Juice Up With The Source

There’s juice loose about this hoose. Well, when I say loose, it’s actually in neat numbered bottles and it’s in the fridge because I’ve joined the juicing ranks.

Having observed lean-limbed followers suck on all kinds of green liquids from afar for months, I’ve signed myself up and declared war on carbs via the way of a juice cleanse with new London-based brand The Source. As a complete amateur to the mixology of kale and spinach, I felt it best to enlist the experts and chat to founders Mustafa Ahmed and Santiago Tenorio first.

Introduced in autumn 2013, The Source’s juice cleanse really is juicing by numbers. Available in individual bottles, handily numbered 1-6, these new drinks have been created to deliver specific health benefits, such as healthy skin, balancing stress and strengthening the immune system. But do they actually work?

Well, yes, according to its founders, and I’m inclined to agree.

‘Juicing allows the body to easily absorb vital nutrients and vitamins. Since there’s no fibre content, the digestive system is able to immediately absorb all the goodness in the juice. It just helps you feel healthier and fresher overall,’ Mustafa and Santiago told me in conversation.

‘We were brought up with freshly squeezed juice in our daily diets at home and for some time were disappointed with the soft drink products available in the market. We learnt about cold-pressed juicing from our experience living in New York City, where the concept has really flourished over the past couple of years. We saw a gap in the market in London and wanted to be one of the first companies offering organic cold-pressed juices that are both delicious and nutritious.’

As a result, they have created seven unique juices that vary from 20 calories per 100ml to 100 calories per 100ml and have no additives whatsoever. Each are aligned with specific nutritional functions that can be taken as part of a cleanse (one day costs £80, three days is £240 and five days cost £380) or as a substitute to your morning cup of coffee.

‘There’s lots of experimentation in our kitchen. It’s a fun iterative process. We like to play around with unusual ingredients and see how different flavours interact together,’ they added.

The resulting combinations include Volcano (carrot, pear, pineapple, lemon, ginger and turmeric), which strengthens your immunity, and Red Earth (carrot, clementine, pineapple, pear, beetroot, lemon and chilli) that energises and recharges cells. Many of the ingredients are also locally sourced from organic farmers in the UK.

Does this mean they taste great then? Well, as with most beverages, that’s a matter of opinion. As a beginner, I was obviously fonder of the fruiter concoctions. If you’re not a fan of beetroot, like myself, there is only so much pineapple and pear you can try to mask the flavour with. That goes for kale too, but the majority are sufficiently sweet and surprisingly substantial. Having attempted other juice cleanses, I know what extreme hunger pangs feel like. With The Source, there were none. Honestly. At times I even struggled to finish all six juices in a day.

As for the benefits, Mustafa and Stefano know their stuff. I did feel fresher and healthier even in such a short time. My skin was brighter and my weighing scales were obviously kinder – drinking plenty of water also helped this. Ultimately, there was a sense of achievement though and a feeling that I could easily incorporate this into my daily schedule by subbing coffee for carrot and clementine juice.

Mustafa and Stefano agreed: ‘A cleanse is a commitment so you need to be mentally prepared. However, it’s not as hard as it sounds. The juices have energy content that will comfortably get you through the day. After the first or second day, you’ll be on a roll.’

For more information visit The Source website.