The title of this blog post is a little tongue in cheek ;) We know matcha is here to stay, but what about celery juice? I originally thought that the celery juice trend was dreamed up by celery producers to make celery cool again.The last time I loved celery was in the 80s and early 90s when my mom was filling them with sugar-filled Kraft peanut butter.
It turns out the celery juice trend was started by a medical medium, Anthony Williams, who doesn’t appear to have any formal education as a healthcare practitioner. I’m intrigued.
I’ve also had a few requests for recipes mixing celery juice and matcha, so I did some research on the subject and learned that celery was used medicinally in ancient Egypt, China and Rome to cure hangovers and as an aphrodisiac. I’ll bite.
The trend is telling me that celery juice kills off pathogens, increase hydrochloric acid, boost thyroid hormone production, detoxify the liver, support the nervous system and calm inflammation (amongst other things). However, I couldn’t find (m)any studies or doctor-backed evidence on much of that. Could be true, but right now the evidence is anecdotal.
What we do know is celery is a good source of vitamins A, K and potassium. Celery is also rich in flavonoids, also present in tea, which function as antioxidants. Together, those components can lower blood pressure and inflammation. Potassium is an electrolyte, which can offset some of the effects of a diet high in salt. Celery is also a diuretic, so those two factors may be what is helping with bloating, gut health and weight loss.
I’m in no way convinced celery juice is a cure-all, but I do see very positive benefits of adding it to my fresh juices. Celery will help keep me hydrated too, so I’m all for incorporating it. Below I share the juice recipe I’ve been adding matcha to lately. It's very hydrating and refreshing, a little more mouthpuckering (a.k.a sour) if you use lime instead of lemon. But, I like the sourness of the lime. The ginger adds a touch of spice and the matcha adds a mellow fresh vegetal flavour and an energy kick. I like just 1/4 teaspoon of matcha, but you can up it to 1/2 a teaspoon. Fancy something with a bit more sweetness? Add a couple slices of apple or pineapple.
Ingredients:
4 stalks of organic* celery
½ a medium or 1 small organic cucumber
1 organic lemon or lime
small knob of organic ginger
¼ tsp Ceremonial Matcha
Method:
If you have a juicer, simply juice the celery, lemon and cucumber. If you don’t have a juicer, blend them instead and squeeze through a nutmilk bag or cheesecloth.
Separately, whisk the ¼ tsp of matcha with hot water.
Combine the juice and your matcha. If you like your juice a bit more chilled, shake the combination with ice in a mason jar, strain and enjoy.
Makes one 16 oz glass of juice.
*organic - celery is on the dirty dozen list when it comes to pesticides. Plus, when you juice veggies and remove the fibre, you’ll bypass your digestive system and absorb those toxins into your bloodstream.
Perhaps this trend will be the catalyst for more studies on the health benefits of celery and perhaps that research will back up the anecdotal evidence we see so far. Let’s hope it does.
