of drinking it before the skin improves. This could be because toxins are released from the system, but no one really knows for sure.
The Benefits of Celery for Autoimmune Conditions
Autoimmune conditions are challenging to treat, but emerging research shows that a healthy diet can play an integral role in recovery.
Some research also points to the fact that celery may aid in autoimmune conditions. One study found that compounds in celery reduce lupus symptoms in a cell study by reducing inflammation. Celery inhibits autoreactive Th1 and Th17 cells.
Celery may also help reduce colitis because it can block inflammation pathways in the body according to animal research.
Although more research is needed to support testimonials of the benefits of celery, there is certainly no harm in trying celery juice to see if it helps you.
Celery Benefits for Circulation
Celery helps lower blood pressure, improves cholesterol, and has at least 12 kinds of antioxidants that may improve cardiovascular function (R, R).
Celery has natural nitrates that can improve cardiovascular function. You should know that celery does not contain the toxic version of nitrate known as nitrites. By relaxing the blood vessel walls, celery is definitely good for the heart and cardiovascular system.
Celery May Help Hormone Balance
Celery contains apigenin which is a flavonoid and protein inhibitor that may boost testosterone production in the testes according to an animal study. It protects the testicles from toxins such as phthalates.
Apigenin, an antioxidant from celery, also likely makes the body use insulin more effectively, making the blood vessels healthier.
Celery Helps Digestion
Ayurvedic doctors and ancient Romans used celery to treat poor digestion and liver ailments.
In early research, celery reduces the chances of stomach ulcers by reducing H.Pylori infections. By the way, H.Pylori increases type 2 diabetes risk by over 3 times.
You just might save yourself a trip to the doctor for digestive and liver issues by drinking celery juice.
Celery may also reduce the toxic effects of alcohol. Seeds of celery were given to mice with gastric ulcers brought on by alcohol; the celery was able to reduce stomach ulcers by 90%. By the way, this is a similar potency to the active control drug called omeprazole used in the study.
Due to celery’s antimicrobial properties, it may help fight gut infections.
A Forbes post about gastritis management notes that flavonoids in celery may prevent the growth of bacteria, which are responsible for gastritis, or inflammation in the stomach lining.
Celery Benefits for Liver Health
Celery may reduce fatty liver, improve liver detoxification, and improve cholesterol metabolism in the liver. By reducing toxins like bisphenol A and phthalates, celery may also protect the body from environmental toxins. Celery also may improve liver enzyme function.
Related: 28 Chemicals in Foods to Avoid
Celery Helps With Pheromones
Is this research not enough to get your heart pumping? Celery also has androsterone, which is a natural steroid found in sweat, and it acts like a pheromone. Pheromones are known to exert feelings of well-being.
Recent evidence suggests that men who eat more vegetables like celery instead of carbohydrate-rich foods smell better to women, particularly their sweat.
Celery Reduces Cancer Risk
Celery contains potentially anti-cancer compounds including polyacetylenes, luteolin, and apigenin. Early studies find that these compounds help to reduce toxins in the body and fight against cancer formation, specifically breast cancer, pancreatic, intestinal cancer and leukemia.
Eating foods high in apigenin may reduce breast cancer risk by about 20%, and also may help prevent colon and pancreatic tumors. Apigenin reduces tumor growth factors and are involved in cell cycle arrest of cancer cells (R, R).
While more research is needed to determine if celery juice reduces cancer risk in people, it certainly won’t hurt to try it.
Celery Reduces Pain and Inflammation
Celery reduces uric acid levels, a major contributor to gout symptoms; additional research shows that celery seeds might have potential use in alleviating inflammation and pain associated with gout.
Celery seeds may provide strong pain relief by suppressing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme involved in the production of inflammation.
Celery seed extract is as effective as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen to reduce existing inflammation and pain according to a rat study of arthritis.
How to Make Celery Juice
You need just two things to make celery juice: celery and a juicer.
Some people also add ginger, fruits like apples, or vegetables like carrots, spinach, or tomato juice. I recommend trying to stick to pure celery at first. It tastes clean and mild, so most people don’t object to the taste.
Celery Juice Recipe:
In a clean juicer, feed 8-12 stalks of celery through the vegetable shoot of your vegetable juicer. Collect the celery juice in a clean pint jar or mason jar. This will yield between 8 and 12 oz of celery juice. Now first thing in the morning, every morning, on an empty stomach, sip and enjoy your celery juice.
An inexpensive juicer will do the trick for a recipe like this one.
*Try to use organic celery whenever possible for the best health benefits. One other tip: if you aren’t used to eating healthy foods, you may want to start with a smaller portion to avoid any belly side effects or healing reactions.
It is best to clean the juicer shortly after making your celery juice just so the little strands and pieces of celery don’t dry onto the juicer. You will want a good scrub brush to clean your juicer too.
Keep it Fresh
I also prefer to make celery juice as fresh juice every morning rather than make extra and store it. The fresher the better. Of course, you can make it ahead if you find that you don’t have time to do it in the morning.
After all, drinking celery juice is better than not, and if you are pressed for time, just do what works best for you.
Drink the celery juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, preferably before coffee or any food. Make sure to drink this every day for at least a week to see if it helps you too.
Why Make Celery Juice?
Drinking celery juice is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, but more than that, its claim for healing was made popular by the Medical Medium, Anthony Williams’s, publication called Medical Medium Celery Juice: The Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time Healing Millions Worldwide.
Some health websites such as the Atopic Dermatitis site state that we have no specific research evidence that celery juice helps skin conditions or any other conditions. They also state there is no harm in trying it either.
It’s healthy so what do you have to lose?
According to an endorsement by Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, “Anthony’s gift has made him a conduit for information that is light-years ahead of where science is today.”
Related: Leaky Gut Eczema Connections
Best Juicer for Celery
The best juicer for celery is going to be the one you have.
Go ahead and put that juicer to use!
If you don’t have one, here are a few good options.
- Breville BJE200XL Juice Fountain Compact Centrifugal Juicer
- Mueller Austria Juicer Ultra 1100W Power
- Omega MM900HDS Medical Medium Slow Masticating Celery Juicer High Juice Yield Adjustable Dial, 200-Watt, Silver
Can I Use a Blender to Make Celery Juice?
Yes, you can use a high-speed blender, without a doubt.
In my experience, it’s harder to blend enough celery to get the desired effect.
It will definitely have more pulp in it too, which is fine if you don’t mind that.
Why Juice Celery?
By juicing celery, you are getting a very concentrated source of antioxidants, which may help with countless conditions as reviewed by the research below. You can certainly eat celery, but it is hard to eat the volume needed to have the benefits seen from people drinking celery juice.
The information on this site is provided as a research resource for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace, diagnose, or provide treatment. Make sure to consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner any time you make changes to your health routine. Consult your medical care provider before using any herbal medicine.
Pingback: Leaky gut-eczema connections
Pingback: https://thehealthyrd.com/fennel-seeds-for-digestion/ Healthy RD Digestion