Proven Benefits of Celery Juice, Nutrition Facts and How to Make It
Celery juice has many health benefits because it is full of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Celery juice is good for lowering your blood pressure, helping manage weight loss, and protects your liver. Starting every morning with a glass of apple and celery juice or carrot and celery juice will give you a healthy start to your day.
There are many ways to make your own delicious celery tonic to boost your health. The easiest way is to put a few celery stalks in your juicer to create healthy juice. Because celery is low in carbs and low in fat, you don’t need to worry about the calories in celery juice.
In this article, you will learn about the many reasons why celery juice is so good for you.
At the end of the article, you will find some delicious celery juice recipes to maximize its nutritional content.
What is Celery Juice?
You make celery juice by putting a few raw celery stalks or sticks into a juicer to extract its beneficial nutrients. Because celery is about 96% water, you will find that you get a lot of liquid out of a few stalks of celery.
You can add to the nutritional content of fresh celery juice by juicing the celery leaves together with the stalks. This will result in a green-looking liquid that is packed with nutrients and goodness.
Celery juice contains most of the nutrients that are in raw sticks of this fibrous vegetable. Studies into the benefit of celery have shown that celery contains medicinal and therapeutic compounds. For example, limonene, selinene, flavonoids (antioxidants), and vitamins A, C, and K in celery have many nutritional benefits. (1)
Drinking Celery Juice vs. Eating Celery
If you want to consume celery for weight loss, boost your cardiovascular health, or other health benefits, should you drink celery juice or eat raw celery stalks?
One of the main differences with drinking celery juice rather than eating it is that you don’t get the fiber. 6 medium-sized celery stalks will produce about a cup of celery juice. If you were to eat 6 medium-sized celery stalks, you would get nearly 4 grams of fiber which is 12% of your daily fiber needs.
However eating this amount is not a viable option for many people, so the juice gives you a lot more of the other nutrients and it’s hydrating too.
Of course, you can add the fibrous leftovers from celery juice to your health drink or put them in soups or meals to benefit from celery fiber. You can also use a blender rather than a juicer to create celery smoothie with other ingredients so you can enjoy both worlds.
Celery Juice Nutrition
There is plenty of research into the nutritional value of celery showing just how good this crunchy vegetable is for you.
According to information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, celery has few calories but is rich in nutrition. It could take about 6 medium-size celery stalks or 4 large-size stalks of celery to extract about a cup of celery juice. (2)
This means that one cup of pure celery juice contains just over 30 calories and under ½ a gram of fat. Because celery is about 96% water with few calories, it is one of the healthiest drinks you can enjoy. (2)
Celery juice is also a good health tonic to enjoy if you are on a low-carb or keto diet. A glass of freshly pressed celery juice contains just 7 grams of carbs. The fact that this amount of juice only has 3 grams of sugar means it won’t spike your blood glucose levels.
What are the other reasons to regularly drink celery juice? The number of vitamins in celery juice means that this tonic will help keep your heart healthy and your immunity strong.
The juice from 4 large celery stalks contains 75 mcg of vitamin K which is 100% of your recommended daily intake. Scientists say that vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting, healthy bones, and good digestion. (3)
Apart from its high content of vitamin K, starting your morning with a cup of celery juice also gives you 7 mg of vitamin C (12% RDI), 1 mg of vitamin A (25% RDI), and many of the B-group vitamins.
Celery also contains trace amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and potassium.
Celery juice is packed with antioxidants
Another of the nutritional reasons why drinking celery juice is so healthy is that it is packed with antioxidants.
Researchers have identified that celery contains antioxidants such as limonene, selinene, and various flavonoids. Of course, vitamins in celery such as vitamins A and C also have antioxidant activity. (4)
Some studies have shown that celery leaf juice contains important antioxidants that can also boost your liver’s health. (5)
Benefits of Drinking Celery Juice
Let’s look in more detail at solid scientific research showing why celery juice is so healthy. This information will help to sort fact from fiction when it comes to many of the health claims made about the benefits of celery juice.
Celery Juice Keeps You Hydrated
One of the benefits of celery juice is that it is naturally hydrating and gives you lots of nutrients.
As already mentioned in this article, celery is around 96% water. So, adding a stick or two of celery to a health-boosting drink will help fill up your glass with vitamin K.
Get some great recipes for green smoothies that you can add celery to for its nutritional benefits.
Celery Juice Helps to Lower Blood Pressure
Celery is a very healthy vegetable to juice and consume if you have to manage hypertension.
The journal Pharmacognosy Review reports that celery juice has been effective in treating some types of high blood pressure. In one study, celery juice was mixed with honey and consumed 3 times a day. After a week, scientists noted a reduction in blood pressure levels in people with hypertension. (6)
How much celery juice should you consume to lower blood pressure? Doctors from the Cleveland Clinic say that eating 4 sticks of celery a day should help to bring your blood pressure down. The juice of 4 medium sticks will give you over half a cup of celery juice and contains 25 calories. (7)
Because celery is also a diuretic, it may help to lower blood pressure by helping to get rid of excess sodium from your body. (16)
There is also some evidence that the high content of vitamin K in celery could be another blood pressure-lowering factor. (8)
Celery Juice May Reduce Levels of Cholesterol
Celery juice can benefit your heart health because compounds in celery help to lower cholesterol.
Research on animal subjects found that drinking a celery drink every day for 8 weeks can reduce cholesterol. Scientists discovered that celery has a positive effect on liver health and helps to excrete more cholesterol. (9)
Another study found that celery extracts have a significant effect on lowering cholesterol. In one experiment, rats on a high-fat diet who were given celery extracts had lower cholesterol levels than rats who didn’t receive the celery drink. Scientists said that celery contains unique compounds that have a positive effect on cholesterol. (10)
As well as consuming a glass of celery juice every day, you can find out about many other positive lifestyle choices that can help bring your cholesterol down.
Celery Juice is Good for Your Liver
Juicing a few stalks of celery and their leaves to drink is a good way to keep your liver in good health.
One study published in the journal Molecules found that celery juices have a protective effect on the liver. Celery root juice and celery leaf juice increased the antioxidant content in the liver. Also, another study showed that celery and parsley leaf juice helped to boost liver health. (11)
You can learn about more foods that help to keep your liver in good health and protect against the damage that toxins in the body can do.
Celery Juice Can Help Treat Gastric Ulcers
Juiced celery can also help to improve your gastrointestinal health because it helps to improve gastric secretions.
One study found that celery compounds have an anti-ulcer effect and have a beneficial effect on digestion. The antioxidant compounds in celery help to prevent gastric ulcers from forming. (12)
Another study found that adding celery juice to cabbage juice can be an effective drink for gastric ulcers. Drinking a glass of juiced celery stalks, leaves, and cabbage twice a day helped to treat ulcers. (13)
The celery compound apigenin also helps to prevent gastritis caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. This bacterial infection of the intestinal lining can cause inflammation and pain in the stomach. However, apigenin was found to be effective in killing off H. pylori infections and restoring gastrointestinal health. (14)
If you suffer from a burning sensation in your stomach after eating, why not try some of these natural cures for gastric ulcers?
Celery Juice Supports Good Digestive Health and May Resolve Heartburn
Another of the many health benefits of drinking celery juice every day is to improve your digestion.
As already mentioned, celery juice is good for your digestive health because it helps prevent ulcers. However, if you suffer from heartburn and acid reflux, adding celery juice to your diet can be beneficial.
Celery is a vegetable that is naturally low in acid and sugar and is, therefore, easily digestible. Celery stalks also contain pectic polysaccharides which help to reduce inflammation and may help your digestive system. (15)
Further reading: Best Teas for Digestion to Relieve Upset Stomach, Gas & Constipation.
Celery Juice Has Health Benefits for Diabetics
If you have diabetes, celery juice is an extremely healthy drink because it is low in carbs, sugar, and is easily digestible.
Researchers have found that celery contains compounds that are beneficial for symptoms of diabetes. One study involving elderly people with diabetes found that celery leaf extract helped to lower blood glucose levels. In the study, celery leaf extract capsules with 250 mg celery powder were used. (17)
Other studies have shown that celery leaves contain compounds that can help manage many diabetes symptoms such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and high levels of lipids (a type of fat in the blood). (18)
If you try to control your type 2 diabetes by diet, you can safely add a cup of celery juice, using the leaves too, to boost your nutrition intake and help prevent weight gain.
Celery Juice Has Anticancer Properties
Celery stalks and leaves are very healthy for you and also have compounds that can help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer.
One of the compounds in celery that has anticancer properties is apigenin. The results of some laboratory trials have found that this celery compound can help protect against the development and spread of certain types of tumors. (20)
Also, foods such as celery, fennel, parsnip, and parsley (which is in the same family as celery) have properties that have proven anti-tumor activity. (21)
Although research into the potential of using celery extracts to treat cancer is very promising, more research has to be done into how celery could treat cancer.
However, consuming celery juice frequently as part of a healthy diet will certainly boost your immune system and help protect against chronic diseases.
You can find more information about other proven anti-inflammatory foods to include in your diet.
Celery Juice Supports Health During Chemotherapy
You may benefit from consuming celery juice regularly if you are going through chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Studies into the health benefits of celery juice have found that celery compounds protect against some of the side effects of chemotherapy. Celery juice helped reduce damage caused by free radicals when taking the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. In the study, celery juice was prepared using celery leaves and celery root. (19)
Drink Celery Juice as Part of a Weight Loss Plan
If you are trying to lose weight quickly, having a cup of celery juice will help shed extra pounds of body fat.
Why is celery juice good for losing weight? First, a cup of celery juice contains very few calories but will help you feel full. For example, there are around 30 calories in an 8-oz. glass of celery juice.
You can also boost the effectiveness of celery juice for losing weight by not straining out all of the fiber. There are around 4 grams of fiber in the number of celery stalks required for making a cup of celery juice. Fiber is a good nutrient to keep your digestion working well and increase feelings of fullness.
If you are looking for a healthy weight-loss plan, you can find out more about proven ways to lose belly fat based on science.
How to Make Celery Juice
There are many delicious ways to create a health-boosting celery juice. Here are some ways you can juice celery.
Make celery juice in a blender. Put a few of stalks of celery in a blender and whiz until smooth. This will give you a thicker juice of celery and its fibrous stalks. You may want to add a little water to improve its consistency. If you want, you can strain out the pulp before drinking to consume pure celery juice.
Make celery juice in a juicer by adding 6-10 medium-sized celery stalks. This will give you between 1 and 2 cups of celery juice. Remember, if you are using celery juice to improve your digestion, all of the fiber will be left in the juicer.
Healthy celery juice recipe
For this celery health drink, you will need the following:
- 5-6 celery stalks
- ½ peeled cucumber
- 1 large apple
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root
Run all the ingredients through your juicer. To increase its vitamin C content, add the juice from ½ a squeezed lemon and stir well. Or, to add more vitamin A, add the juice of 1 medium carrot. Consume every morning to help kick-start your day.
Related: Powerful Detox Green Smoothies: Clean Your Liver, Lose Weight, Build Blood and More
Precautions
Although celery juice is an extremely healthy drink with many health benefits, you should be aware that some people have an allergy to celery or celery root.
Some signs of a celery allergy are itching, wheezing, and possibly asthma attacks. (22)
When juicing raw celery, you should always choose the organic variety to prevent exposure to toxins, as pesticides are often used on growing celery and these chemicals can stay in the vegetable. (23)
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