I Tried Celery Juice for 5 Days and This is What Happened
Let me tell you a story...
Several years ago (I think I was actually pregnant with my firstborn, and he's 8 now) I went to get the brakes checked on my mom's car. I'm an extremely chatty and friendly person, and so I'm talking to the guy who's helping me and he's telling me about how he changed his entire life by juicing. He'd watched a documentary, decided to change his life, bought a juicer, and there he was, standing in front of me, a full 80 lbs lighter than when he'd started "just eight months ago!"
Fascinated, I listened intently, looked at his before and after pictures, and when he asked me if I'd like to try some of the juice that he just happened to have in the employee break room, I said, "Of course I would!" I followed him to the refrigerator took the cup he handed me with a little bit of this orange liquid and despite the fact that my mama taught me better than to take strange drinks from literal strangers, I took a sip and it tasted O-K...
As he handed me back the keys to the car, he told me to add him on Facebook and he could answer any questions I had and help me start my new juicing journey, and I pretended my phone had died but took his card and said I'd most definitely hit him up....and of course I never did.
What is the point of this story, Laura?
WELL juicing wasn't for me back then, but I decided recently to give it a real shot. (I just really wanted to tell that story, HA!)
In the last decade, juicing gained a rep for being the best possible thing anyone could do to improve their energy levels, and rid themselves of any and all long-term illnesses. Books and documentaries tell stories of people who used to take cabinets-full of medications and who, thanks to juicing, are now healthier than they've ever been in their entire lives! Most recently (maybe in the last year or two) social media is full of posts from people who swear by the juice of one particular food: celery.
Now, I'd heard of this before, and even tried a few detoxes and DIY anti-inflammatory concoctions that include celery in the recipe, and my results were phenomenal. I figured that pure celery juice would be even more beneficial, so I did a little research.
Why Celery?
According to Medical Medium (the guy who boosted the popularity of this once-completely-ignored vegetable) celery is a "miraculous healing remedy" that provides benefits such as:
- clearer skin
- improved digestion
- less bloating
- sustained energy
- better mental clarity
- weight loss
- stable moods
(Apparently there's more, but the website synopsis stops there).
How Do You Drink It?
Ideally, you drink 16oz of pure celery juice, first thing in the morning, before you consume anything else. Then you wait at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything. To make the juice, you can either use a juicer (easiest method) or blend the celery stalks in a Ninja Blender and use a juicing bag to squeeze out the liquid and toss the pulp (This was the method I chose because I don't have a juicier).
How Often Should You Drink It?
According to most sources, you should drink it every single day. You can see effects in as little as 7 days, and there's no limit (at least none that is known yet) to how long you can drink it for. One of the women I follow on Instagram has been drinking it everyday for an entire year!
Does It Work?
I have seen stories of people who swear by this magic elixir and say that they have experienced most of the benefits I listed above. However, I can only speak from my own experience. I decided to try celery juice for a couple of days in a row (mostly because I only had enough celery for that many days) and didn't notice a change, but I figured I would have to drink it more consistently in order to see a difference. 7 days seemed like too long, and 3 days was way too little, so I settled on 5 days.
On the very first day, it was very difficult to get past the taste. Celery and peanut butter is one of my favorite snacks, but celery on its own? And in liquid form? Yuck! There was this green frothy stuff sitting on top of the liquid which was the absolute WORST, but almost immediately after drinking it, I had to go to the bathroom, so THAT was a good sign.
By the fourth day, I definitely felt way less bloated. I was going to the bathroom frequently, without any problems (sorry if that's TMI but I mean, we are talking about reducing bloating and that's kinda what that means) but I have to admit that my skin looked the same and my energy levels weren't any different than they normally are.
Overall, I'd say that yes, it does have a positive effect, but not one that I haven't gotten by using other methods that are less messy and taste a lot better.
Should You Try It?
Absolutely. If you are curious about it, and you don't have any medical reason not to try it, you should give it a shot. Every body is different, and maybe for you it'll be the best tasting juice on the planet and you can continue drinking it. If it weren't for the taste, I could have continued for another few days or even another week, but I knew after the second day that this wouldn't be a new, life-long habit.
Personally, I can see myself doing it again as a quick, 5-day cleanse, because it did significantly reduce my belly bloat. But again, I have gotten similar results with other foods/drinks, so if you absolutely HATE celery, don't torture yourself.
Did you try it? If you did, tell me about it in the comments, or connect with me on:
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