What's the deal with all the "HEALTH DRINKS"?
- Shalie Kae Bireta
- Nov 27, 2017
- 9 min read
I remember the first time I took a moment to actually stop and see what all of the DRINKS??? were that had taken over Meijer produce department. Kombucha.. what in the world is that? A long list of names I had never heard of, much less could pronounce... and $2-$4 for one freakin' drink ?! No way will I ever spend that, I recognized the name Naked Juice, but had a negative connotation to the product because of the controversies undergoing the high sugar content.
I'm certain a few of you are thinking been there, DONE THAT.
Fast forward a few years... I am fascinated by the health benefits we can obtain from all of the strange drinks that have over taken health food stores, Instagram, Facebook, ads and magazines. I frequent Trader Joes, Harvest Health, and websites of several specific brands for the sole purpose of supporting their products. In a perfect Shalie world, everyone would read brand mission statements and research on herbs, gut health, and our immune systems .... but I know realistically, many of you have neither the time or interest to do so. That's where I come in.
I've taken the initiative to do some digging and provide you with all the dirty deeds. Today, I'm here to break down some of the most popular health drinks super simple. What are they? And why are they so good for you and me?
Kombucha
photo found at gtslivingfoods.com
What is it?
Kombucha is nothing new, considering its 2,000 year history , It's is a fermented drink made from live bacteria called "scoby", yeast mixed with tea and sugar. The amount of sugar depends on the brand, some are sweeter than others.
Health Benefits:
probiotic source
improved digestion
immune function
Gut Shot
What is it?
An organic probiotic packed shot for optimal gut health.
Health Benefits:
improved digestion
immune function
Mamma Chia
photo found at mammachia.com
What is it?
Mamma Chia mixes organic chia seeds and organic fruit juices to provide a drink full of healthy omega-3s, dietary fibers, complete protein, calcium, magnesium and more.
Health Benefits:
full day of Omega-3s
25% of your dietary fiber
4 grams of complete protein
Kevita Cleansing Sparkling Probiotic Tonic
photo found at kevita.com
What is it?
Fermented with apple cider vinegar and a kefir culture, these sweet-tart carbonated probiotic drinks are loved for being low sugar ( real fruit juice and stevia leaf extract - 4g per serving) and only 25 cals.
Health Benefits:
probiotic source
Erogenous Ketones
photo found at amazon.com
What is it?
Ketone supplements provide the body with extra ketones to use when the body is not in a state ketosis. What is ketosis? Ketosis is a metabolic process that occurs when your body doesn't have enough carbohydrates from food for your cells to burn for energy so it is forced to burn fat instead. Ketone supplements help one to get into a state of ketosis at any time and are often used to help one transition into a state of ketosis or enter a time of fasting. They can be taken in between meals to provide a quick punch of ketones or before a workout for additional energy.
Health Benefits: weight loss and reduced hunger
improved cognitive performance aide body in regulating blood glucose increasing mental focus reducing risk for disease (heart disease) can help reduce inflammation
Spark
What is it?
Spark is conveniently offered in stick grab and go packs or canisters that serve as a healthy and balanced source of energy.* Spark contains an effective amount of caffeine to give you a quick boost, B vitamins to enhance your body's natural ability to produce and sustain its own energy WITHOUT JITTERS, and neuroactive amino acids that help increase your mental focus and alertness. It is available in 10 different flavors: cherry, limeaid, blue raspberry, green apple, mandrain orange, mango starwberry, pink lemonade, watermelon.
Health Benefits:
sugar free 20 vitamins, minerals and nutrients
Pre-workout
What is it?
Pre-workout supplements are designed to support increased energy, focus, and endurance and are mixed into water to be consumed "pre-workout" approx. a half hour, as the name suggests. Contents depend on the brand but often contain Vitamin B, C and amino acids such as beta-alanine, creatine, and caffeine. They also assist your muscles to withstand fatigue and increase strength. Research has found that
consuming caffeine together with exercising burned 60 calories more compared to exercising alone, due to having the energy to exercise a little longer and harder.
Health Benefits:
Builds More Muscle
BCAA is a primary component for muscle gains particularly Leucine. Leucine increases the rate of MPS (Muscle Protein Synthesis) which in turn enables mTOR for more muscle production.
Fat Loss
Pre-workout containing caffeine helps in burning fat at a greater rate during a workout.
Power, Energy and Focus
Creatine along with caffeine is responsible for that long lasting power. Focus is also usually increased from B-Vitamins and caffeine.
Collagen
What is it?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body and helps give structure to our hair, skin, nails. Collagen provides the infrastructure of the musculoskeletal system, essential for mobility. However, as we age, the production of collagen levels in our body decreases. The intake of collagen ensures the cohesion, elasticity and regeneration of skin, hair, tendon, cartilage, bones and joints.
Health Benefits:
supports skin firmness and elasticity
promotes healthy skin cell function
helps support natural collagen and elastin fiber production
promote younger looking skin;
improve skin moisture level;
prevent the formation of deep wrinkles
improve skin suppleness.
replenish moisture levels in hair
support nail growth
support healthy gut
ACV Detox
photo found at skinnyms.com
What is it?
Apple cider vinegar has been used for detoxification for thousands of years. Some claim the father of medicine, Hippocrates, promoted ACV’s health qualities as far back as 400 B.C. Bragg apple cider vinegar has been making known the health advantages since 1912.
Health Benefits:
adding ACV to daily routine may help with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol
good dose of enzymes potassium source supports a healthy immune system may aide in weight control balances pH of body aides in regulating digestion good gut bacteria internal detox skin support helps with acne when used externally
How to make:
1 - 2 tablespoons of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
8 ounces of purified or distilled water
1 to 2 tablespoons sweetener (organic honey, maple syrup, or 4 drops of Stevia)
Other options: add lemon juice or dash of cayenne pepper.
With an apple cider vinegar detox, you consume this type of drink regularly for a set period of time — several days to a month or more. Many people choose to consume it three times each day: upon waking, mid-morning, and again mid-afternoon.
Bulletproof Beverages
What is it?
Bulletproof Coffee - It’s a high-performance drink/ Breakfast beverage that has a massive impact on your energy and cognitive function but you can make just about any hot beverage into a creamy, frothy version of itself by adding butter and Brain Octane to your hot liquid in a blender. ex: hot chocolate, tea, and turmeric tea are just a few options. Brain Octane Oil (which converts to ketones) balances ghrelin and CCK, your hunger hormones, keeping you full until lunch. The saturated fat in grass-fed butter slows the absorption of caffeine, which gives you even energy for several hours instead of a caffeine spike and crash.
The difference between the brand Bulletproof Coffee and other coffee? Moldy coffee beans! They are the cause of brain fog and jitters. Bulletproof beans undergo a stringent quality control process, so they don’t contain the mold toxins and pesticides that can tank your energy and focus.
Health Benefits:
protect against disease
decrease inflammation
decreased hunger
lasting energy.
mental clarity
balanced blood sugar
decreased stress hormones
source of healthy fat
essential nutrients like B vitamins, potassium, and manganese
tested for mycotoxins and mold
antioxidants, which reduce your risk of chronic degenerative diseases
bioflavonoids (make you smarter by intensifying neuronal firing in the brain)
increased metabolism
hormone balance and brain health
grass-fed butter also contains omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, CLA (a fatty acid with powerful fat-loss benefits), and antioxidants
How to make:
Brew or buy hot coffee.
Using a blender (not a spoon), blend in two tablespoons unsalted, grass-fed butter, as well as 1 tsp-2 tbsp of Brain Octane or XCT Oil. Start slow with the oil and build your way up to avoid disaster pants.
Enjoy.
Mushroom Coffee
photo found at foursigmatic.com
What is it?
Mushroom Coffee was pioneered by the brand Four Sigmatic, after the founder discovered in Finland that chaga mushrooms have a similar gritty taste to coffee. IT DOES NOT TASTE LIKE MUSHROOMS! He created drinks to use functional mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Lion's Mane, as well as other superfoods and adaptogens like rhodiola, eleuthero, and schisandra to help us live healthier, more enhanced lives.
Health Benefits:
gut friendly
Reishi :
promotes healthy blood sugar levels
reduces risk for infections and viruses
fights allergies and asthma
helps balance hormones and fight diabetes
promotes heart health and balances blood pressure
improves liver function and detoxification
helps defend against tumor growth and cancer
Chaga :
reduces oxidative stress
suppresses cancer progression
helps protect the immune system
reduces inflammation
can improve diabetic health
increases physical endurance
protects against dangerous blood clots
promotes cognitive function
balances the immune system between th1 and th2
relieves pain
may help relieve inflammatory bowel disease
fights bacteria
Cordyceps :
immune boosting superfood !
high antioxidants
aides energy production
supports cardiovascular health
supports intestinal and liver health
enhances libido
anti tumor activity in various cancers
fights fatigue and improves exercise proformance
Lion's Mane :
antibiotic
anticancer
neuroprotective
fat- and glucose-lowering effects
protects against stomach ulcers
improves anxiety
cognitive function
can help depression,
anti-fatigue properties
anti-aging properties
Golden Milk
photo found at whole foods market
What is it?
Golden milk is a plant based mix that receives its color from one main ingredient, turmeric. Turmeric contains curcumin, the polyphenol identified as its primary active component. There are approx. 600 potential health benefits of turmeric, some of which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
Health Benefits:
anti-inflammatory
anti-oxidant
antiseptic
analgesic
boosts immunity
anti-carcinogenic.
helps maintain cholesterol levels.
promotes digestive health
liver detoxifier
regulates metabolism and weight management
helps manage high blood pressure
assists memory and brain function
can improve various skin conditions.
How to make:
Step 1: Tumeric Paste
Ingredients: • 1/4 cup of turmeric powder • 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper • 1/2 cup of filtered water Mix all ingredients in a small a small sauce pan and mix well. Turn the heat to medium high and stir constantly until the mixture is a thick paste. This does not take long so don’t walk away from the pan. Let this mixture cool and then keep it in a small jar in the fridge.
Step 2: Golden Milk Ingredients:
• 1 cup of almond milk (hemp or coconut are also good options) • 1 teaspoon coconut oil • 1/4 teaspoon or more of turmeric paste • Honey
Directions: Combine all the ingredients, except honey in a saucepan. Turn the heat to medium. While heating make sure to stir constantly and do not allow the mixture to boil. Add honey to taste.
Matcha
photo found @ teavana.com
What is it?
Matcha is powdered green tea. Unlike traditional green tea, components from the leaves ground up into a fine bright green powder rather than steeped into tea and then disregarded.
1 matcha =10 cups of green tea
Matcha 137 times > ntioxidants
Coffee = Matcha ( caffeine content)
Health Benefits: Due to ingesting the whole leaf and the higher quality of matcha, it has a higher content of nutrients in comparison to steeped green tea. Matcha not only provides vitamins and minerals, but also antioxidants called polyphenols, which research links aides in protecting against heart disease and cancer, blood sugar regulation, blood pressure reduction, and anti-aging. The other polyphenol in matcha called EGCG is also known to boost metabolism, and slow or halt the growth of cancer cells.
How to make:
using a bamboo whisk and tea bowl
Sift 1-2 tsp matcha into a cup using a small sifter.
Add 2oz hot water. For best results use water just under a boil.
Whisk vigorously in a zig zag motion until the tea is frothy.
Pour into mug and enjoy!
Rebbl
What is it?
REBBL is made from real foods and ingredients you can pronounce that come from the earth. What you taste is what you get – the whole ingredients and herbs – that’s it. The company believes that the human body performs best when it is nourished with the foods that it co-evolved with, and that the best guidance we have for how to proactively shape our own diet is to learn primarily from those who came before us. It is: Organic - Fair Trade - Real ingredients and Herbs, Coconut milk based elixir utilizing adaptogens like turmeric and ashwaganden as super herbs. It is not: gums, natural flavors, or thickeners,
They are a mission based company. Rebebl donates 2.5% of the net sales of every bottle sold to Not For Sale to rehabilitate those who’ve already been affected by human sex trafficking.
Health Benefits:
Adaptogens! ( What's an adaptogen? herbs of natural medicine that aide in bringing the body back into balance, known to have positive effects to the nervous system i.e. calm adrenals and decrease stress hormones which often leases to premature aging and a starting point of many diseases) See examples below.
TURMERIC MAY HELP SUPPORT:
Cognitive function and protection
Healthy inflammation response
Rapid physical recovery
REISHI IS USED TO SUPPORT AND PROMOTE:
Healthy immune function (high in beta-glucans)
Liver protection and detoxification
Cardiovascular health
Healthy aging
MATCHA MAY HELP ENHANCE AND SUPPORT:
Alert, calm energy (35mg l-theanine per serving)
Healthy memory and cognition
Detoxification (from chlorophyll)
MACA IS USED TO SUPPORT:
Healthy energy levels
Stamina and endurance
Healthy hormone balance
Healthy and balanced adrenal function
ASHWAGANDHA MAY HELP SUPPORT:
Sustained physical endurance
Improved cognitive function
Quick recovery
Enhanced relaxation
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