5 Delicious Adrenal Cocktail Recipes To Make (2024)

Have you heard of adrenal cocktails before? This adrenal cocktail recipe and the variations are a tasty way to support your hormonal health.

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What Is An Adrenal Cocktail?

An adrenal cocktail is a homemade drink that may also be referred to as a cortisol mocktail. It contains various ingredients that have vitamins and minerals that are said to improve adrenal function and lower cortisol levels.

What Does An Adrenal Cocktail Do For You?

First things first, to understand the benefits of an adrenal cocktail, we must first understand what the adrenal glands and cortisol are and what they do.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by our body’s adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. The adrenals are part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a complex system of neuroendocrine pathways that help to maintain homeostasis. The HPA axis helps your body respond to stress and also regulates your metabolism, immune system, temperature, energy levels and mood (1).

Cortisol levels naturally rise and fall during the day. Levels are typically the highest in the morning, giving us energy to get out of bed. Then, our cortisol levels gradually taper off during the daytime hours and are at their lowest closer to bedtime, allowing us to feel sleepy. Most people’s bodies can navigate normal cortisol fluctuations without issue, but some people may need some extra adrenal support.

Stress is seemingly inevitable in today’s fast paced world. Unfortunately though, chronic stress can lead to chronically elevated cortisol levels, which can have a cascading effect on our overall health. For starters, high cortisol can increase blood sugar levels and impair insulin sensitivity. This can ultimately make insulin resistance worse and lead to weight gain, which is very common in those who already struggle with PCOS (2).

Stress also can disrupt the HPA axis and lead to HPA axis dysregulation (3). You may have heard of something called adrenal fatigue before. Although adrenal fatigue is a popular term in naturopathic medicine, it’s not actually a recognized medical condition. Instead, HPA axis dysfunction is the proper terminology.

An adrenal cocktail is said to provide key nutrients that support adrenal health and the HPA axis. So in theory, an adrenal cocktail can improve your body’s stress response and promote hormone balance.

What’s In An Adrenal Cocktail?

The original adrenal cocktail (aka cortisol mocktail) recipe was created by Susan Blackard, NP, ND, Ph.D. The original cortisol cocktail recipe contained orange juice, cream of tartar, and sea salt.

Over the years, people have deviated from the original recipe to create new renditions of this popular drink. You can find endless variations of cortisol mocktail recipes that include a variety of different flavors to suit your taste preferences.

One thing that should remain true is that the main ingredients of any adrenal cocktail recipe will provide the following nutrients:

• Vitamin C. The adrenal glands have one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C in the body (4). Research has shown that getting adequate amounts of vitamin C can help to reduce cortisol levels (5). High vitamin C foods include oranges, pineapple, lemon, lime, kiwi, strawberries, guava, or grapefruit.

• Potassium. Stress can often impact our micronutrient concentrations, causing them to deplete more rapidly. Potassium levels can be negatively affected by stress. Oranges, bananas, coconut water, aloe vera juice, cream of tartar, tomato juice, milk, and prune juice are some foods and drinks that are high in potassium.

• Sodium. Sodium, or salt, is an electrolyte that plays a role in fluid balance. Stress can increase sodium losses through urine. The combination of sodium and potassium together play a big role in nerve and muscle contraction and blood pressure regulation. Most people tend to add various types of salt to their adrenal cocktail recipes to get more sodium.

Who Should Drink Adrenal Cocktails?

If you feel like you need a little more stress relief support in your life, an adrenal cocktail may be able to help you achieve that!

This drink does contain a high amount of sodium, or salt. If you have medical conditions that require dietary restrictions, such as chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or high blood pressure, you should be cautious and talk to your healthcare provider before trying this drink.

It’s important to note that an adrenal cocktail, or any drink or food for that matter, is not a magic bullet. It’s not going to solve your hormone imbalance or symptoms, but it may supplement your efforts in addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle changes.

Other self-care practices that you should be including in your daily routine:

• A healthy diet. Check out A Dietitian’s 7 Day PCOS Diet Plan PDF for some insight into a healthy, balanced diet that also supports your hormone health.

• Movement. Incorporating physical activity that you enjoy into your routine will help to improve your mood and decrease cortisol levels.

• Sleep. Getting enough sleep is vital for hormone regulation and can help to maintain your body’s normal circadian rhythm.

• Stress management. Including some stress management techniques into your daily routine is so beneficial. Yoga, meditation, and journaling are some popular options.

Ok, now let’s get into some of my favorite adrenal cocktail recipes and why you’re going to absolutely love them!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Adrenal Cocktail Recipe

This refreshing drink uses simple ingredients. And, with orange juice and coconut water being the main ingredients in this cortisol mocktail, it will make you feel like you’re getting ready for a tropical vacation.

Plus, this adrenal mocktail gives you a huge punch of vital nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and sodium. In addition to nourishing your adrenal glands, these nutrients can also improve insulin resistance, inflammation levels, and egg quality.

Adrenal Cocktail Ingredients

• Orange Juice – this citrus juice is the main source of anti-inflammatory vitamin C in this recipe. I used regular old Tropicana orange juice. You can use any type of orange juice or opt for fresh oranges blended in a blender. If you’re not a fan of orange, you could substitute pineapple, mango, strawberries, or kiwi instead.

• Coconut Water – this light and refreshing liquid is packed with potassium. It makes for the perfect base for an adrenal cocktail! This can easily be substituted for aloe vera juice instead if you prefer.

• Lime – this citrus fruit provides a little bit of a sour taste to balance out the sweetness of the orange juice. You can also opt for store-bought lime juice or lemon juice instead.

• Salt – an adrenal cocktail wouldn’t be complete without salt! Any salt you have on hand is fine – I used traditional sea salt. If you’re trying to limit salt in your diet, you could omit this ingredient altogether though.

Adrenal Cocktail Variations

If you were checking out the Build Your Own Adrenal Cocktail graphic above, the gears in your brain may have already started to imagine the endless possibilities. If not, no worries! I’ve got you covered with a few different variations that are easy and delicious.

Pineapple Margarita Cortisol Mocktail

This one tastes just like a pineapple margarita and will have you daydreaming of a tropical getaway! Plus, by using actual pineapple chunks, you get a whole food vitamin C source.

Here’s what’s in it:

• ½ cup pineapple cubed
• ¾ cup coconut water
• 1 lime juiced
• ½ tsp monkfruit sweetener
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Just blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Grab the full recipe here: pineapple cortisol mocktail.

Blackberry Lemonade Adrenal Cocktail

This lemonade mocktail combines blackberries and lemons to make a sweet lemonade alternative that will also align with your health goals.

Here’s the ingredients:

• ½ cup blackberries fresh or frozen
• 2 cup coconut water divided
• 3 tbsp monkfruit sweetener
• ¼ cup lemon juice or the juice of 2 lemons
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Grab the full Blackberry Lemonade Adrenal Mocktail here!

Guava Adrenal Cocktail

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure about this one. Probably because I had never actually tried guava nectar before. But, wow. I’m mildly obsessed with it now…it’s so good!

Simply switch out the orange juice for guava nectar aka guava juice. Then add the coconut water, lime, and salt – perfection!

Here’s the guava adrenal cocktail ingredients:

• ¼ cup guava nectar or guava juice
• ¾ coconut water
• ¼ salt
• 1 lime, juiced

Tropical Mango Adrenal Smoothie

Are you more of a smoothie person? If so, just put all the things in the blender! Use frozen fruit, like mango or pineapple, to make it a frosty smoothie drink.

Simply blend these ingredients together:

• ½ cup frozen mango
• ¾ cup coconut water
• 1 lime juiced
• ½ tsp monkfruit sweetener
• ¼ tsp sea salt

You could even consider adding a bit of coconut milk or coconut cream to give it a creamier texture. Another option is to use frozen orange slices and coconut milk in this recipe for an orange creamsicle smoothie.

Sparkling Adrenal Cocktail

This is potentially my favorite option! Basically take the above awesome recipes and add some sparkling water to it for some bubbles!

My favorite option is using pineapple juice and combining it with some coconut water and lime…then topping it off with some sparkling water! *chefs kiss*

FAQs

What does an adrenal cocktail consist of?

There’s a variety of options that you can choose from but it’s usually a vitamin C source, potassium source, and some sodium. The original adrenal cocktail recipe used orange juice, cream of tartar, and sea salt.

Why coconut water in an adrenal cocktail?

Coconut water is a great source of potassium and vitamin C, two nutrients found in an adrenal cocktail.

Is there too much sugar in the adrenal cocktail?

Depending on your personal health journey, there may be too much sugar in an adrenal cocktail. One thing to note is that the adrenal cocktail contains natural sugars, rather than added sugars, which are digested differently.

Nevertheless, you can always opt to use real fruit rather than juice or add some collagen powder which will help maintain blood sugar levels.

What does cream of tartar do for adrenals?

Cream of tartar is high in potassium, a nutrient that may be needed in higher amounts for some people and their adrenal health.

Disclaimer: this is for informational purposes only and not intended to replace or substitute for professional medical advice. It is not intended to treat or cure any medical diagnosis, including PCOS.

Other Hormone Friendly Drinks You’ll Love

Detox Island Green Smoothie

Blackberry Lemonade Cortisol Cocktail

Pineapple Margarita Cortisol Mocktail

Sleepy Girl Mocktail

Bone Broth Hot Chocolate