I admit it. I’m a sucker for a fad, whether it’s an exercise class, a fashion accessory or a new kind of food preparation. So when I heard about the celery juice trend, I had to try it.

For those of you unaware of this cultural phenomenon, Anthony Williams—aka the Medical Medium—wrote a post on his popular website espousing the “sweeping benefits” of juicing humble stalks of celery and drinking 16 ounces every morning. “Celery is truly the savior when it comes to chronic illness,” Williams writes. “I’ve seen thousands of people restore their health.”

Really? I decided to try a week of celery juicing. I bought seven huge bunches of celery from the Worden Farm stand at the downtown farmers market. “Are you juicing?” the cashier asked me as she tried to stuff the stalks into my bag. “Oh, yes, I am,” I replied, a little self-consciously.

The next morning, I rinsed the stalks of celery I’d pre-cut the night before. I don’t have a juicer, but the Internet told me my Vitamix would work just fine. (Spoiler alert: I made a mess, mostly because I'd lost my strainer and had to strain the celery through coffee filters. Use a juicer.)

The taste wasn’t bad. It was salty (Williams says celery contains “cluster salts that are antiseptics for pathogens”), but also slightly sweet. I desperately wanted to chill it, but Williams says not to do that, as it will “dilute the healing powers” of the juice.

I drank my warm celery juice for the next six days. At the end of the week, I had a little more energy (placebo effect?) and I felt like my digestion was definitely more, ahem, regular. I’m not so sure it’s life-changing, but I sure do feel virtuous.