Drinking 16 ounces of straight celery juice on an empty stomach every morning has become one of the hottest holistic health trends of 2019.

Developed by Anthony William, the self-described “Medical Medium,” the celery juice diet is based on the notion that drinking the fibrous green vegetable in liquid form can improve almost every function of the body. It’s been purported to help with a number of skin conditions, including acne, psoriasis and eczema.

William is not a medical doctor nor a healthcare professional, but what he lacks in medical education or training, he makes up for in faith. He believes he was born with the innate ability to converse with a paranormal entity he calls the “Spirit” who gives him medical advice, which he then bestows onto others.

He says his psychic gift of being able to “read” people’s health problems and tell them how to recover from them started at the age of 4, when the Spirit helped William diagnose his symptom-free grandmother with lung cancer. Medical tests later confirmed his premonition was true.

William also says the Spirit told him about the power of celery juice as a “miracle tonic” for good health. Since then, he has made millions of dollars on a handful of bestselling books and has traveled the world spreading the gospel of celery juice.

His website is plastered with testimonials from celebrities ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow to Robert De Niro who claim that celery juice has worked wonders for their health. And let’s be honest, whenever a celebrity we admire endorses a product or therapy that’s all-natural, affordable and accessible, our collective ears are going to perk up.

William also says he is an invaluable resource to doctors who need help solving their most difficult cases — similar to how mediums use their psychic powers to help detectives solve cold cases. However, more often than not, doctors have been quick to cast doubt on William’s credibility due to the lack of research supporting his claim that celery juice does all the things he says it does.

The juicy details of William’s celery theory

William believes the real cause of eczema stems from the liver. He says that that there is a group of highly inflammatory toxins called dermatoxins that are released from the liver and only come out through the skin, which causes the skin to break and bleed as it tries to eliminate these toxins.

“Dermatoxins are created by a pathogen that has made its home in the liver,” reads William’s website. “The pathogen consumes and eliminates copper, and this is what creates the dermatoxin that leads to eczema and psoriasis. The copper the pathogen feeds on in the liver is very old copper from generations ago, specifically from the pesticide DDT from 1874 onwards.

Previous to 1874, eczema and psoriasis was practically unknown.”

Dermatologists and medical research scientists who have devoted entire careers to studying the origins and mechanisms of inflammatory skin diseases would argue that this is simply not true. For starters, a fundamental contributor to the development of skin disease is conspicuously missing from William’s theory: genetics.

Research shows that some people with eczema have a mutation of the gene responsible for creating filaggrin, a protein that helps our bodies maintain a healthy, protective skin barrier. Without enough filaggrin to build a strong skin barrier, moisture can escape and cause the skin to break and bleed, which then allows bacteria, viruses and other substances to enter.

Then, there’s the fact that psoriasis and eczema have been plaguing civilizations for hundreds of thousands of years, with evidence of dermatological conditions appearing on the remains of Egyptian mummies. In fact, the Greek philosopher and “Father of Medicine” Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) was among the first to prescribe tar-based topicals to help relieve itch.

As a side note, Hippocrates did, however, prescribe celery to treat nervous disorders. Historians claim that Hippocrates thought celery had the potential to calm patients or help them fall asleep — most likely due to the fact that celery is loaded with soothing magnesium.

Keep in mind that nobody is debating the health benefits of celery. It’s packed with beneficial nutrients like calcium, potassium, protein, beta carotene and vitamins A, B6, C and K.

Research from the University of Chicago has found that celery contains a chemical called phthalide that may help lower cholesterol and inflammation.

Is celery good for us? Absolutely! Will drinking 16 ounces of celery juice on an empty stomach make your eczema go away or prevent flare-ups from happening? Probably not.