What You Should Know About 'Wellness Shots' Before Tossing 'Em Back

There Are Shots. Then There Are Wellness Shots.

Before getting into what a wellness shot is all about, have you ever wondered what a “shot,” drink-wise, is considered to be, period? If you happen to be an alcohol consumer, you probably know that a shot is when you drink something like vodka or tequila in a much smaller glass; however, were you aware of what the standard size is? In this country (because yes, it varies based on where you are), it’s approximately 1.5 ounces.

Well, along these same lines, a wellness shot is a small amount of juice that is loaded up with certain ingredients that are specifically designed to (especially) give your body a real boost — and yes, they tend to be around the size of a “traditional shot”: 1-2 ounces a piece. The method behind the madness with them is the blend of their ingredients are designed to complement your taste buds as well as your system while providing you with some all-natural immunity and energy nutrients at the same time.

Although wellness shots are not designed to be a substitute or alternative to consuming full meals and having a consistently healthy diet, more and more people are seeing them as a viable pick-me-up on a variety of different levels.

The key is making sure that you drink the kind that contain ingredients that you aren’t allergic to, that you consume ones that are as all-natural as possible (think drinking 100 percent juice vs. juice cocktail), that you run your intentions by your doctor if you happen to be on any prescribed medications and that you don’t throw wellness shots back like water.

For one thing, juice still has sugar in it; plus, there is such a thing as going overboard — even when it comes to taking in too many vitamins and minerals at one time.

Benefits of Common Wellness Shot Ingredients

What Certain (Main) Ingredients in Wellness Shots Can Do for You

Okay, so aside from the size, what makes a wellness shot different than, say, drinking some good old-fashioned OJ? Good question. Since wellness shots are about immunity and energy more than anything else, many of them contain a concentrated amount of certain ingredients.

The more popular ones? Seven of them are listed below:

1. Ginger: 

Although ginger is derived from the same plant that cardamom and turmeric come from, it is technically classified as a spice because herbs come from leaves of plants. Its warm and spicy flavor not only intensifies the taste of dishes but it also helps to relieve morning sickness, motion sickness and nausea; reduces bloating and gas; decreases bodily inflammation; supports digestion; soothes menstrual discomfort; lowers cholesterol levels and can even help to fight off certain fungal infections.

2. Turmeric: 

Turmeric is pretty pungent, there’s no doubt about that. And, as far as seasonings go, though, its earthy mustard-marries-ginger taste makes it popular in a lot of Indian dishes. Your body will appreciate turmeric because the compounds in it (known as curcuminoids) are great at pushing antioxidants through your system while helping to reduce inflammation; fight cancer and heart disease; delay aging; reduce depression-related symptoms, and reduce soreness after working out.

3. Echinacea: 

Slightly bitter. Slightly sweet. A little on the earthy side. That’s probably the best way to describe how echinacea will impact your palate. It’s an herb that does your body good because it’s full of antioxidants; can reduce feelings of anxiety; is able to decrease symptoms that are related to eczema; may help to lower your blood sugar levels, and it contains anti-inflammatory as well as immune-boosting properties. Another bonus with echinacea is it can help to speed up the healing process of the common cold too.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar: 

Super sour apples — that’s probably the easiest way to describe what apple cider vinegar tastes like. And honestly, as someone who likes sour stuff, you’d have to try it to get just how much it will make your face twist and turn. It’s worth it once you know all of the good things that apple cider vinegar can do for you, though. For starters, apple cider vinegar can help you to lose weight. It can also help you to manage your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Other things that are dope about apple cider vinegar is it can help to increase antioxidant levels in your system, balance the pH levels in your skin and kill harmful bacteria that may be lurking around in your system.

5. Wheatgrass:

I ain’t got no lies to tell you — wheatgrass? It pretty much tastes like…grass. Still, when it’s mixed in with other stuff, you barely notice it, so…there’s that. Anyway, it’s another popular ingredient in a lot of wellness shot brands because, for one thing, it’s packed with so many nutrients that it’s actually considered to be a superfood. And with that being the case, wheatgrass helps to give you energy; improve digestion; fight inflammation; detox your system; treat obesity; lower your blood pressure, and naturally prevent as well as treat type 2 diabetes.

6. Elderberry: 

Taste-wise, elderberries are a little hard to explain. They’re like sorta sweet meets tangy meets earthy meets floral. Either way, it will always benefit you to get some of these berries into your system because they can help to regulate your blood pressure; manage diabetes; strengthen your immune system; improve your memory; strengthen your lung and respiratory health; decrease coughing; soothe a sore throat, and even slow down the signs of aging.

7. Acerola Cherries: 

If you’ve never heard of Acerola cherries before, another name for them is West Indian cherries. Although they look a lot like cherries, they actually aren’t cherries at all; they’re a fruit that comes from a tropical shrug that is far more tart than cherries are. Health-wise, Acerola cherries are good for you because they are a wonderful source of vitamin C, providing you with close to 2,000% of the Daily Value (DV) that you need per serving.

So, if you’re looking for something that will significantly boost your immunity, reduce inflammation and improve the quality of your skin — look no further than these cherries right here.

Can You Make Wellness Shots at Home?

5 Easy DIY Wellness Shot Recipes

Even though there are plenty of wellness shot brands for you to choose from, if one of the main things that came to your mind after reading all of this is, “Hell, seems to me that I can just make these myself” — for the most part, you would be absolutely correct. Just make sure that you don’t skimp on the quality of ingredients because that is what really makes a wellness shot totally worth your while.

That said, for your convenience, I’ve included a few DIY recipes that you can try at home:

Ginger & Turmeric Wellness Shot

150 grams of fresh ginger

2 oranges

2 lemons

1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorns

About 200 ml water

2 teaspoons of turmeric powder

Full recipe details here

Easy Detox Wheatgrass Shot

1 tbsp of wheatgrass powder

⅓ cup of water

1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)

Full recipe details here

4-Step Pineapple Ginger Wellness Shots

4 cups of diced pineapple

2 peeled lemons

1 peeled orange

1 cucumber

1 cup of diced celery

5” knob ginger, peeled and diced

2 cups of packed spinach

1 cup of parsley

1 cup of coconut water

Full recipe details here

Gut Support Shot

1 cup of pineapple, juiced

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

¼ cup of coconut water

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder

¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Full recipe details here

DIY Vitamin C Shots

4 oranges, peeled and chopped

1 lemon, peeled and chopped

1 yellow bell peppers, cored and chopped

1 teaspoon of Acerola cherry powder (optional)

Full recipe details here

____

Do I personally think that wellness shots are worth the hype? Health-wise, yeah, to a certain extent. Cost-wise? Well, do some comparison shopping. LOL.

Either way, now that you know what they are and that you can go the DIY route, it certainly can’t hurt to try one or two of ‘em. Now that you know what they can do for you…how could they not be worth — pardon the pun — a shot?

Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.