The celery juice cleanse is creating quite a buzz, but does it actually work?

Every time a new detox or diet comes around, health-conscious people have just one question in mind: should I also get on the bandwagon and give this trend a try? If you’ve been wondering the same thing about the celery juice cleanse — which is the latest wellness buzzword among celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian and Pharrell Williams — you need to understand how this detox is supposed to work and why it’s creating such a wave right now. [caption id=“attachment_8011031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Image source: Getty Images.[/caption] The first thing you need to know is how to do this cleanse. According to Anthony William, a.k.a Medical Medium, the creator of the “Global Celery Juice Movement”, you are supposed to juice a bunch of fresh celery to get 16 fluid ounces or about 475 millilitres of juice. Have this celery juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You can eat breakfast 15 minutes after drinking celery juice, and go about your day.

Is celery really that great?

Celery is packed with nutrients like vitamins C and K, potassium, folate, fibre and antioxidants. According to a study published in  Critical Reviews in Biotechnology  in 2017, celery has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels naturally. This vegetable is known to boost cardiovascular health and aid weight loss because it is super-low cal. So, including celery in your daily diet is a very good thing. But, here’s where the problem lies. Juice cleanses have been widely discredited by doctors, nutritionists and scientists, and for good reason. Juicing basically removes the fibre content of vegetables and fruits. While you might assume that this concentrates the vitamin and mineral content, what it actually does is that it also concentrate the natural sugars. Getting rid of the fibre is anyways not a good idea since fibre is precisely what you need to feel fuller for longer and to improve your gut health. Plus, concentrated sugars can spike your blood sugar levels very quickly, and then crash your energy levels soon after. Instead of helping you maintain a healthy diet, juicing can eventually lead to cravings, overeating and weight gain. Having said this, according to the US Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of celery has 2.97 grams carbohydrates, of which 1.34 grams is sugar.

The man behind the movement

Apart from the fact that juicing won’t help you lose weight or work a miracle on your health, what throws more suspicion at this celery juice cleanse is the creator of the movement, Anthony William. William claims to be, according to his own website, a medical medium: a man “born with the unique ability to converse with Spirit of Compassion who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information that’s often far ahead of its time.” Of course, India has its own sordid history of people who claim to be miracle workers, with purported cures that do more harm than good. William’s claim of being divinely ordained to know what’s best for your health seem to fall in the same category. Add to this the fact that he repeatedly calls celery juice a “miracle juice” and “one of the greatest healing tonics of all time” without any scientific backing in his article on GOOP (actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness and lifestyle company), and you can easily understand how controversial this cleanse really is. According to an article in  The Guardian, William has no medical training at all but sounds convincing because he uses “sciencey-sounding but completely nonsensical claims” - including his claim that celery has “an undiscovered subgroup of sodium” called cluster salts, which prevent gut rot. So, if you are thinking of trying out the celery juice cleanse any time soon, please keep in mind that it has no scientific backing as yet. This detox diet is based on the beliefs of a man who has millions of followers but no medical training. Bite into some fresh celery stalks while you chew on that.   For more information, read our article on   Vegetables: Types, Nutrition, Benefits and Side Effects_._ Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.