Nutritional Benefits of Celery

If you never took a nutrition class, no worries — we've got you covered. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, one-half cup of celery (51 grams) has 10 calories [6], 40 mg. of sodium, one gram of carbohydrates, one gram of fibre, one gram of sugar, and no protein or fat. A one-half cup of celery also contains four percent of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin A, two percent of the RDI of vitamin C, and two percent of the RDI of calcium.

Fun fact: celery is approximately 95 percent water [7], which means it can help you stay hydrated [8]. Because celery is low-cal, has zero fat, and is made up of mostly water, it may sound like a great food to eat for weight loss, but it turns out it may not do much.

Will Drinking Celery Juice Help You Lose Weight?

"I strongly discourage this practice as an unhealthy, short-term fix for weight loss," Rachel Fine, MS, RD, CSSD, CDN, owner of To the Pointe Nutrition [9], told POPSUGAR. Although you may lose some weight in the short-term, Rachel explained that there is a "vulnerability to increased weight gain later on." When it comes to other claims, such as sleeping better and glowing skin, Rachel said, "I would also discourage the use of celery juice as an end-all cure for all potential ailments."

Shana Spence, MS, RDN, CDN, owner of The Nutrition Tea [10], agrees. She told POPSUGAR, "Celery juice can help you lose weight, but the results will not sustain." Weight loss may occur when you consume fewer calories, such as with juicing, Shana said. "However, it is unfortunately not sustainable in the long run." Shana explained that replacing a meal with celery juice "will still leave your body craving the eating sensation we get from chewing food, just like we miss this sensation with any other juice cleanse." Not to mention, you may be losing most of the fibre [11] (high-fibre foods [12] can aid in weight loss) when you consume it in the form of juice.

Can you potentially lose weight drinking celery juice? Yes, but it will more than likely be short-term weight loss. Will drinking celery juice help you lose weight for the long-term? According to these experts, no, drinking celery juice will not help you lose weight in the long-term. We aren't telling you to pour out the glass of celery juice that took 20 minutes to make. If you like the taste of celery juice and if it makes you feel good about your health, don't stop what you're doing. But if you're drinking it with the goal of losing weight, you may want to try something more effective that will produce long-term results.

Expert-Approved Ways to Lose Weight

We can't stress the importance of remembering that everybody is different and will respond differently to changes in nutrition and exercise. In a previous interview, Fatima Cody Stanford [13], MD, MPH, told POPSUGAR the best diet for long-term weight loss [14] is one you'll want to commit to for years. Eating in a healthy calorie deficit may work for some, but Dr. Stanford also previously told POPSUGAR that the "calories in, calories out" mantra doesn't always work [15] because your body and brain will respond differently to calories.

Exercise also plays an important role in weight loss. In a previous interview with POPSUGAR, Jim White [16] said to do fives hours of cardio a week for weight loss [17]. If you aren't a fan of cardio, strength training [18] is also advised, as it can help you build muscle and burn fat [19].

We advise finding what works best for you and sticking with it. We know it may take some trial and error, but we have confidence in you. As always, we recommend speaking with certified experts to devise the best plan to help you achieve your goals.