The Atlantic

Actually, You Can Just Drink Some Water

There’s little science behind Instagram’s new favorite miracle cure: celery juice.
Source: Al Project / Reuters

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the Whole Foods in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was absolutely bereft of celery.

Conventional, organic, whatever—Hilary Sloan was out of luck. Sloan, a former colleague of mine who works in marketing, was looking for celery because a friend had evangelized to her about the health-promoting properties of celery juice. That friend had learned about the juice’s magic in the well-trafficked wellness corners of Instagram.

The claims circulating about the juice are indeed enticing: Depending on whom you talk to, it promises to , improve your microbiome, alkalize the body, kill mold in your gut, , and banish “toxins.” Suddenly, everyone from to recommends you give it a try.

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