Supermarket beverage aisles are starting to look a lot more like a pharmacy.
There are sodas made with mushrooms that supposedly improve mental clarity and juices packed with bacteria that claim to enhance digestive health. Water infused with collagen carries the promise of better skin, and energy drinks offer to help burn body fat.
Welcome to the frenzy of functional beverages – drinks designed to do more than just taste good or hydrate. What started in the late 1980s with caffeine- and vitamin-laced energy drinks like Red Bull has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Hundreds of brands are vying for consumers’ attention with increasingly exotic ingredients and wellness-focused marketing.
Feeling stressed? Try a drink with ashwagandha, a shrub long used in herbal medicine. Want to enhance your workout? There are drinks containing chromium, a mineral that may boost metabolism. Want to get in a party mood without alcohol? Multiple companies are making non-alcoholic spirits and beers infused with ingredients like guayusa, a leaf containing caffeine and antioxidants.
China ready to strengthen high
CCTF, Hengyuanxiang Launch 2023 Heng’ai Action
Strengthening Building of Healthy Families
2 policemen killed, 1 injured in 'terror' attack in SE Iran
Xi Exchanges Congratulations with Madagascar's President over 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties
Xi Arrives in Indonesia's Bali for G20 Summit
(CPC Congress) 20th CPC National Congress Concludes
English Premier League takes another step toward introducing a spending cap
At least 40 people die in Kenya after dam collapses
China Focus: China Releases Measures to Optimize COVID