It took Cheryl Fragras getting very sick to discover ways to be nicely. Now, she’s sharing what she discovered on her journey to well being at Infused Wellness in north Spokane.
Situated within the Fairwood neighborhood, Infused Wellness is a plant-based wellness boutique providing bulk natural teas and herbs, plant-based wellness merchandise, together with jun and CBD merchandise, and educated employees to assist information clients.
“13 years in the past, I had a well being disaster,” Fragras mentioned. “I used to be in my 50s, I had an enlarged liver, reminiscence points – I actually felt like I may be dying.”
She underwent a slew of medical assessments from ultrasounds to endoscopy and was prescribed an costly drug, not lined by her insurance coverage. Her signs worsened.
“I used to be an enormous Splenda consumer, so I began investigating synthetic sweeteners,” she mentioned.
That led to extra analysis, which in the end resulted in her utterly emptying her kitchen cabinets of all processed meals.
Then she checked out tub, physique and laundry merchandise questioning what sort of chemical compounds may have an effect on not solely her but in addition her 5 daughters.
“I logged 32,000 hours of analysis earlier than I ended maintaining observe in 2010,” Fragras recalled. “I ended up fixing all of my well being points.”
Her analysis led her to marvel why People weren’t more healthy in any case our advances in drugs.
“I requested myself if everybody was wholesome, what number of firms and establishments could be out of enterprise?”
She unfold the phrase of the advantages of natural herbs and plant-based merchandise by means of quite a few talking engagements. However as an alternative of writing a e book, she determined to discover a retail venue.
Fragras and her husband dipped their toes in farmers markets with their recipes for ache cream and wellness water and in the end determined to launch Infused Wellness in Fairwood in 2019 as a retailer and group training middle.
“We mix Western herbology and Chinese language herbalism,” she mentioned. “The purpose is to assist your physique get to the purpose the place it may heal itself.”
Glass jars crammed with herbs like lemon balm, peppermint and milk thistle seed share area with their very own mix of teas with names like “ManTea,” “Woman Energy Tea” and “DeTox Me Tea.”
Their sister enterprise Sky Bison Drinks gives jun on faucet.
“Jun is just like kombucha however much less candy and never as vinegary,” Fragras mentioned.
Additionally on faucet, their do-it-yourself root beer.
“We name it root tea. It’s extremely popular,” she mentioned.
Every part supplied within the retailer is licensed natural, together with traces of make-up, tub and physique merchandise and important oils.
Books share shelf area with fermenting provides for individuals who wish to make their very own kimchi or kombucha.
“I curate the very best of what I’d give to my household and pals, and I don’t carry competing corporations,” Fragras mentioned.
Infused Wellness gives every kind of lessons and workshops. Considered one of Fragras’ daughters teaches the Chinese language tea-brewing apply of Gong Fu Cha.
“She’s the ‘Tea Keeper,’ and we promote her specialty tea blends.”
Although they opened shortly earlier than the pandemic, they had been in a position to set up a loyal buyer base, which has continued to develop.
“Nurses are one in every of our greatest buyer bases,” Fragras mentioned. “However we see everybody from youngsters to 80-year-olds. Well being is a unifier between all of us.”
She typically hears tales just like her personal.
“The tales I hear every day make me cry,” she mentioned. “We wish to reside longer, not be dying longer.”
These interactions encourage her to dispel myths about wholesome residing.
“We’re attempting to vary the dialog about well being,” Fragras mentioned. “I would like folks to stroll out realizing one thing they didn’t know after they walked in.”
