Is Celery Juice Good for Kidneys? Benefits, Risks, and more
We see so many wellness trends these days thanks to social media and other technology. It seems like everywhere you turn, there is a recommendation from an influencer or a big-name product. Identifying the truth from the misconceptions can be difficult. One of the more recent trends in wellness is to use celery juice cleanses for kidney health. Celery juice is said to provide a lot of great health benefits, the greatest of which is improved kidney function.
The question remains: is celery juice good for the kidneys? In this guide, we will dig deeper into the facts and the science to uncover the benefits of celery juice and the potential benefits it may offer your kidneys. Read more below!
Breaking Down Celery Juice
To answer our questions about celery juice, we need to understand what exactly is in it. Obviously, this comes from celery. The official scientific name of celery is apium graveolens. Celery has been offered as a healthy vegetable since the beginning of time. It is rich in antioxidants, and it’s very low in calories. Some would say that you burn more calories eating celery than you consume!
Some of the nutrients found in celery juice include the following:
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Folate
- Antioxidants
- Flavonoids
In addition to these, there are bioactive compounds. All of these elements do contribute to your health in positive ways. Beyond just nutritional value, celery is said to balance pH levels and improve diuretic function. Oh, and spoiler alert, these nutrients do provide certain benefits for your kidneys. But let’s look closer at how!
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is one of the vitamins that is sometimes harder to find in your foods. You need to consume Vitamin K, but you also need to be careful not to overconsume this vitamin. The reason is because it is fat-soluble, so your body will store any excess. Vitamin K is most known for providing your body with calcium and helping to regulate calcium. It can also help support cardiovascular health, such as blood clotting.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the antioxidants found in celery. It’s great for overall health, particularly helping your body heal from wounds and improving collagen function. Vitamin C is something you can typically take extra of and still never get too much, although you do want to pay attention to recommended daily limits.
This water-soluble vitamin will be excreted from your body, rather than stored if you happen to take it in excess. Vitamin C provides substantial benefits for body function, including iron absorption and immune system support. There are also studies that believe vitamin C may help reduce LDL cholesterol. It’s a great nutrient for overall health and wellness.
Potassium
Potassium helps with a wide variety of things, including muscle contraction, fluid balance, and nerve signals. Potassium has a big responsibility of moving nutrients and waste around your body’s cells and ultimately processing it properly. One big function is the ability to reduce sodium and how it affects your blood pressure.
Potassium is said to protect against stroke and cardiovascular disease. In terms of kidney health, potassium helps to prevent kidney stones. In fact, it is your kidneys that control potassium levels in the body and excrete any excess as well.
Folate
Folate supports your body’s cell division and DNA synthesis. Most people consume folate as folic acid. This is also the same thing as Vitamin B9. Folic acid is known for its benefits for pregnant women, but non-pregnant people need it as well. Folate breaks down harmful amino acids so that your body can produce healthy red blood cells.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants come in many forms. Celery is thought to have a lot of great antioxidants. The benefit of these antioxidants is the ability to help reduce your risk of chronic kidney disease and cancers. These nutrients help to remove free radicals in your body’s cells and reduce the damage that oxidation can cause as well.
Flavonoids
Finally, celery also contains flavonoids, which provide their own benefits for your body. Flavonoids are another type of antioxidant and can often be put into the same category; they are just a specific antioxidant with a defined purpose. These nutrients help to prevent cancer, reduce inflammation, and provide antiviral properties as well. Flavonoids can protect your brain and heart health, too, in some cases.
Is Celery Juice Good for Kidneys? The Benefits
We’ve dug into the deeper details of celery juice. Now it’s time to take those details and relate them to the potential health benefits for your kidneys. What does celery juice do to benefit your kidneys? There are several known advantages that are backed by the authority of science and what the various essential nutrients can do for you.
These are some of the benefits of celery for kidney health:
- Hydration improvement
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Antioxidant activity
- Blood Pressure regulation
We’re going to look closer at each of these benefits.
Hydration Improvement
The profile of celery is approximately 95% water. That means while you’re eating celery or drinking celery juice, you are contributing significantly to your body’s hydration needs. Your kidneys need proper hydration to be able to do their job properly. Without enough water or hydration, your kidneys may struggle to remove waste.
The entire functionality of the kidney is to remove waste from your blood. The kidneys filter out the waste, and then it exits your body through urine. In addition, hydration also improves the function of your blood vessels. Your kidneys need efficient blood flow in order to be able to filter the waste and deliver the good nutrients out of it.
With proper hydration, you can experience healthy kidneys so toxins are flushed effectively. Celery juice helps to provide some of the hydration your body needs.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Celery juice can help to provide anti-inflammatory effects for your body. When you suffer from inflammation, this can be very hard on your kidneys. Chronic inflammation will cause significant damage to your kidneys over time. Celery has compounds like luteolin and apigenin that can help reduce and manage inflammation.
When you reduce overall inflammation, it helps to reduce inflammation in the kidneys. With reduced inflammation, your kidneys have the freedom to function more properly and take care of your body in the way they are meant to.
Antioxidant Activity
We spoke about what antioxidants can do for your body earlier, but we want to dwell just a moment on how that benefits your kidneys. We know that celery has flavonoids, Vitamin C, and other substantial antioxidants in it.
All of these small antioxidants come together to fight a big task. One of the biggest responsibilities is to help fight oxidative stress and that’s a big job. Reducing oxidative stress has substantial benefits for your kidneys. Oxidative stress has been linked to kidney diseases, which means combating it can help to protect your kidney health and overall health as well.
Blood Pressure Regulation
Your blood pressure may seem like cardiovascular health, but blood flow does affect the kidneys. Remember that the kidneys rely on the proper movement of blood to do their job. They need to be able to push quality nutrients back into the bloodstream. When blood pressure is high, it makes it much harder for the kidneys to do what they are supposed to.
The biggest impact of blood pressure is that it can make the blood vessels and arteries near the kidneys too narrow, too weak, or too hard. With blood pressure regulation, those blood vessels can relax so that your organs can continue to work as they are supposed to without interference.
Things to Consider Before Relying on Celery Juice
Celery juice clearly has several benefits that could positively impact your kidney health. However, there are some things that you need to consider and be aware of. No single food is going to be magical no matter the number of human studies and animal studies. Much of your health comes down to various lifestyle factors, too.
First of all, our bodies are all different. While overall functionality is similar, our bodies still respond and react differently to variables of all kinds. This includes how celery juice may impact your kidneys. Just because someone you know has had really great luck with optimal kidney health from drinking celery juice doesn’t mean your body’s response will be exactly the same.
You will likely experience benefits, but your results may vary from the influencer you follow. There are some people who actually have allergic responses and experience gastrointestinal discomfort from the use of celery juice, so just be mindful.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is the importance of finding a good balance. If you drink celery juice all day, every day, this could actually have negative impacts. There are some nutrients that you don’t want to overfill your body with. Consider the recommended daily dose and adjust that dose if you seem to experience any negative side effects. Celery juice should be part of a balanced diet.
Finally, it’s always a good idea to speak with your healthcare provider, especially if you have concerns. You and your provider know your health and any concerns far better than we ever could. If there are any concerns or anything you need to be careful about, this is the best way to be prepared and ensure your routine is good for your needs.
Don’t expect celery juice to just be some magical toxin that alleviates any health conditions and perfects your health. It simply doesn’t work that way. Yes, there are some great benefits, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. You should also focus on incorporating proper eating habits, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management into your lifestyle. All of these things combined are what will ultimately help to optimize your kidney function.
So Is Celery Juice Good for the Kidneys?
Celery juice is not a magical solution that will eradicate all of your health concerns overnight. However, it does promote better kidney health and function and could be part of an integrated routine for your wellness. Celery juice does have some great benefits and can be a tool to help you be successful.
If you decide to implement celery juice into your routine, just be sure to incorporate it as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle and work with your provider to be sure you are not putting your body at risk. Are you looking to prioritize your kidney health? Check out our comprehensive selection of supplements to support your kidney health and more!
The information being presented in this blog is intended to be used as educational or resource information only. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice from your healthcare provider. This content should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, please contact your healthcare provider. You should call 911 for all medical emergencies. Revive MD is not liable for any advice or information provided on this blog, which advice or information is provided on an “as-is” basis, and assumes no liability for diagnosis, treatment, decisions, or actions made in reliance upon any advice or information contained on this blog. No warranties, express or implied, are made on the information that is provided.