As we venture into a new year, Black women need to prioritize wellness in their lives. History has proven our wellness to be compromised, and when you pair that with a lack of support, various traumas, unhealthy coping mechanisms, chronic illnesses, stress, and more, the results can be damaging.
As Black women, we have been raised, programmed and expected to care for others, so the most basic concept of taking time for yourself can be seen as selfish or indulgent. The systemic conditions that prevent Black women from being able to take proper care of ourselves is a health injustice. Most wellness practices to fight poor mental health are handed to us through a Eurocentric lens, encouraging us to spend money on products we don’t need and are not centered for us.
The sooner we grasp the urgency of needing to care of our wellness, including our specific needs, the sooner we can get the help we need and begin to see a positive difference in ourselves and those around us.
Whether you’re new to the gym, want to drop a few pounds, or want to take your wellness up a notch, protein powders, supplements, and elixirs are an inexpensive yet effective way to incorporate the nutrients you need into your daily routine. While the wellness market continues to boom with different products for you to try, these seven Black-owned brands are worth the support and money.
After weeks of all the holiday festivities, overeating and drinking, our bodies need to reset. This collection of plant-based wellness supplements helps with weight management and increased energy. Their intention is to make weight management and healthy living a lifestyle for women and men. Their products will help to shed those unwanted pounds and have you feeling your best self.
Supergut (formerly Muniq) is a line of balanced nutritional shakes designed specifically to strengthen and improve gut health, even going beyond what probiotics do. Supergut includes prebiotic resistant starch fibers, a special class of prebiotic dietary fiber powered by green bananas, which resists digestion to effectively fuel your gut. This form of prebiotic fiber is very difficult to get in our regular diet, and it fulfills 50 percent of our daily fiber needs.
Plantmade Protein is an ultra-premium supplemental source of dietary protein that is 100 percent plant-based and cruelty-free. Plantmade protein can be used in your baking, soups, smoothies, and protein shakes. A single serving of this brand’s vegan protein powder is 20 grams of protein with no sugar. We can get into that, for sure.
What I’ve learned over the years is that turmeric is great for everything under the sun! GOLDE’s vegan and keto-friendly Turmeric Latte Blend is a delicious way to get this in your diet. It’s a great way to achieve that vibrant glow in our skin we all love, builds immunity, and supports muscle recovery after a workout. You can choose between the Original, Cacao, or Matcha Turmeric Latte Blend and add it to water, plant-based milk, coffee, or smoothies.
Black -owned and Black woman-owned, this organic and vegan beauty line is infused with CBD. These products feature formulations that are good for the body, good for the earth, and good for the soul. The brand’s collection includes a moisturizing Dry Oil Body Mist with jojoba oil, moringa oil, and a blend of citrus essential oils; hydrating Face Serum; a relaxing Bath Tea Blend with essential oils, and a rich-foaming exfoliator Coffee Body Scrub made with Ethiopian coffee and seaweed.
Black Girl Vitamins is all about addressing scientifically proven deficiencies among Black women and creating a supportive community. One product that most of us need is their Vitamin D3 supplement. Believe it or not, us melanin-rich folks need more time in the sun to get enough Vitamin D. What I have discovered in my own health journey is that there aren’t many foods that provide the Vitamin D we need. I wondered why I was feeling tired all the time and lacked energy. It was affecting me at work and nothing seemed to fix the problem.
After having tests done, a Vitamin D deficiency was the culprit. This product can help bridge the gap. Black-owned, clean ingredients, with vitamins and supplements just for us? Yes, please!
You don’t have to be vegan to benefit from plant-based nutrients. Kareem Cook originally from the Bronx, New York, grew up in a food desert and saw how unfair it was for his family and friends to have to get on a train and bus just to have access to health products. With this in mind, Cook and his business partner Claude Tellis decided to launch VeganSmart, with products that include a natural meal replacement and supplements the company has made available to everyone at affordable prices. They took over Naturade in 2012, which had a stellar history within the health and wellness world. They refocused the company around clean, great tasting weight-loss and nutritional shakes. For the first time in its 86-year history, Naturade became Black-owned.
