Montecito Messenger: The Healing Power of Vibrant Earth Juices
- At August 5, 2011
- By Jill
- In Press
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The words “detox and cleanse” have become a regular part of the vernacular these days when people talk about jump-starting a diet or cleaning out their bodies of unwanted toxins. I have been approached many times to try some of these programs, but there was something about this whole idea of not eating and being on a liquid diet that reminded me of prepping for a colonoscopy.
My fear of the detox and cleanse process was recently debunked after being introduced to Jill Latham, one of Santa Barbara’s newest young entrepreneurs and owner of Vibrant Earth Juices. A recent transplant from Thousand Oaks, she was drawn to the Santa Barbara area, which is not saturated with such companies as is Los Angeles. Being drawn to the health-conscious and outdoorsy lifestyle and accessibility to organic fresh fruits and vegetables year-round, Jill felt the Central Coast was the ideal place to launch her business.
Giving up a lucrative career in Hollywood’s fast lane with a management company laden with stress and anxiety, Jill began drinking fresh raw juice five years ago while taking a time out at the Miraval Wellness Resort. Upon returning home, she immediately began the journey to juicing her own fruits and vegetables, making these juices part of her daily life. According to Ms. Latham, “The benefits of this new obsession were incredible.”
She immediately noticed the lack of sluggish mornings that relied on coffee and an improvement in her skin tone. Her cravings for unhealthy food went away.
In addition to changing her diet, she also changed careers. She went back to school, and now at 31, four years later, has earned degrees in nutrition, dietetics, and food science, and is set to complete her ultimate goal of becoming a registered dietician by the end of this year.
Jill‘s concierge juicing company, Vibrant Earth Juices, was conceived and designed to provide her clients with a personalized nutrition service incorporating an abundance of nutrients through raw, fresh fruit, and vegetable juices, which she manufactures herself at a commercial kitchen in downtown Santa Barbara.
I decided after a personal consultation at my home in which she introduced me to her juicing program and inquired into my current supplement regime and other prescription drugs, that I would indeed take the plunge and commit to a “three-day” freshly pressed organic fruit and vegetable juice cleanse.
No coffee, no alcohol, no diet soda—only the 16-oz. juices, hot water with lemon, and, if starving, some toast with peanut butter. Jill assured me the juices assimilate into the bloodstream, decreasing the strain on the digestive system during normal eating and, unlike other cleanses, she promised me I would not be starving, overly hungry, or cranky. I would decrease my caloric consumption but still be providing my body the basics to rev up toxic elimination.
I also would be getting the required 5-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily that I was not normally consuming. On the following Sunday, Jill delivered my 18 bottles (six juices a day). Each bottle was filled with non-pasteurized and organic ingredients, all of which tasted very good and were labeled with numbers indicating when they were to be taken throughout the day. Some of the ingredients in “Energy 1,” the first drink of the day, included kale, romaine dandelion, parsley, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, and flax oil. The follow-up, late-morning immunity drink included pineapple, lemon, mint, and flax oil. I made it through the three days with ease and, yes, I did feel great. I did not have any digestive upsets nor found myself starving. I was very happy when I drank the last bottle, though, and eased back into my regular eating with light meals. I did realize how much fun it was to share meals with friends and enjoy the social aspect of eating in restaurants.
According to Jill, “providing my clients the tools and support to start a successful nutrition plan and continue on that path to perfecting their own healthy lifestyle is my goal.” To distinguish her company and make her clients comfortable, she provides her education of nutrition and accessibility to increase clients’ wellness and guide them on a path for living a healthy lifestyle during the juicing program—and after. Jill surmised that Santa Barbara was home to many professional athletes, frequent exercisers, multiple fitness facilities, and supermarkets catering to wellness—and thus was a perfect place to launch her new company.
A quick, healthy energizing juice that can be delivered for an immediate health boost or a juice cleanse designed for each individual with a deeper, more intensive cleaning for your body . . . “I like to refer to it as ‘push the reset button!” Jill said.
A la carte juices and juice programs with a customized dinner plan (“Sip and Dine”) are available.
Via: Montecito Messenger
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