Inspirational Interviews

Meet the Maker: Rosie Dickinson of The Healthy Juice Company

Rosie’s drive to produce the highest-quality, freshly cold-pressed juices and nut milks from seasonal, organic ingredients, in eco-friendly packaging, and with no artificial additives, puts her streets ahead of the crowd.

Read on to discover more about The Healthy Juice Company and find out about our exciting collaboration with the brand.

Where did your interest in juicing come from? 

I’ve been in the catering business all my working life, so I’ve always prepared high-quality raw ingredients from scratch. As a caterer for 17 years, I often ate on the run and in such a rush that food would be swallowed almost unchewed. Some nights I would arrive home at 4am to be up again at 6am to start prepping for the next day. I was unkind to my body, especially my digestive system. No surprise then that I developed digestive issues – dysbiosis and an H Pylori infection.

I sought the advice of a leading UK naturopath and this marked the beginning of my gut health and juicing adventure. I learned that the gut is our engine room and key to overall health. If the digestive system isn’t working properly, we can eat as healthily as we like, but we may not be absorbing the nutrients. It’s not what we eat, it’s what we absorb. My naturopath helped me set up my cleanse programmes.

Describe your approach to juicing.

I provide the freshest and highest- quality products available, delivered in glass bottles and Earth-friendly packaging. We don’t preserve in any way and we cold-press freshly for each order, meaning there’s no wastage. I chose not to preserve my products after doing lots of research. Every preservation method comes with a compromise to the product. Pasteurisation uses heat, which depletes nutrients. HPP, a common juice preservation method using cold water pressure, gives a shelf life of 30 to 40 days, but kills all the good bacteria. I wanted my products to provide the maximum benefits to gut health. We are also one of very few companies in the UK who use glass, even for our national shipments. We have never and will never use single-use plastic bottles.

What are the challenges?

If I can’t do something to the best of my capability, then I’d rather not do it at all. It would have been easy to set up using single-use plastic bottles and polystyrene insulation for our boxes. To not be organic. To preserve. To dilute. But that’s not me. Organic, cold-pressed juices and nut milks are much more expensive to produce. Unpreserved, organic cold-pressed juices and nut milks in glass bottles and Earth-friendly packaging, even more so!

And what do you most enjoy about your work?

There are SO many things I love about it! I love that I supply a product to my customers which can improve their health. The way you feel when your body is properly nourished is incredible. You glow from the inside out. You have amazing energy without slumps, and better mental clarity. It’s how you SHOULD feel every day. I also love meeting new ethical brands – the whole natural health environment feels full of kind, warm-hearted people.

How does your juice cleanse work? 

We live very different lives to our ancestors, including what we eat and drink. We’re exposed to such a vast array of new toxic substances every day which didn’t exist 100 years ago. By toxic, I mean things which are poisonous to our bodies, which we have to get rid of.

We absorb toxins into our lungs from the air we breathe and into our digestive system via the food and drink we consume, and the chemicals we come into contact with. We also produce toxins internally ourselves – by-products such as carbon dioxide from our breath, and cortisol, the stress hormone. We may be absorbing toxins at a faster pace than our bodies are able to eliminate them.
Our body naturally detoxifies itself 24/7 and if we’re in good health and nourished well, this will be done efficiently. If we’re under-nourished, however, or if our immune system is weak or our digestive system is compromised, the body won’t be able to eliminate toxins properly and will store them instead. Toxicity can affect the body in so many negative ways and disturbs our natural balance.
Juice cleansing is a short-term programme, lasting between one and five days, when clients rest their digestive systems, avoiding solid food. Instead, they drink a series of fresh juices and nut milks in a certain order throughout each day, supplemented with herbal teas and broths. This allows the body to put all of its energy into healing rather than digesting.

A cleanse supports two fundamental processes in the body – digestion and detoxification. It provides essential vitamins to release toxins at a sensible rate, and supports the liver as it works to detoxify. The cleanse reduces inflammation and provides enough fluid to hydrate cells and flush out toxins. It also supports the gut and stabilises blood sugar.

Tell us about nut milks.

 Nut milks are creamy and delicious, and provide different nutrients to juices. Our organic nut milks have an incredibly high nut content – some are as high as 30 per cent – which gives them an impressive nutrient profile. The star ingredient is milk thistle, which also supports and strengthens the liver. We add coconut oil to our nut milks as it contains medium-chain fatty acids which are good for people who struggle to break down fats. The fat slows down digestion and helps clients feel fuller for longer. We add Brazil nuts to many of our recipes, as just one nut a day provides the recommended daily about of selenium.

What do you consider when making a juice?

For cleanse juices, the focus is on a high-vegetable, low-fruit content with a range of nutrients. If it’s a juice to support a certain problem, then it will include as many helpful ingredients as possible. If it’s a green juice for the morning, wheatgrass is amazing as it is a natural stimulant.

When I first set up The Healthy Juice Company, I had to include juices which could be available year round. But I’m thrilled to now introduce seasonal variations. Seasonality is a beautiful thing. We’ve lost touch with the seasons, but Mother Nature cleverly provides exactly what our bodies need at the right times of year.

Which fruits and vegetables are best to juice right now?

  • Asparagus is a nutrient powerhouse with lots of minerals. It’s also a diuretic.
  • Berries taste of summer and are full of antioxidants.
  • Rhubarb adds a fruity-sour element without adding sweetness, and can enhance digestive health.
  • Radishes give bile production a boost and can assist our overall digestive detoxification process.
  • Sprouted foods such as alfafa, as they’re enzyme-rich.

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