One of the major things I deal with while having fibromyalgia is inflammation. It contributes to the widespread pain I experience. So, I am on a never-ending hunt for “The Thing” that will make it go away. Wellness drinks are my latest find.

Here are the official “Things” that are supposed to help inflammation:

Low-Impact Exercise: I do that. Every day, we walk the dogs.

Good Sleep Hygiene: Ha! A major issue with fibromyalgia is sleep disturbance, so this is a constant struggle. In fact, today I’m headed for a consult for a sleep study.

Stress Reduction Techniques: These include meditation, mindfulness, and deep breathing. I have done all of these but can struggle with a consistent routine especially when I’m stressed. Ugh – vicious circle. I’ve had a lot of stress in my life, especially recently, so I’m doubling down on making time for this.

Dietary Approaches: Following an anti-inflammatory diet including no processed sugar. Ha! Food is my comfort in times of stress, especially sugary food. But, I do my best at all other times!

And here is where we come to the point of this blog post. You probably thought I’d never get there. There are many foods that are considered anti-inflammatory and also that are good for your gut. When your gut is happy, your body and mind are happy. Lately I’m focused on wellness drinks that can help or wellness shots that can provide a concentrated punch to the gut. Ha! See what I did there??

I’ve gotten into drinking kombucha. Kombucha is a fermented tea and has antioxidants and probiotics that your gut loves. I have tried several and always look for the ones made with little (or no) sugar. My favorite so far are the Synergy products, specifically the Gingerade:

But recently while at Whole Foods I found this Brew Dr. Kombucha:

The “Love” flavor has lavender (LAVENDER!!!) and chamomile added to it, which are both natural calming flowers.

Another “Thing” that helps your gut is apple cider vinegar. For many years, Paul and I have been doing a shot of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar followed by a big glass of water. Paul swears by this and believes it’s why he hardly ever gets sick. It has helped his digestion tremendously, too.

But I’ve always wanted more from my apple cider vinegar shots, so I found a wellness shot recipe online and tweaked it to make my own:

First, in the food processor (or blender) chop up an onion, a head of garlic (you don’t have to peel the onion or the garlic), 1/2 cup fresh ginger, 1/2 cup fresh turmeric root (or for ground/dried turmeric, use 2 tablespoons), a whole lemon (rind and all), a few sprigs of rosemary, a few sprigs of thyme, and a habanero pepper (or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne). All of these ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties!

Once it is all very finely chopped, put this mixture into a glass container and pour in a 32 ounce bottle of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. It is very important to use a vinegar that has “The Mother” in it. It looks gross – brown, cloudy floaters – but it’s the good, probiotic stuff you want for your gut.

A glass container is best so it won’t get stained and the odors won’t be absorbed. At the time I made this, I did not have a glass container big enough, so I put everything into a 1-gallon plastic pitcher. It is now reserved for only wellness shots because it smells like onions and garlic and it is stained yellow from the turmeric.

I leave mine in the fridge for a few days to steep, stirring it up occasionally. Then, I use one of these nut milk bags to strain and squeeze all the liquid out of the mixture.

I work in batches, first hanging the bag over the container to drain for a bit before using gloves to squeeze out the rest. Use gloves! Unless you want yellow/orange hands for a while. I pour the result into a bowl, and repeat until all the liquid is squeezed from the pulp.

Once you’ve gotten every bit of liquid out of all that pulp, put the liquid into a glass storage container and stir in 2 tablespoons raw honey. Discard the pulp. I take a 2-ounce shot, once per day, followed by a large glass of water. Keep it stored in the fridge.

I started out storing my wellness shot mixture in a couple of mason jars, but it is very hard to pour a small amount from them. I ended up finding a larger glass container with spout/handle, similar to this one, which will be much easier to use.

Do these drinks/shots make my inflammation go away? Not yet. But this, along with the other “Things” mentioned above, can only help me be healthier and eventually it will help. Right????

Have you tried any wellness shots or kombucha? Let me know in the comments!

Before you go, please enjoy a video of Paul power washing his truck BEFORE the Nor’easter last week. There are two camps when viewing this video – those who get the idea of doing this task before the storm and those who are right in thinking it’s pointless.

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