Photograph by Michael Fornataro via EdibleAllegheny.com
At Salud, a college student on edge can try a health shot or flavorful juice to relieve stress. Students who need a health boost can also go to Pittsburgh Juice Company to get alkaline water or one of their green juices for a vitamin infusion.
These places are examples of how the relatively new “juicing craze” can not only provide a delicious treat, but can help college students overcome stressors and maintain good health, which in some quarters is controversial, and to others, especially to those on the go, a delightful way to overcome a lack of proper nutrition.
Virginia ‘Ginny’ Corbett, owner of Salud in Shadyside talks highly about these juices. She says, “We’re not just selling juice, we’re building connections with our customers.”
Leslie Bonci, Director of Sports Nutrition at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, has a differing opinion on the health trend seen many times in the media. Bonci feels as though it only provides for certain food groups in a diet, leaving students unnourished and causing shortchanges their diet by not including whole grains and protein.
“It’s celebrity driven; they don’t have to sit in class or be active,” she said in a phone interview on Feb. 3rd.
Juicing is a diet term often used in the media as a fad or trend. Celebrities will “juice” as a way to detox or lose weight before an event. It involves the consumption of fruits and vegetables in a liquid form, sometimes not eating anything else.
Bonci said, “Eating healthy throughout the day is the best way to go about a diet change.”
Corbett is nonplussed by Bonci’s characterizations because she believes that juicing is a lifestyle, not so much a celebrity endorsed trend. The juicing guru doubles as a licensed psychotherapist. She’s worked with patients suffering from depression and anxiety. Corbett’s passion is health and healing, and she found juicing clears out one’s insides and detoxes.
Corbett opened her first juice shop in Sewickly in 2013. Her Shadyside location make her second shop, which opened in fall 2014. The name, Salud, means “to your health” in Spanish.
The message and goal of Salud is all about connecting with customers and helping them with their specific needs. Whether they’re feeling yucky after the holidays or have a serious illness, there is a natural way to help cure through juicing.
“People really let down their guard and share their stories,” says Corbett.
Salud uses only fresh produce and almond milk for drinks. There are juices made of fresh fruits and vegtables, smoothies with almond milk, fresh herbs, and spices, coffees, teas, and health shots, which are a few ounces of a juice blend, for a quick taste of healing. Protein powders and add ins are all by request, so customers can know exactly what they’re drinking in their smoothies and juices.
Corbett recommends the “Solar Ray” health shot for college students struggling to find time to eat right and get enough sleep. Throw back this citrus concoction with spicy notes of cayenne pepper and ginger and chase with an apple slice. This boost will fight off infections, build immunity, and keep college kids healthy during flu season.
Other popular juices are “Beet Goes On,” a blend of beets, ginger, orange, lemon and apple and “Jane Goodall,” a tropical mix of coconut water, bananas, strawberries, oranges, and peaches. All drinks range between $2 and $9 at Salud.
Robyn Race, owner of Evolve Health and Wellness Spa in Shadyside, loves the health benefits of juicing, such as the healthy dose of produce and the lasting effects the consumption of these good ingredients provide. She was having an upset stomach, so she ordered a ginger and wheatgrass health shot to settle and calm her insides along with a “GreenAnna” smoothie. That combination is packed with spinach, banana, cacao, almonds, oats, and almond milk which are all very calming and easy ingredients.
Race was there for a meeting about a collaboration she is working on with a nutrionist, “What better place to do it?”
Amy Brormen, of Samuel Baron Clothiers, has been going to Salud since they first opened. She used to juice at home, but appreciates the convenience of buying them. Brormen says, “I love Salud’s freshness and personality ingredients.” She says juicing leaves her brain feeling clearer and that it is easier for her to focus.
Corbett said Salud has plans to be more active in the community and have more events. Her main goal is to continue connecting with customers and spread the message of healing.
Another juicing shop, The Pittsburgh Juice Company, in Lawrenceville offers all green juices. Taylor Gordon has been working there for three months, but he has worked at other juice places as well. He believes juicing is extremely hydrating and cleansing to the body, as well as very detoxing. “Celebrities can afford newest discoveries and health benefits. That’s what begins a trend,” Gordon says in a phone interview on Feb. 3rd.
Bonci says juicing has to be used in the right way. “It needs to be done in addition to eating an abundance of other things”.
Salud
733 Copeland Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
M-F 8 am-5:30 pm S 9 am-5 pm
Pittsburgh Juice Company
3418 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
M-F 7:30 am-8pm S-S 9am-4pm