Undoordinary
WTF Is A Tonic?
As a woman who works in product development in the wellness field, I get asked this question a lot. To break it down: a tonic is a medicinal substance taken to induce a feeling and state of well-being. Amid the ongoing hype surrounding pressed juice, tonics are traveling down their own unique pathway by using distinctive ingredients—such as medicinal mushrooms, Ayurvedic herbs, and other salubrious elements—and creating tinctures with tea, citrus, mylk (milk alternatives), or a coconut base. But what exactly does that mean for your health?
Medicinal Mushrooms
First off, the medicinal mushrooms do not get you high, but they can support and elevate your mood, stress levels, and ability to heal. While pressed juice is nutritious in its own right, drinking tonics optimizes nutrient absorption because they're packed with ingredients that boost health on a more "sophisticated" level (a spiritual level, if you want to get metaphysical).You can use herbs and mushrooms to directly target a specific ailment, function, or part of the body that needs the most repair.
Tonics
Tonics that incorporate herbs and mushrooms, in particular, create a symbiotic response within the body with more powerful, remedial effects due to their direct, "earth-to-table" sourcing. Fruits and vegetables are extensions of other plants and are not rich with supplements like herbs and mushrooms - which are the true origin of the nutrients derived from plant-based medicine. While it's undoubtedly true that fruits and vegetables are important, they carry less of a supplemental impact on your health. Despite all of the benefits of health-packed herbal tonics, there is one downside: they can often taste like garbage. Back in the day, tonics were concocted to address your body and mental health ailments without considering the health of our taste buds, igniting gag reflexes. But we don't have to live like this anymore! What I have found so unique about what I do is that I'm making crave-worthy tonics that are functional and palatable. This ain't your grammy's fire cider that you had to choke down as a kid when you had the flu. These are composed elixirs, with well-developed flavor profiles that are easy to drink. In fact, you'll want to drink them. By remixing the traditional tonic and making it more approachable, there is an opportunity to bridge the gap and make the dialogue around holistic health more widespread. Ayurveda and herbalism aren't just for the die-hard health fanatics anymore. It's preventative mind-body wellness that everyone can get behind.
Writer: Camila Casanas
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