This whole Celery Juice thing is Stalking me…

I cannot resist a pun.

But can I resist Celery Juice. Several weeks ago, one of my clients mentioned to me that as part of my surgery recovery I should do a celery juice cleanse. She extolled the virtues of this concoction as a way to clear the body (in particular, the liver) of toxins, i.e., the medications that I have taken as part of the recovery.

I thought it sounded a little crazy, but my client seems like a relatively sane person, so I went on line to see what I could find. I encountered a few articles that mentioned celery juice a having the ability to do exactly what she promised. None of them was an article from the New England Journal of Medicine or even WebMD. Even so, I figured that in a few weeks I would give it a try. What did I have to lose?

Then this morning, this article came out on http://www.NBCNews.com: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/what-does-celery-juice-do-you-why-diet-wellness-fad-ncna1007171

The article suggests that this is just another diet fad without a whole lot of science around it. Not enough research has been done to show what the benefits might be…and on the flip-side, what the dangers might be. Dangers? What danger could there be in drinking celery juice? Remember the grapefruit diets? All fun in games unless you are on a statin drug or certain antihistamines!

Celery is a healthy food. It is a green vegetable and it is low in calories and high in fiber. One of my favorite cities in the world, Kalamazoo, was once considered the Celery Capital of the World, and some still refer to it as Celery City. The article mentions, however, that much of the benefit of consuming celery is lost when you juice it; eating celery is a calorie zero sum game–the energy you expend chewing it, balances the calories in the celery itself. The fiber is mostly lost in the juicing process as well.

The point here: the latest fad, miracle cure, must-eat vegetable, etc., is most likely not harmful (although more research is needed), but less likely to be of any significant dietary or health advantage. There are tried and true methods to accomplish our health goals like eating a variety of vegetables in the full spectrum of colors, following a Mediterranean-style diet, avoiding overly processed foods, etc., so why run after the latest shiny, new fad?

So, will I try the Celery Juice? I might give it a try for a day or two. I wonder how it will taste with a little vodka and Bloody Mary mix….