Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to add nutrients, anti-oxidants, polyphenols, and hydration to your diet. But one vegetable juice, celery juice, is having a moment. Across the Internet, you might see it touted as a cure for health issues – including eczema, acne, TSW, and psoriasis.
What can celery juice do and not do to improve your skin’s health and should you try it?
Celery Offers Solid Nutritional Benefits
Celery is a great source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate. Celery is also a good source of potassium, magnesium, and a small amount of calcium. These make the juice a natural electrolyte booster.
Celery also contains antioxidants and flavonoids, including apigenin and luteolin, which help lower inflammation and protect cells from damage.
As a vegetable, celery contains over 90% water, so it’s a great source of hydration. That’s why it renders plenty of bright green juice when processed by a home juicing machine.
All of these components of celery juice make it a super beverage choice for your health and the health of your skin. And yet, these benefits don’t necessarily make celery juice an effective medical treatment for skin conditions in and of itself.
Why Is Celery Juice So Popular Right Now?
Celery juice recently became a hit online, becoming popular with health influencers and celebrities. Yet social media trends or fads are not always based in rigorous scientific evidence. Even if something works for one person, it does not necessarily mean that it will work for everyone.
The reasons that this particular solution may work for some people (those who see improved health after adding daily celery juice to their diet) is that they may be experiencing the benefits of better hydration and replenished electrolytes. It’s also possible that celery juice may be taking the place of a less healthy beverage choice, like sodas, chemically ladened electrolyte drinks, overly sweetened coffees, or bottled juices with artificial ingredients. Or for others, celery juice may be filling the gaps in a nutrient-poor diet through the vitamins and minerals celery provides.
There is also a psychological or placebo effect that going through the ritual of juicing, and drinking a big tall bright green glass of pure vegetable juice provides. It looks, feels, tastes, and seems so healthy.
All of these factors may be at play in the anecdotal reports of celery juice benefits for health and skin. However, more research is needed to see if celery juice is truly a useful treatment in cases of skin disease.
Conclusion
Celery juice can be part of a balanced, nutritious diet, as long as you are also eating a variety of whole fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy fats and proteins. Remember that eating fresh celery whole will give you the same benefits as the juice, plus additional fiber and fullness.
Since juicing requires a high volume of celery for a full glass of juice, if you do make your own juice, it’s important to clean the celery well by soaking and rinsing under fresh water or using a produce wash solution. Purchase organic celery when possible.
Meanwhile, we hope that more research is on the way on whether or not celery juice is truly effective as an adjunct treatment in skin and other health conditions.
Want to Learn More About Skin Health?
Click HERE to get the Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions Newsletter. You’ll receive interesting information about skin health via articles, before/after pictures, case studies of Amethyst patients, videos, interviews and more. Feel free to share this article with someone who you think may benefit.
About the Author
Olivia Hsu Friedman, LAc, Dipl.OM, DACM, Cert. TCMDerm, is the owner of Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions and treats Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, and TSW. Dr. Olivia treats patients via video conferencing using only herbal medicine. Dr. Olivia is the past chair of the board of directors of the American Society of Acupuncturists, serves on the Advisory Board of LearnSkin, and is a faculty member of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Group sponsored by the National Eczema Association.