Can Celery Juice Help You Lose Weight?

Celery juice is purported to have several benefits, including weight loss and improved gut and skin health. It’s now a fad to drink it for weight loss.

Those who follow this trend drink 16 ounces (475 ml) of the juice on an empty stomach every morning.

To make your own, you can juice celery stalks — or blend them and strain out the plant fiber. One large bunch of celery, or about 9 stalks, makes 16 ounces (475 ml) of juice.

This popular vegetable is rich in numerous nutrients, including folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamins A, C, and K. It’s also a great source of riboflavin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus (1).

You consume more of these nutrients per weight when celery is juiced because its plant fiber has been removed.

While many people advocate for this trend, its benefits aren’t backed by research.

Added to other drinks

Celery juice can be consumed on its own or added to other drinks like green smoothies. These drinks usually contain a variety of fruits and vegetables.

This makes a more nutritionally balanced drink that still provides some of celery juice’s benefits.

What’s more, you can supplement your smoothie with protein sources like yogurt or protein powder, as well as fat sources like nut butter or avocado for an additional health boost.

Summary

Celery juice is rich in several vitamins and minerals. While drinking it every morning may be the newest health craze, this trend isn’t backed by research.

Celery juice is often said to promote weight loss.

Proponents claim that drinking 16 ounces (475 ml) every morning breaks down and dissolves fat cells stored in your liver. However, this claim lacks scientific evidence and requires further research (2).

That said, celery juice may promote weight loss in other ways.

Your weight depends on how many calories you consume throughout the day (3, 4, 5, 6).

Celery juice is relatively low in calories, providing 85 calories per 16 ounces (475 ml) (7).

Replacing higher calorie beverages — such as sugary coffee drinks or soda — with celery juice is a smart choice if you’re trying to lose weight.

Additionally, drinking low calorie beverages like celery juice before meals may promote fullness and help you eat fewer overall calories (8).

Although celery juice is a healthy, low calorie beverage, the key to long-term weight loss doesn’t lie with a single food. Instead, combine exercise with a nutritious diet based on whole foods.

Summary

Celery juice is low in calories and may aid weight loss if you drink it instead of higher calorie drinks. Still, it’s unlikely to promote weight loss on its own.

Celery juice may have several other benefits.

Anti-inflammatory properties

Celery juice is high in phytonutrients, which are plant compounds that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects (9, 10).

Flavonoids are the main class of phytonutrients in celery. Increased flavonoid intake is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (11, 12).

Thus, whole celery and its juice may help prevent certain diseases.

May help control blood pressure

Celery juice may also aid in managing blood pressure (13).

This effect is likely due to celery’s concentration of nitrates, which promote heart health and help lower blood pressure (14, 15).

These aren’t to be confused with the nitrates and nitrites used in food preservation, which are linked to negative effects (15).

May lower high cholesterol

Celery may also help reduce cholesterol levels (16).

Several animal studies associate celery intake with a significant reduction in cholesterol levels (17, 18, 19).

Still, human research is needed.

Summary

Celery juice may provide several health benefits, such as reduced inflammation, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

While celery juice is generally recognized as safe, you should be aware of a few possible downsides.

Loss of fiber

When you juice celery, you lose the plant’s beneficial dietary fiber.

One bunch of celery — around 9 stalks — packs about 9 grams of fiber, while 16 ounces (475 ml) of juice contains only a negligible amount (1, 7).

Fiber intake is associated with numerous benefits, ranging from increased weight loss to a healthy gut (20, 21, 22).

Sodium can add up

Another potential downside of celery juice is excessive sodium intake.

Celery is naturally low in sodium, with a single stalk providing 32 mg. However, just 16 ounces of celery juice provides about 288 mg of sodium, because it’s made from at least 9 stalks of celery (1, 2).

The U.S. Department of Health recommends that adults keep their daily sodium intake below 2,300 mg as part of a healthy diet (23).

Thus, if you already consume a lot of salt, a glass of celery juice could put you over that recommendation.

As excess sodium intake is linked to increased blood pressure, people who have a higher chance of developing this condition should practice caution when drinking celery juice (24, 25).

However, celery juice is also high in potassium — 9 stalks or 16 ounces of juice contains 936 mg, or 20% of your daily potassium requirement (7, 26).

Potassium helps relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Lowering your sodium to potassium ratio by consuming more potassium can help lower blood pressure. This means that potassium in celery juice can counteract the sodium and may actually result in lower blood pressure (27, 28, 29).

Summary

Though celery juice is generally safe, its drawbacks include a lack of fiber and high levels of sodium, though the sodium might be mitigated by its potassium content.

While a daily dose of celery juice is the latest health craze, it doesn’t promote weight loss on its own.

Still, celery juice may aid weight loss if you’re drinking it instead of high calorie beverages. What’s more, it may help reduce inflammation and blood pressure.

However, if you want to lose weight, you’re better off making larger dietary and lifestyle changes — not merely following the latest trend.