In a world full of tight schedules and a market full of sugary, unhealthy drinks, wellness beverages can be your refreshing alternative. They may not be ready-made from the shops. But with a little effort, they have the potential to take you on the path towards natural wellness.
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In this article, we will discuss wellness beverages and their benefits, the 10 best wellness beverages, and common questions regarding healthy drinks.
Let’s start.
What are Wellness Beverages?
Wellness beverage refers to the drinks that come with wellness benefits such as mood, gut health, energy, detox, vitamins, etc. This is a marketing umbrella term that includes truly beneficial drinks to overhyped wellness products!
Products claim wellness beverages are not always beneficial. But if you have a good idea of what works and what does not, you can get good health benefits from them.
Nowadays, the wellness beverage industry is growing rapidly. But the term should not refer to industrial products only. You can also make your wellness drinks according to your wellness goals.
There can be a few different categories of wellness beverages.
- Functional Drinks
Functional drinks are made focusing on a specific purpose. Such as an electrolyte drink, a gut health drink, etc.
- Fortified Beverages
Those are the drinks with added vitamins, minerals, or healthy herbs. Fortified milks and juices are examples of fortified beverages.
- Natural drinks
Teas, herbal drinks, and fermented drinks are examples of natural drinks.
What are the proven health benefits of Wellness Beverages?
It’s tricky to list all the health benefits of wellness beverages. There are many different types of wellness drinks for different purposes, with different ingredients and nutritional benefits. Still, we can see a few common proven health benefits of wellness drinks.
1. Hydration
This is a common benefit you can get from every wellness beverage. Proper hydration benefits energy level, cognition, digestion, detox, and temperature regulation. All our metabolic activities are dependent on water. Some wellness beverages provide hydration and also help restore electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium. If you are doing physical activity and sweating, electrolyte drinks are very good for better hydration.
2. Micronutrients
Some fortified drinks offer vitamins and minerals that your body needs. They can be beneficial for avoiding nutrient deficiency for some people. For example, fortified milk with vitamin D can be beneficial for women during pregnancy. They often contain extra iron and calcium that improve the absorbability of vitamin D.
3. Antioxidant intake
Many health drinks, including green tea, herbal tea, and smoothies, can contain rich antioxidants. Antioxidants prevent the body cells from oxidative damage and even protect our body from chronic disease. Antioxidant-rich drinks often come with low or no sugar. Smoothies can be one of the best sources of antioxidants, depending on what you use in them. You can easily make smoothies with turmeric, spinach, and other superfoods to make a super drink.
4. Gut health
A good number of wellness beverages are fermented drinks and milk products. Kafir, butter milk, and other dairy products are a great source of gut-friendly bacteria. You can also use chia and other nuts & seeds in smoothies. Those contain a good amount of fiber that can improve your gut health.
5. Caffeine and cognitive boost
Macha, coffee, and other teas contain caffeine that can improve alertness, mental focus, and learning. But they come with problems too. Too much caffeine can result in anxiety and sometimes poor sleep. Do not drink a caffeine beverage 6 hours before sleep.
How do Wellness Drinks impact healthy living?
Wellness drinks can play a good role in your overall wellbeing in case you are consistent and use the right ones. If you drink a chia seed and honey smoothie every morning, you will get a good amount of fiber. It can improve your gut health, reduce sugar spikes, and provide a lot of other nutrients. If you run every morning, an electrolyte drink after a workout can restore your energy and help with quick recovery. Drinking kefir or buttermilk every day or a few times a week can improve your gut health considerably. Smoothies with herbs, fruits, and seeds can provide you with a range of benefits depending on the ingredients if you take them regularly.
Want to know about healthy foods? Read the superfoods for wellness : An Honest Starter Guide
What are the best Wellness Drinks? A List
The best wellness drinks for you depend on your nutrition needs & wellness goals. But overall, those are some of the best wellness drinks you can consider having.
- Sparkling water unsweetened
- Green tea
- Black tea
- Hibiscus tea
- Chamomile tea
- Peppermint tea
- Rooibos tea
- Matcha
- Black coffee
- Americano
- Kefir dairy
- Kefir non-dairy
- Plain kombucha low sugar
- Coconut water
- Pumpkin seed smoothie
- Vegetable smoothie
- Nuts and seeds smoothie
- Fresh vegetable juice with low fruit content
- Tomato juice, low sodium
- Plant-based milk fortified with calcium and vitamin D
- Soy milk
- Almond milk
- Oat milk
- Infused water with lemon
- Infused water with mint
- Cherry juice unsweetened
- Pomegranate juice
- Low-fat milk
- Skim milk
- Wheatgrass juice
- Celery juice
- Beetroot juice
Top 10 types of Wellness Beverages & Unique uses
Now, let’s discuss the top 10 wellness beverages and their uses and benefits.
Infused water
Infused water is regular water soaked or enhanced with natural flavor from fruits, herbs, and spices. It includes some of the nutritional properties of the water. They usually come with no added sugar. They may or may not always contain the full nutritional properties of the ingredient. But it surely makes the hydration fun.
Types
Cucumber-mint, strawberry-basil, orange-rosemary, lemon-ginger, etc. are examples of infused water.
Ways to use
Chill for 2-10 hours and enjoy it as a fun drink. Keeping it in the refrigerator can enhance its freshness. There are no limits on infused water; you can take it whenever you like it.
Benefits
Makes drinking fun, and provides trace antioxidants from the ingredients.
Honey
Honey is one of the beneficial natural sweeteners made by bees. It’s often used in organic wellness products.
Types
There can be different types of honey, such as raw honey, manuka honey, and clover honey. Different honeys can contain slightly different types of enzymes and antioxidants.
Ways to use it
You can add it to tea, juice, smoothies, and a healthier alternative to white sugar. Can consume directly.
Benefits
Honey provides quick energy, supports immunity, and improves healing power.
Read the basics of Honey.
Coconut
Coconut drinks are widely popular in almost every part of the world. Coconut drink is one of the few natural electrolyte sources.
Types
Coconut water contains electrolytes and natural sugar, while coconut milk provides heart-friendly fat and nutrients.
Ways to use
Coconut drinks are excellent as a natural electrolyte drink. You can drink it after a workout or physical activity. Coconut water and milk both fit well with smoothies, coffee, and lattes. Always look for unsweetened coconut drinks.
Benefits
It will boost your recovery by balancing electrolytes in your body. Coconut water and milk also provide healthy fat and energy.
Read the health benefits of coconut : A complete guide for wellness.
Smoothie
Smoothies are blended drinks made with fruits, milk, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, or anything you like. Smoothies are a very convenient way to get a diverse nutrition boost without taking the hassle of cooking.
Types
The best thing about smoothies is, you can design your smoothies according to your taste and need. You can make a fruit-based smoothie using banana, berries, mango, and milk. Adding nuts and seeds to these smoothies can make them more nutritious and delicious. You can make a green smoothie with spinach, kale, and yogurt. If you need sweetness in your smoothie, natural honey is a better option.
Ways to use
The best way to drink a smoothie is with breakfast. Prepare the ingredients last night and blend with ice. It will give you a nutritional headstart in the day. But you can drink a smoothie anytime of the day. Make sure to limit the amount of sugar.
Benefits
The benefits of a smoothie depend on what ingredients you use in the smoothie. Fruits and vegetables add a high amount of antioxidants that take care of your eyes, skin, detox, and fight oxidative stress.
Green Tea
Green tea is one of the more popular health drinks due to its beneficial properties and taste. It contains a molecule called catechins and antioxidants.
Types
Sencha, Jesmin green tea, gunpowder green tea, and hojicha are some of the types of green tea.
Ways to use
You can drink green te