Meet Balance Tonic: Nature’s Superfood Solution to Female Inner Balance 🌸
We are so excited to introduce the latest addition to our Rheal Superfood family - Balance Tonic.
Following huge demand for a female centred product to help overcome the issues many of us face, we have created a unique adaptogenic superfood blend to help promote optimal female wellness. The wait is finally over, so let’s meet Balance Tonic!
What Makes Women’s Health Unique
Females have a unique physiology which is incredibly complex and changes throughout the life cycle. We have up to 10% more body fat compared with men, as well as a lower metabolic rate, lower muscle mass and reduced energy requirement. What’s more, women also have a completely different hormonal balance.
Most of these physiological differences are due to being able to reproduce, but whether or not you have children - changes in our body and hormones are fluctuating constantly and can have a huge impact on our health and wellness.
Female Health & Common Issues
Many of us face symptoms as a result of hormonal imbalances and changes in the time of the month or life cycle. However, a survey of over 2000 women aged 30-60 found that a staggering 72% of women did not know these symptoms were caused by a hormonal imbalance at all.
So, it’s really important to get to know your body and understand that the following symptoms could all be linked to your hormones and female health:
Mood problems - Low mood, feeling emotional, increased stress & anxiety
PMS symptoms - Irritability, mood swings, fatigue & food cravings
Trouble sleeping - Struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep, sleep disturbances
Menstrual cycle problems - Menstruation cramps, heavy bleeding, iron deficiency & low energy levels
Bloating - Digestive discomfort, wind and constipation
Cravings - Craving junk food & being hungry more than you would usually
Brain Fog - Struggling to concentrate & poor memory
Headaches & Migraine - If you suffer with headaches at a certain time of the month, a hormonal imbalance could be why
Menopausal symptoms - Hot flushes, night sweats, weight gain, sleep problems & mood changes
Low Libido - Poor sex drive & a lack of confidence
Some of these may happen during a certain stage of the life cycle, e.g. with the menopause. However, many are linked to the menstrual cycle and can be triggered every month or so. If you suffer with any of the above issues often, especially at particular stages in your cycle, getting to the root cause of those symptoms could be life changing!
The Biggest Trigger of Hormonal Imbalance: Stress
Managing stress everyday is one of the best things we can do to nurture a healthy body and mind. Interestingly, prioritising stress management is also one of the best ways to support female health.
Like sex hormones, the body naturally produces stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline all the time. These are produced by the endocrine system and are. released when we feel stressed, having a number of effects on the body including increased heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety.
This is a normal reaction to high stress situations where we need a surge of focus and energy. However, in the modern world the stress response is chronically over-activated, stress hormones are released more often and remain in the bloodstream for prolonged periods.
This causes a shift in our hormones resulting in hormonal imbalance and problems such as irregular periods, mood swings, irritability, low sex drive and even reduced fertility. Together with the effect of sex hormones on these symptoms, stress can really worsen their impact and make you feel the full force of these unpleasant hormonal side effects.
The good news is that by managing stress daily, we can create a healthy hormone balance and reduce the severity of female health issues. You can learn more about stress and natural ways to destress in our blog post below.
🌱 Natural ways to manage and reduce stress
Balance Tonic: Superfoods for Female Wellness 🌸
Diet and lifestyle changes are some of the most effective ways to give your body all it needs to overcome female challenges and help to restore inner balance.
As a business, we are asked for advice about female health issues more than any other problem - and knew that creating a product which could help would be so useful for all of our wonderful women.
Rheal Co-Founder Charlotte has also suffered with her own female health issues including bad periods and PMS, so could identify on a personal level with just how difficult this can be. With support from Rheal medical advisor Dr Faiza Khalid, a GP with over 15 years experience and a real passion for female health, Balance Tonic was born!
Dr Faiza’s research identified stress to be the biggest contributor to poor female health, causing hormonal imbalances which are often the underlying cause of many symptoms. The answer is adaptogens - stress banishing compounds found naturally in nature’s finest superfoods.
You can learn more about adaptogens in our blog post below.
🌱 What are adaptogens and how do they work?
Balance Tonic is a blend of 5 superfoods rich in natural vitamins, minerals and powerful adaptogens. Each ingredient was chosen to help provide a natural, root-cause solution to manage stress and promote optimal female health from within.
Let’s take a look at the perfect tonic for female wellness.
Wild Blueberry
Nature’s best source of antioxidants, wild blueberries are packed with nutrients including Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese and fibre. They also contain a rich source of polyphenols and anthocyanins, which give blueberries their namesake vivid colour but also have potent anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing properties.
Blueberries are great for overall wellness, but also have some specific benefits for female health. Their high Vitamin C content is essential for the regulation of progesterone, a hormone which plays a role in menstruation, pregnancy and the menopause.
Vitamin C is also essential for the production of collagen, helping to mitigate the effect of declining collagen production as we age - for healthier hair, skin and nails.
Studies have also shown that blueberries can help to promote weight loss, and even improve longevity thanks to their high antioxidant content and anti-aging properties.
🌱 Wild blueberry: the ultimate antioxidant superfood
Hibiscus
Hibiscus has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. It is usually enjoyed as a tea, by brewing the dried hibiscus flowers in hot water to create a vivid pink tea that’s packed with nutrients and has a tart taste - almost like cranberry juice.
We use organic Hibiscus Sabdariffa (also known as Roselle) in our Balance Tonic blend. It’s deep red colour is packed with healthful anthocyanins. By using the whole hibiscus calyx (flower), our hibiscus powder is even more nutrient-dense than hibiscus tea - whose goodness is often lost by steeping in hot water rather than consuming the whole flower.
Hibiscus has a number of health benefits for women including detoxification, weight loss, blood sugar control, reducing inflammation and managing cholesterol levels.
🌱 7 reasons why your body loves hibiscus
Baobab
Baobab, also known as “monkey fruit” and “fruit of the tree of life” is a nutrient-dense superfruit rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and healthy fats.
It’s high Vitamin C content (7-10 times more than oranges) makes it great for staying naturally energised and boosting immune function. Baobab also helps to enhance iron absorption, particularly important for those who have heavy periods - and even more so for veggies and vegans.
Studies have shown that Baobab is great for gut health, skin health and providing natural energy - helping to tackle common female issues such as bloating, skin breakouts, fatigue and brain fog. You can learn all about Baobab in our blog post below.
KSM-66 Ashwagandha Root
Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic plant which is renowned for its stress banishing properties. Studies have shown that ashwagandha supplements can help to improve both self-reported stress levels and also circulating levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. This has been shown to have a positive effect on mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
We use Organic KSM-66 ashwagandha in our Balance Tonic blend - it is the gold standard of ashwagandha root extracts. With the highest concentration and bioavailability, KSM-66 ashwagandha is also the most clinically studied ashwagandha with 22 clinical trials finished to date.
Maca Root
Last but not least in our trio of Balance Tonic adaptogens is maca root. Maca has been shown to help regulate the menstrual cycle and potentially improve fertility in females. Studies have shown that maca can help to restore a healthy balance of hormones by nurturing the endocrine system and supporting optimal adrenal and thyroid function.
Maca is also renowned for its stress banishing properties, reducing levels of cortisol and promoting hormonal balance instead. Clinical trials have found that maca can help to improve energy and stamina levels as well as fight fatigue.
🌱 The health benefits of maca root
Start to feel blooming fabulous again 🌸
Balance Tonic harnesses the goodness of each ingredient in a delicious, vibrant and versatile powder you can add to meals and drinks to support optimal female wellness daily.
Made with Organic whole foods and free from synthetic nutrients, it provides a natural tonic to help restore inner female balance, banishing stress and inducing calm.
Add 5g Balance Tonic (one teaspoon) to healthy meals and drinks daily to enjoy its balancing benefits, or simply mix with water and sip away.
You can also add Balance Tonic to healthy recipes for a boost of superfood goodness, colour and flavour. Here are some of our favourite Balance Tonic recipes.
🌸 Sparkling grapefruit spritzer with Balance Tonic
🌸 Yoghurt & granola cupcakes with Balance Tonic
