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Wellness drinks can be purchased at the grocery store for a sometimes-hefty price or can be made at home for a reasonable one: it’s your choice. So, if you’re going to make your own, then you’ll want to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on like the five listed below.

Don’t consider them to be foreign ingredients, and don’t be afraid of them, because it’s super easy to use them in wellness beverage making! Here are some of the top ingredients you’ll need for any great homemade wellness drink mixture:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is great to use in a unique wellness drink called switchel. Made with raw, unfiltered apple cider, molasses or stevia, and freshly grated ginger root, switchel is the quintessential and nutritionally superior DIY wellness beverage. The story of this beverage is packed with history: its roots go back to the colonization of America, and possibly to the Caribbean, by the British. Farmers needed a drink to replenish their electrolytes, so it is said that they drank switchel. You can easily make your own from the above ingredients. Check out this link for a recipe! Apple cider vinegar is awfully strong, so don’t overdo it when you add it to your wellness drinks.

2. Himalayan Sea Salt

This great salt can make a great sports or wellness drink. Pink and full of goodness, Himalayan sea salt quickly revs up your sodium potassium pump after intense exertion. Mix 1/4 tsp of the pink crystals with 1/3 cup of grade B maple syrup and one quart of water and you’ve got yourself a superb wellness beverage. For further facts on this wondrous salt, read this article!

3. Acai Berry Juice

The tiny acai berry is all the rage lately, but have you ever thought to use the juice to make a sports drink? Simply mix 1/2 cups of the unadulterated juice with 3 1/2 cups of water, 2 1/2  grade B maple syrup, and 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt (white sea salt works too). Acai berries are chock full of antioxidants and are really good for you. If you’re interested in more information on acai, check out this article!

4. Turmeric

This bright yellow orange spice is a great addition to any wellness drink: tumeric has been shown to reduce inflammation & oxidative stress as well as any herbal medicinal ever studied. To use it in a wellness drink, you can mix 2 Tbsp of the powder to 4 cups of boiling water. To that mix, you can add a stock of cinnamon, 7 cardamom pods, 1 inch of peeled ginger, a handful of freshly chopped mint, 3 Tbsp of grade B maple syrup, 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt, and the juice of half a lemon.  Then, you simply steep the herbs and turmeric in the water until it reaches room temperature, then remove the herbs and refrigerate it overnight. If you want more of turmeric goodness, try this turmeric tea!

5. Watermelon

This red fruit is perfect for replenishing your electrolytes and for restoring the mineral balance in your body after exercising. Slice it open and blend the fruit with some Himalayan sea salt in a blender with ice to make a drink or just eat it with or without salt. Either way you serve it up, your body will thank you for consuming it! Fellow Green Monster, Emily Cardiff, says, that vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants, and some dietary fiber are all found in watermelon to boost the immune system against infections and viruses, eye health and defends against cataracts, and potassium helps prevent muscle cramps.

These five ingredients are great to add to any homemade wellness drink on their own, but check it out: you can even combine all of them for one amazing wellness mixture! To make your wellness drink, consider using filtered water or coconut water as a base. Then, add a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar, a dash of Himalayan sea salt, a teaspoon of turmeric, and perhaps some fruity acai or watermelon juice to accompany the spices. If you like good amounts of sweetness, add in coconut nectar, grade B maple syrup or stevia to the mix, and, then, drink up! Anyway you mix it, you’ll be saving money and drinking your way to great health!

Image source: Scott Bauer / Wikimedia Commons

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