Drink This Saturday Morning: Solixir
By Megan Tempest in Food on Feb 19, 2010 5:20PM
The benefits of drinking water are indisputable, but sometimes plain water is just too mundane! Whether you start your Saturday morning off with a challenging workout, or a crippling hangover, we think Solixir’s Pomegranate Ginger (Restore) drink is a healthy way to recover and rehydrate. How does the drink work? Along with the known anti-nausea benefits of ginger, it contains dandelion root to stimulate liver, kidney and digestive function (all those processes that cleanse the body), nettle leaf to revive your immune system, and elderflower, a natural vasodilator to increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your thirsty tissues.
If Pomegranate Ginger is not your thing, Solixir comes in two other flavors with unique functional benefits. The Blackberry Chamomile (Relax) drink contains herbs like hibiscus, lemon balm and passion flower to help you chill out and unwind. The Orange Mate (Awake) drink contains natural caffeine from Yerba Mate, as well as ginseng, turmeric, and angelica to provide natural energy before a workout or as an alternative to your morning coffee. If you think these drinks sounds like medicinal hard-to-swallow tonics, we assure you Solixir is light and refreshing.
Despite our strong bias against most sugar-laden, chemically-saturated drinks touting “health” and “energy”, we can’t help but love Solixir because it’s refreshingly garbage-free. Every can of Solixir is 60 calories or less, 70 percent sparkling water, 30 percent real fruit juice, and infused with high-grade herbal extracts. Solixir contains zero added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and no weird chemicals that you find in drinks like Gatorade, Red Bull, or Monster. Even the seemingly-healthy bottled drinks can be terribly deceptive to the average consumer. For example, a bottle of Vitamin Water, that boasts a myriad of health-promoting benefits, contains about 33 grams of sugar in the form of crystalline fructose (just another refined sweetener derived from corn), which is not far from the 39 grams of sugar in can of regular Coca Cola. Shame on Vitamin Water!
Solixir originates from nearby Glenview, Illinois and is the creation of former PepsiCo exec Scott Lerner, who previously worked behind the scenes on Naked Juice. Each variety of Solixir was formulated with input from herbalist Amanda McQuade Crawford and nationally-recognized sports nutritionist Dr. Susan Kleiner.
Want to try some for yourself? Whole Foods carries Solixir and sells them for $1.99 a can.