With the current rise of popular cafes and smoothie shops, how can someone decide where to go? On San Diego State’s campus, alone, there are four Starbucks coffee shops within walking distant of each other. So why is there so many coffee shops on campus? The reason is it suits the need of the students. More studying means less sleep; therefore, Starbucks serves a purpose by providing them caffeine to stay awake. This is the type of demand that is causing Starbucks to emerge from every street corner, especially in places where there is a high demand for caffeine. Aside, from Starbucks, there is another shop increasing; however, they serve a different purpose and it is not coffee. The shop is called Jamba Juice, and their website reads, “Today is the first day of the rest of your health”. It seems that Jamba Juice is stepping away from caffeine high and providing a more health conscience alternative. But is Jamba Juice really an alternative in a world where fast food and unhealthy preservatives dominates the food industry? Jamba Juice claims that “your body requires energy and essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals amino acids, and certain fatty acids to sustain life”, and they provide that. They continue to argue that “for the average diet of 2000 calories a day, the World Health Organization, USDA and other leading authorities recommend that 55-60% of calories come from carbs, 10-20% from proteins, and 20-30% from fats. Plus, studies shows that diets of low in sodium, containing a good source of potassium, may reduce the risk of stroke and high blood pressure!”, and Jamba Juice smoothies qualifies for all of that. Can this all be true or is it another scheme to convince America to join another pop-culture trend?
To Lita Deandres, a loving and hard working mother of two, was also skeptical about their advertisement for being healthy, but that did not stop her family from going there, especially, since Jasmine, their youngest daughter who was suffering from a terminal illness, loves their Green Tea smoothie, Matcha Green Tea Blast. The fact is Jasmine Deandres had a disease called Biliary Atresia, and she was sentence to a life of anguish, and maybe death at a very young age. But ever since she started drinking the Matcha Green Tea Blast, her health started to improve.
Biliary Atresia, a disease affecting children when they are born, and it was discovered when Jasmine was less than two months old. When you are diagnose with the disease, the tubular structures and tiny ducts that drains the bile from the liver begins to fail. Just two months old, Jasmine, a small, weak, and helpless baby, had to under go a procedure called Kasai Procedure (removing the biliary ducts and attaching the small intestine directly to the liver). After the surgery she continued to have complications. Lita Deandres said, “ She’ll periodically be hospitalized through out the year and her ammonia levels will increase causing a loss of energy and concentration”. Her conditions worsen, and was placed on the liver transplant list.
On June, 2006, she received a phone call. She was off the list. It turns out that the Matcha Green Tea Blast contains anti-oxidant that caused her vitals to return back to normal and helped improve her health drastically. Now she is going back to school, taking minimal medicines, and leading a healthy life. Jasmine said, she believes she is truly healed, and she thank God for answering her prayers.
The next time you want a drink where would you go? A healthy suggestion is a healthy cup of Jamba Juice Smoothie.
- Luke Khuu
San Diego, California
