I Drank Celery Juice For A Month To Heal My Gut. Here's What Happened
I first came across the "phenomenon" of drinking pure celery juice, every morning, on an empty stomach, while delving deep into the pages of Medical Medium by Anthony Williams, as I was researching practices and tools for Thyroid Yoga.
I’m sure most of us are familiar with typical green juice, which usually consists of fistfuls of dark leafy greens, such as kale and spinach, along with cucumber and celery, and oftentimes herbs, lemon, ginger, and apple may be added to sweeten. They’re run through a masticating juicer (which keeps the veggies at low temperatures to preserve all of their enzymes and vitamins, which would otherwise be destroyed by heat) to separate the fiber from the liquid, reducing pounds of fresh produce down into a juice that is comparable to liquid gold in its potency—or rather, liquid green. It’s a powerhouse of a drink, with all those deep greens and their antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes transferred into a liquid form that can be easily sipped down, thus bypassing the energy-consuming process of digestion.
So when I read about the healing powers of celery juice, my interest was piqued, but drinking plain old celery juice seemed pretty boring and pedestrian compared to the majesty of the green juice I’m used to. However, let me tell you that if green juice is the queen, then celery juice is the magician. Williams, in Medical Medium,says celery juice, "is one of the most powerful and healing juices we can drink. Just 16 ounces of fresh celery juice every morning on an empty stomach can transform your health and digestion in as little as one week."
Celery contains compounds called coumarins, which are known to enhance the activity of white blood cells and support the vascular system. It also helps to purify the bloodstream, aid in digestion, relax the nerves, reduce blood pressure, and clear up skin problems. Celery is rich in vitamin A, magnesium, and iron, which all help to nourish the blood. Celery juice is also rich in organic sodium content, meaning it has the ability to dislodge calcium deposits from the joints and hold them in solution until they can be eliminated safely from the kidneys. Sounds pretty phenomenal right? I was certainly intrigued enough to give the simple green juice a try. Here's what happened:
1. It gave me easy, blissful digestion, and more energy, to boot.
The discomforts of indigestion, bloating, and even acid reflux are often caused by low stomach acid. Studies have shown that people with Hashimoto’s (the autoimmune thyroid condition) and hypothyroidism (low thyroid) often have low, or lack of, stomach acid, and low stomach acid sets off a wheel of undesirable health consequences. Many of us are all too familiar with the fact that when we’re stressed one of the first things to go out of whack can be our digestion. This is where the superhero of celery juice steps in, as its natural sodium content raises stomach acid, and when drunk first thing in the morning primes you for easy digestion for the rest of the day. Stomach acid is essential for breaking down food, particularly protein. If your stomach acid is lowered, the body then has to step in using more resources to try to digest that food, thus making you tired. This also leads to liver backlog, so there’s less chance your liver will be able to keep up with the onslaught of toxins it has to process from mere everyday life, as well as its job of balancing blood sugar and recycling and producing new hormones, among its many other tasks. The liver is a heavy-duty organ—and as you can see, this is where the cycle continues, continually overwhelming the body so it never has a chance to reset, heal, and thrive. Every once in a while this may be OK (we all get stressed from time to time!), but if this is happening continually, it can lead to more chronic and serious manifestations of dis-ease in the body. Once I started drinking celery juice, I noticed that my food digested easier. Instead of uncomfortable feelings of fullness and heaviness after meals, I instead felt satiated but still light and could go on with my activities easily.
2. It made me slimmer.
With its ability to improve digestion, celery juice also kicks one of the most pesky symptoms of digestion to the curb: bloating. Celery juice is an effective natural diuretic, and along with its ability to flush toxins out of the body, it reduces bloated abdomens and edema, too. With my stomach acid raised and my digestion improved, I wasn’t bloated once during my experiment with celery juice—since everything was running smoothly through my system and digesting well, there was no chance for food to get backlogged, sit there undigested, and therefore cause gas to build up.
3. It reduced my cravings.
Oftentimes, cravings are the body's way of calling out for nutrients that we are low or depleted in. For instance, if you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue, I've found you'll crave all things salty. This is not a mistake of the body, as the adrenals need minerals to function at peak performance—like the minerals that are found in high-quality salt. Unfortunately we can often confuse this craving for wanting a bag of potato chips! With my food being broken down, digested, and therefore assimilated better, my body could soak up all the goodness and nutrition I was putting into it. All of my body's nutritional needs were being met better, and thus I never found myself craving foods or reaching for foods out of habit, because I was much more satiated.
4. I felt sharper.
Since stomach acid is essential for breaking down proteins, the amino acids in my food were being broken down better and became more bioavailable. Amino acids are precursors for creating neurotransmitters, so in theory, the simple act of drinking celery juice even made me smarter. I was firing on all cylinders during the month, and the surplus of energy I had from my food being digested better also helped give rise to a more natural feeling of being a superwoman. Feeling less overwhelmed also helped to reduce stress, thus creating a happy, natural cycle.
5. I experienced a feeling of Zen bliss.
Celery is a major alkaline food. This means it helps to purge the body of acid and toxins and cleanse the liver and bloodstream like nothing else. It helps to smooth out frazzled nerves and soothe any tensions from stress. I found drinking celery juice to have an amazingly calming and relaxing effect on my mind, body, and emotions—so much so that I often found myself making it at the end of a busy workday to help switch myself out of go-go-go mode and wind down for the evening. It gives you the feeling of post-meditation bliss and an internal "ahhhh."
Want to try it out for yourself? Here's a quick and easy recipe for celery juice (no fancy juicer required!).
The Quickest, Easiest Celery Juice
Ingredients
- 1 head of organic celery
- Splash of filtered water
Equipment
- High-speed blender
- Nut-milk bag
- Large bowl
Method
- Wash and roughly chop the head of celery into rough chunks.
- Add to a blender along with a splash of water (to help the blades spin).
- Blend for a few seconds until broken down.
- Pour into a large bowl through a nut-milk bag.
- Squeeze through the juice, and compost the remaining fiber in the nut-milk bag. Drink immediately for the most nutritional benefits.