why the celery juice diet is one to ignore

You may have seen a lot of hype around celery juice and the famous celery juice diet, with its apparent healing properties. Anthony Williams, the ‘medical medium’ claims to be the originator of the global celery juice movement. According to Williams, drinking 16oz of celery juice daily on an empty stomach has healing benefits for those with autoimmune conditions.  Ranging from Hashimotos thyroiditits, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes to eczema and psoriasis. In addition, he also claims it is a ‘detox’ drink.

Autoimmune Conditions

A quick search on Instagram for #celeryjuice brings up over 84,000 results!

Sure, you may feel better for drinking 16oz of celery juice. But is this because you are adding an extra portion of vegetables to your diet (with celery providing a source of vitamin K). As well as increasing your water intake. Or are you experiencing a ‘placebo’ effect?

While there is some (albeit limited) research on flavonoids in celery, which are protective plant compounds. The research is inconclusive about how much you would need to consume and the purported health benefits.  In fact, there is no evidence that there is a magic food-based cure for some autoimmune conditions such as Hasimotos thyroiditis, psoriasis and eczema.

However, with the right medical support, these conditions can be controlled. No amount of celery can control the complicated factors that may play a part in such autoimmune conditions, such as genetics, immune system and lifestyle. As for the detox claims, providing you have a functioning liver, gut and kidneys – you are detoxing all the time! You don’t need to drink 16oz of celery in order to do so. While it is true that juices can form part of a balanced diet. When you juice celery, you actually lose the insoluble fibre part, which is important for gut health.

Alternative

If you like celery, go ahead and eat it in its natural form as part of a balanced diet (not just because it has a celebrity endorsement and some unrealistic health claims)! There are no quick diet fixes that ‘cure’ autoimmune conditions or make you detox. Instead, aim to focus on whole foods in favour of processed foods and look to increase the number and diversity of plant-based foods, especially brightly coloured vegetables and fruit (in that order) you eat. If you have an autoimmune condition and you are thinking about the celery juice challenge. Why not speak to a qualified medical or health professional. They can offer some alternatives before turning to pseudo-science?