Beverages are delicious and essential, but finding one that is as healthy as it is crave-able can be frustrating. Fortunately for all of us who look forward to a delicious drink at any time of day, there are some healthy options. There are many reasons why tea hits all the points for being the healthiest beverage in the world, and energy tea is not a compromise.

First of all, what is tea, anyway?

Tea, technically, is a brew of the leaves and stems of the Camelia Sinensis plant. There are four main kinds — green, white, black, and oolong. These are all rich in health benefits and health promoting substances, like polyphenols and antioxidants. Each of these teas has slightly different tastes and some variation, too. Although this is the tea plant, there are other types of tea plants that can be brewed to a tea that have healthy promoting properties of their own.

Green tea is made from the young leaves of the tea plant, and yerba mate is made from the leaves of another type of plant – Ilex Paraguensis. Other plants — herbs, flowers, or fruits — also can be added or blended into tea to improve taste and health properties. It is because of the benefits gained through the plants, the fruits, and the adaptogenic herbs that teas of all kinds are so healthy.

Tea is energizing

Tea is healthy for us because it contains healthy levels of caffeine that works their magic smoothly and without causing jitters. There are people who drink tea instead of coffee in the mornings for a wake-up boost, and it is well known that added caffeine is put into commercial drinks in order to make them addictive and energizing. In a healthy energy tea, however, the caffeine boost is natural. People who enjoy tea are known to be people who care about their health and are looking for an energy tea to give them that boost. A good tea is more than just a drink; it is nourishing, too.

Tea is health promoting

This is the heart of it, and it explains why tea has been widely researched and proven to be a very healthy beverage. The leaves of the tea plants contain substances that are linked to lower risks of heart disease, many kinds of cancers, and diabetes. The tea contains polyphenols and antioxidants, which help to slow down aging and protect the body from toxins and carcinogens. Tea is a natural anti-inflammatory.

Choose a healthy energy tea

Energy tea is rich in things that protect health. Tea drinkers are known for being healthy and for making good choices already, and green tea contains things that make a healthy diet even healthier.

Tea is healthy as much for what it doesn’t contain as for what is found in tea naturally. When buying an energy tea that is ready-made, always check to see what is in it. The things that can eliminate the potential benefits of healthy tea may have been added in, such as sugars, artificial flavors, and extra caffeine. Artificial additives, like sugar and caffeine, are destructive to good sleep and relaxation. A good cup of tea is healthy just the way it is, so when searching for a healthy energy tea, be sure to check what it contains.

Choose an energy tea that is more than a brew of tea leaves. There are so many herbs and fruits that also contribute to the health properties of a good cup of tea. Mint, for example, tastes great and aids health because it helps to relax muscles, so it reduces stiffness and soreness, and it is good for digestion, too. Chamomile teas are also relaxing. Drinking chamomile is calming and sleep promoting, and sleep is one of the best promoters of good health.

Tea is indeed a superfood, and a natural energy tea that tastes great and is loaded with other health benefits is the healthiest beverage in the world. Another benefit is that tea that is grown naturally and harvested sustainably is good for the planet. Living a healthy lifestyle isn’t always easy, but it is rewarding, and the more that we find out about the health benefits of the foods that are enjoyable, the more likely we are to keep on choosing those that are best for our bodies and our planet. This is why tea is the healthiest beverage in the world.

Never before have we had access to such a robust wealth of knowledge around our health and wellness. Today’s health conscious and experts alike are taking a turn away from artificial ingredients and synthetic medications. Instead, the industry and its consumers are moving towards a deeper appreciation for holistic health practices that embrace the ancient traditions around the healing power that is held in the food and drinks we consume daily. One of the most convenient, and delicious, healthy and organic options today is the adaptogen drink.

What is an adaptogen drink?

You may be wondering, what exactly is an adaptogen drink? Put simply, it’s a beverage infused with adaptogens. These compounds have been shown through research to help the body better manage both physical and emotional stress in natural, healthy ways. Found in plants, herbs, roots, fungi, and other super foods, the adaptogen’s ability to reduce cortisol levels in the body, as well as to positively effect weight, digestion, blood sugar levels, energy, focus, immunity, and beyond, are something to get excited about.

What ingredients are beneficial in the best adaptogen drinks?

The best adaptogen drinks on the market boast a rich variety of antioxidants and nutrients that boost energy, elevate mood, and improve mental focus. In line with traditional medicine’s draw upon the health benefits of fungi are Yanomami mushrooms, derived from the Amazon rainforest. This native mushroom blend has long been used by the Yanomami people to achieve physical and emotional balance. Also effective is the Suma root, or Brazilian Ginseng, for its energizing properties as well as its contribution to the body’s wellbeing in general. Superfoods like Acerola cherries carry vitamins, including a good dose of vitamin C, and are packed with antioxidants while Guarana enhances both athletic performance and brain function.

The adaptogen advantage: physical benefits

Adaptogens have been shown to produce amazing physiological effects within our bodies, and these benefits trickle out into essentially everything we do, even with some surprising positives. As mentioned, adaptogen drinks are helpful in managing cortisol, as well as in balancing other hormone levels. In fact, these drinks may lower stress and its harmful effects to our brains and bodies.

Some physicians recommend these natural energy drinks over other high-sugar and caffeinated products for improved energy, focus, and dealing with the body fatigue that is brought on with physical or emotional stress. They also deliver higher endurance, mental clarity, and can reduce the effects of conditions such as depression and anxiety. When you’re looking for more regulated and consistent bodily functioning – including blood pressure, insulin resistance, digestion, and/or organ function – along with a boost to the immune system, reach for your favorite flavored adaptogen drink. To combat any physical, chemical, or biological stressor, these beverages are the natural, healthy choice your body deserves.

The adaptogen advantage: emotional benefits

The potential held in your favorite adaptogen drinks to help the body better manage and respond to stress brings endless emotional benefits at a time when we need them more than ever. How do they do this? It has to do with their positive and balancing capabilities upon hormone levels within the body’s endocrine system. When this system is functioning optimally, along with our nervous and immune systems, our bodies more effectively handle stress, be it environmentally or chemically induced.

When you’re dealing with life, it’s inevitable that stress happens. Research has shown adaptogens can naturally and effectively help to ease the pressures of harmful long-term stress. When our bodies function more optimally with the assistance of adaptogens and the reduction of harmful substances, stress and its negative impacts upon our emotional well-being can be vastly reduced. Whether it’s illness, injury, occasional alcohol or tobacco consumption, mental stressors associated with a breakup or job loss, lack of sleep, exercising in temperature extremes, or just plain dealing with day-to-day life in general, reaching for an adaptogen drink over artificial or addictive products is always a great idea.

When you’re looking for the best adaptogen drinks to fulfill your health needs, always check the label. They should be USDA Certified Organic, and should contain zero calories, sugar, or gluten. Be sure the drink you choose delivers the taste you crave for during any mood. Whether it’s a fizzy lemon ginger, a tropical treat or light smooth blend you seek, the best makers of these beverages offer variety packs to ensure the fridge is always stocked and ready.

Are you stressed? Perhaps your energy levels feel very inconsistent. Does your body feel like it’s constantly in “fight or flight” mode when reacting to modern life? If this is the case, then you might want to look into the power of adaptogen drink. These powerful herbs are known by many people to help bodies get better, more consistent energy levels while helping to deal with stress. Let’s go through precisely what adaptogens are, and name five specific examples that could completely change your life.

What are Adaptogens?

Before we dive into the top five adaptogen drinks on the market today, let’s first talk about adaptogens more broadly. Probably the best definition of these powerful herbs is that is “a natural substance considered to help the body adapt to stress and to exert a normalizing effect upon bodily processes.” Research on these herbs has been going on for almost a century, but they have also been used by people for centuries.

In general, adaptogen drinks help our body regulate its responses to stress. This includes helping with the stress hormone, cortisol, which is released by our body to help it deal with stressful situations. Cortisol is a powerful and necessary part of our bodily functions, but it has had a hard time adapting to modern life, which means our bodies can often react to stressful situations in ways that make sense for running from a predator, not getting an angry email from a client. Adaptogens can be part of helping our body better react to the modern world using what it already has.

Now that we understand the power of adaptogen drinks, let’s look at the five ingredients that are very powerful and found in many natural products, including natural energy drinks.

1.  Rhodiola (Golden Root)

Rhodiola, which is commonly called “Golden Root,” is one of the best and most powerful adaptogens on the market. Although it is not a household name, like ginseng, it can actually offer a number of benefits to people when it is included in adaptogen drinks. The true power of golden root is the phytochemical salisdroside, a compound that can help resist anxiety and aging. It does this by potentially reducing your body’s production of cortisol and increasing the number of stress-resistant proteins in your body. Between these two functions, your body can actually produce less cortisol overall while your body performs more of its functions without using it. That means less stress and better overall function that isn’t reliant on cycles of cortisol.

Besides all of this, there is some research that suggests that adaptogen drinks containing Rhodiola can protect the heart and liver, help your body better process oxygen, improve your memory, and even help with weight loss.

2.  Cordycep Mushroom

While many of today’s adaptogen drinks come from the Amazon Rainforest, it turns out that mushrooms from around the world are powerful adaptogens as well, including reishi, shiitake, and maitake mushrooms. In particular, these mushrooms have compounds that can improve your immune system’s responses.

3.  Astragalus

Like golden root, astragalus contains powerful compounds that can help with stress-related responses in the body. While cortisol is powerful, it is not without cost. It is designed to help save the entire body, which means it can cause some collateral damage. Astragalus contains anti-stress compounds that our bodies can use to prevent and repair stress-related damage. This means it can help your body bind with cortisol while helping it repair when it is included in adaptogen drinks.

4.  Holy Basil (Tulsi)

If you have ever gone to a health store, you have probably seen holy basil. It is very popular, and for good reason: holy basil helps fight fatigue and stress, boosts the immune system, and regulates blood sugar, blood pressure, and hormone levels. It truly is a catch-all for helping your body with stress responses, and adaptogen drinks featuring holy basil can often have a calming effect on people when they are in the middle of feeling a lot of stress in their body.

5.  Ashwaganda

If you have stressful reactions to things and it is affecting your energy and sleep levels, then ashwaganda adaptogen drinks may help. Ashwaganda has immuno-modulating effects that boost and regulate the immune system and lower cortisol levels.

Adaptogen drinks have been known by people for centuries to help the body stay relaxed, calm, and in control of its energy levels and responses, yet many people are only realizing their power now. With these fantastic herbs and plants, you could better regulate your energy levels. These five in particular can help you lead a healthier, more energetic life, especially when used in conjunction with natural energy drinks and a healthy lifestyle.

In the information age, with instant access to the web, we have become more engaged than ever before. Up until recently, in most circumstances, we needed a perk in the morning to get our day running, and the evening was reserved for lounging and relaxing. Now that many of us are working remotely, the line between the time for relaxing and the time for working is getting blurry. Even when we’re not working, we’re reading something or watching something on our phones and tablets, sometimes late at night. We’re spending more hours engaged, and nighttime smartphone watching can interrupt our sleep cycle, making us more tired. We need energy now more than ever, but is there an alternative to the high-caffeine content of espressos and carbonated energy drinks? Are there natural energy drinks and natural means of keeping us boosted?

The answer is a resounding “yes!” There are quite a number of ways to preserve your energy naturally. Some come in the form of natural energy drinks, and some in natural habits you can cultivate all by yourself. If you’re lacking in pep and caffeine, and if sugar gives you the jitters, it’s time to try natural energy drinks and natural alternatives.

Some Natural Ways to Boost Energy

Even though natural energy drinks are a simple and healthy fix, they can be complemented with any number of the following to better preserve your healthy energy levels throughout the day.

Nutritious, Balanced Diet: At the core of all of your body’s processes is the nourishment you give to it, and not all foods are going to give you that vital boost. Many may, in fact, contribute to your having to resort to natural energy drinks to boost yourself awake.

A high-energy diet should consist of fruits and vegetables, a nominal amount of meats and fish (which can easily be omitted for ethical and health reasons), grains, and a limited amount of carbohydrates. Excess fats and carbohydrates contribute to fatigue as your body has to work harder to break them down. Fruits and vegetables contain natural energy-boosting sugars and can easily be broken down, allowing your body resources for other tasks.

Adaptogens: A close cousin of natural energy drinks, adaptogens are herbs that have health-boosting value above that of typical foods. Adaptogens are holistic, helping the body in all of its physical processes, and they regulate the adrenal system, allowing energy for a sustained period.

Natural Energy Drinks

Natural energy drinks are just that, a natural, healthful alternative to high-caffeine energy drinks. Natural energy drinks provide energy over a sustained period, with a much lower chance of a crash. Natural energy drinks come in many forms, and they have many nutritious properties that can help your body by simply consuming the nutrients.

Types of Natural Energy Drinks

Green Vegetable Juice: Many of us remember learning in school that chlorophyll contributes to pigmentation in green plants, and that it helps convert sunlight to oxygen. But did you know that chlorophyll can also be a natural energy drink that oxygenates the blood? More oxygen in the blood allows all of your processes to operate more efficiently.

Natural energy drinks made of green vegetables are inexpensive, easy to make, taste delicious, are excellent for your health, and come in a galaxy of different varieties, including celery, kale, lettuce, and spinach.

Lemon and Ginger: This is a simple, tried and tested natural energy drink that has been used for health boosts for decades. Both lemon and ginger help to boost your immune system, strengthening it against the need to tire you out by fighting off maladies.

Fruit and Berry Juices: Any natural energy drink based in fruit is going to contain many natural ingredients that light up your body’s energy. All fruits contain fiber, which is released over a sustained period, allowing your body a long run of energy without the crash afterward. As well, fruits and berries are high in fructose, a natural sugar that is easily broken down by cells, contributing energy and oxygen.

Finally, natural energy drinks made from fruit and berries are high in vitamins, all of which are necessary for preserving many physical attributes, such as skin elasticity, eyesight, muscle, and bone density, just to name a few.
Herbal Elixirs: Finally, there are natural energy drinks that have been sworn-by for centuries that we’re just hearing about in recent years. The Amazon is home to several species of herbs that have been refined into ingredients by ancient tribes and used as natural energy drinks, as well as a staple of a healthy diet.

These natural energy drinks are often herb-based, but there are floral-based ones, too. Combined with natural fruit juices, herbal elixirs do more wonders for your body than you can imagine, and they will keep you running all day and sleeping well at night.

It’s easy to lose sight of the hazards of potentially unhealthful food and drink when we’re faced with the smorgasbord of choices we have today. Our lives are busy, and our hectic schedules can often get on top of us, affecting our sleep patterns and causing us fatigue. To offset this, the first thought most people have is to reach for caffeine, but rarely does it occur to us to seek out yerba mate energy drink instead.

While it is true that highly caffeinated energy drinks that contain taurine can give you a real boost, in reality, all of the negatives can easily stack up. They contain high sugar content, which affects blood sugar levels and can lead to diabetes, and their high concentrations of caffeine and taurine can lead to nervous problems, like anxiety and disrupted sleep patterns. To cap it off, they’re highly processed. Yerba mate energy drink, on the other hand, has a huge advantage for your health over common energy drinks.

What is Yerba Mate Energy Drink?

Yerba mate energy drink is a drink derived from a plant of the same name indigenous to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uraguay. The plant is a species of the holly genus and has been used for centuries to make a steeped drink that contains caffeine. Prior to European colonization, the indigenous Guaraní and Tupí communities of these regions incorporated yerba mate as a staple of their diet.

The plant quickly gained a reputation when it was incorporated into yerba mate energy drink and used by local indigenous communities as a booster, much in the same way that coffee is commonly used today. These days, yerba mate energy drink is sold in cans, much like their taurine-containing counterparts, or as an ingredient in iced tea.

What makes yerba mate energy drink stand out as an alternative to their sugary cousins is that, in addition to not containing many of the problematic ingredients of other energy drinks, it also contains several characteristics that make it a booster for health, and an environmentally friendly natural alternative.

The Many Benefits of Yerba Mate Energy Drink

All-Natural

Yerba mate energy drink is made from a traditional recipe that predates industrial mass production by centuries. In its original method, cultivating and preparing yerba mate energy drink requires no electricity, and there are no unnatural by-products or pollution generated during production. Because it’s made from all-natural ingredients, there’s no need to worry about the harm done by waste. Every component of yerba mate energy drink can be easily re-absorbed back into the earth.

No Taurine

One of the great appeals of yerba mate energy drink is that it contains no taurine. Yerba mate provides an ample energy boost without the health detriments that come along with consuming taurine in high doses, like headaches, upset stomach, sleep deprivation, jitters, and anxiety.

No Granulated Sugars

Similarly, yerba mate is conspicuous in its absence of granulated cane sugars, which are often present in other energy drinks in high quantities. The excess sucrose can cause a spike in blood-sugar levels, and unused reserves get stored in your liver as glycogen, which eventually gets converted into fats. On top of the absence of this excess sucrose, studies on mice have shown that yerba mate energy drink may actually be effective in reducing blood sugar levels.

Antioxidants

Human cells naturally age through oxidation, and there are many habits and foods that can contribute to rapid aging. Antioxidants are a popular preventative measure against aging, and along with commonly being found in natural foods like blueberries, yerba mate energy drink is a significant source of antioxidants as well.

Vital Minerals

The human body gleans health benefits from numerous minerals, and yerba mate energy drink contains more than its fair share, being a significant source of magnesium, manganese, and potassium.

Reduces Fats

Yerba mate energy drink contains polyphenols like flavinoids, which work to inhibit enzymes, like lipases, that metabolize fats. The result is less fat processing by the body’s cells. In addition, research has shown yerba mate energy drink to be effective in reducing fat cells and cholesterol.

Appetite Suppressant

Reducing fats on the cellular level is not yerba mate energy drink’s only benefit to weight loss. It also has physical properties that contribute to weight loss through lowering appetites and increasing satiety, compelling you to want to eat less to feel fulfilled.

Where to Get Yerba Mate Energy Drink

In spite of all of these great exploits, yerba mate energy drink is usually not easily available from retail sources. Because its ingredients are grown and prepared only in specific places, reaping the benefits of yerba mate energy drink is best done through specialty online retailers.