Interview with The Juicy Naam’s Giuliana Torre

The Juicy Naam, located at The Hotel Wales on the Upper East Side, offers organic juices and smoothies, a full vegan/raw menu, and a wide selection of herbs, supplements and snacks. They also offer Naam Yoga classes and Harmonyum Healing Treatments, which are relaxing and can help minimize stress. It’s one-stop wellness shopping!

I recently spoke with Juicy Naam founder Giuliana Torre about juice cleanses, warming winter foods and more.

Q: What motivated you to open The Juicy Naam?
A: I created The Juicy Naam to give people access to the best foods, products, and modalities for healing and rejuvenation, which stemmed from my own journey to create balance in my busy life. I wanted to surround myself with the healthiest things on the planet and find ways to detox stress, toxins, and chronic symptoms, so the concept was created around that.

Q: How frequently do you recommend doing a cleanse? What are the benefits?
A: I recommend cleansing quarterly for at least seven days. Our environment is so toxic now that even if you are eating what you consider a healthy diet, you will still benefit from fasting…you can expect more clarity, better digestion and elimination, and strengthening of your immune system if done properly. And weight loss — IF you have weight to lose.

Q: What is the biggest misconception of juicing/cleansing?
A: That all cleanses are the same. Nutrition is individual and we believe fasting is individual, which is why our cleanse is customized. Some people think it’s easy and feel amazing, others think it’s the hardest thing ever and need to ease into it. It depends on individual personalities, will power, constitution, genetics, karma, planetary influences and so much more…that’s why we have found the most success with customized cleanses.

Q: What tips would you give a first time juicer/cleanser?
A: Make sure you pre-cleanse by removing animal products, caffeine, sugar and wheat for at least a week before you start. Drink lots of pure water and make sure your juices are 100 percent organic!

Q: Living on the east coast particularly in the cold winter months, what do you do to offset the the body’s craving for warm/comfort foods? 
In the winter, I love hot vegetable soups and broth; grains like quinoa, kamut and brown rice; and beans. I feel that if someone lives in a cold climate it’s essential to eat warm/hot foods that are grounding, and spices that are warming like turmeric, cayenne and ginger. Hot teas are also great! It has been shown that as long as the diet is 80 percent raw, the benefits are still there and the other 20 percent can be cooked if needed due to constitution or climate.

To order, visit TheJuicyNaam.com or email Giuliana directly at giuliana@thejuicynaam.us. The Juicy Naam is also located in Sag Harbor, NY and ships anywhere in the US.