What Are Adrenal Cocktails and Are They Healthy?

September 13, 2022By Alysa Seeland

Bone Broth Adrenal Cocktails

Adrenal cocktails are all the rage these days - we’ve been seeing them everywhere! But we’ve also noticed that a lot of the recipes were really high in sugar and carbs, which can be problematic depending on your health context. Naturally, we set out to build a better-for-you adrenal cocktail. One that still had the hormone-supporting intent of the original, but in a much more balanced package.

And of course, each recipe we’ve developed offers bone broth as an ingredient - would you expect anything less from us?
First thing’s first, because we know you’re wondering:

What is an adrenal cocktail?

It’s a total mouthful, but adrenal cocktails are designed to support the hypothalamic-pituitary -adrenal axis (AKA the HPA axis) as well as hormone balance and blood sugar regulation. And they’re also a great way to replenish nutrients. More on how the adrenal cocktail supports hormone balance AND blood sugar in the next section!

While this idea has recently gained traction, adrenal cocktails have been around for years in functional medicine circles, particularly those focused on women’s health.

The original recipe included orange juice, cream of tartar, and Himalayan pink salt, but there are now dozens of variations that achieve the same ends. Check ours out at the bottom of this article!

Each ingredient plays a role in supporting the HPA axis and hormone health, and together these ingredients are the perfect mix of fat, protein, and carbs to support balanced blood sugar and hormone health. For more on this, see the next section!

Orange Juice - ideally fresh-squeezed and organic! Supplies hormone-supporting nutrients like vitamin C, folate, and potassium.
FOND Bone Broth - Typical recipes use collagen powder, but we stepped it up a notch by using our bone broth tonics instead. FOND contains collagen, with key amino acids that are the building blocks for whole body health, and it also contains naturally-occurring electrolytes. The bonus? It adds delicious flavor to each recipe.
Heavy cream or coconut cream - Provide healthy fat as a counterbalance to the orange juice and coconut water.
Coconut water - Another source of naturally-occurring electrolytes, like potassium and magnesium, to support hydration and hormone health.
Himalayan Pink Salt - Filled with loads of trace minerals that our adrenals (and our entire body!) need to function properly.

How does the adrenal cocktail support health?

This section is for those of you who want the specifics on how our adrenal cocktail supports your health.

We formulated our adrenal cocktails to not only support hormone health, but also blood sugar balance as well. The typical adrenal cocktail can have between 30-50g of carbs and almost as much sugar, depending on the recipe. Though these recipes contain naturally-occurring sugar, it’s still the equivalent of sipping on a soda. Not exactly hormone or blood sugar-friendly!

While we won’t dive too far down the blood sugar rabbithole, when you consume carbs by themselves, or alongside minimal fat and protein, those carbs are pretty quickly digested and absorbed, where they then raise blood sugar and insulin levels. By contrast, fat and protein result in much less of a blood sugar increase. By pairing the carbs in our recipe with protein (thanks bone broth!) and healthy fat, we’re encouraging a more balanced blood sugar response.

As far as how the adrenal cocktail supports hormone health, there are a few key ways:

Protein - thanks to the protein in our bone broth tonics, this recipe offers essential amino acids that support the production of protein-derived hormones in the body. These hormones play a role in really important physiological processes like energy metabolism, appetite, and stress response. Protein is also really satiating, meaning it supports a decrease in your hunger hormone (ghrelin) and an increase in hormones that signal to your body that you’re full (like peptide YY).
Healthy fats - Thanks to the fat from the coconut cream or heavy cream, this recipe contains natural healthy fats that support balanced hormones, including insulin and cortisol (both hormones!).
Nutrients - the adrenal cocktail also contains nutrients that support hormone health, like vitamin C and folate.
The adrenal cocktail also supports gut health, thanks to the inclusion of bone broth, and our gut health is foundational to our overall hormone health!
Sea salt - your entire body, from your adrenals to your brain, truly needs high-quality salt and a spectrum of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) to function properly.

Is there an ideal time to drink it?

When should you drink yours? The adrenal cocktail is perfect in the morning, but you can also use it as an afternoon pick-me-up.

FOND’s recipes

While we love the adrenal cocktail recipes already circulating (and trending!) on Instagram and across the interwebs, we needed to add our own bone broth-filled, blood sugar-balancing twist. Did you expect anything less from us?

But seriously, bone broth was made for adrenal cocktails. With collagen and nourishing amino acids, plus naturally-occurring electrolytes, it’s truly the perfect blend of the nutrients that make an adrenal cocktail so great, and so healing.

Note: it’s optional, but for the first two recipes you can add 2 Tbsp of coconut cream (we love Native Forest Simple!) or heavy cream (bonus points for raw cream!) to add some healthy fat. This is particularly helpful if you’re working on maintaining balanced blood sugar.

Orange Adrenal Cocktail

Makes 1 serving

This recipe, developed by our founder Alysa, is what kicked off our adrenal cocktail brainstorming! It’s delicious, nourishing, and best of all it’s flexible depending on your needs. Pro-tip - serve this one over ice for even better flavor.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup FOND - Liquid Light, chilled
2 Tbsp heavy cream or coconut cream, optional
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt (we also love Redmond Real Salt!)
1/2 lime squeezed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Cherry Adrenal Cocktail

Makes 1 serving

Cherries and The Spur are the combination that we never knew we needed in our lives! This dreamy combination is anti-inflammatory and super delicious. It’s the perfect sip whenever you need a little pick-me-up.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cherry juice (or 1-2 Tbsp tart cherry concentrate)
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup FOND - The Spur, chilled
2 Tbsp heavy cream or coconut cream, optional
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt (we also love Redmond Real Salt!)
1/2 lime squeezed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

FOND's take on the OG Adrenal Cocktail

Makes 1 serving

We tweaked this classic to include bone broth, and the end result is a creamy, dreamy creamsicle concoction that is truly as good tasting as it is good-for-you. This is a great option if you’re looking for a slightly lower carb variation that’s balanced in healthy fat.

Ingredients: