It took Cheryl Fragras getting very sick to learn how to feel good. Now she’s sharing what she’s learned on her journey to health at Infused Wellness in North Spokane.
Located in the Fairwood neighborhood, Infused Wellness is a herbal wellness boutique offering organic loose leaf teas and herbs, herbal wellness products including jun and CBD products, and knowledgeable staff to help guide customers.
“Thirteen years ago I had a health crisis,” Fragras said. “I was in my 50s, I had an enlarged liver, memory problems – I literally felt like I was going to die.”
She underwent a series of medical tests ranging from ultrasounds to endoscopy and was prescribed an expensive drug, not covered by her insurance. His symptoms worsened.
“I was a heavy Splenda user, so I started investigating artificial sweeteners,” she said.
This led to more research, which eventually led to her completely emptying her kitchen cupboards of all processed foods.
Then she looked at bath, body and laundry products wondering what kind of chemicals might affect not only her but also her five daughters.
“I logged 32,000 hours of research before I stopped following in 2010,” Fragras recalls. “I ended up sorting out all my health issues.”
Her research led her to wonder why Americans weren’t healthier after all our advances in medicine.
“I wondered if everyone was healthy, how many businesses and institutions would go bankrupt? »
She has publicized the benefits of organic herbs and herbal products through numerous speaking engagements. But instead of writing a book, she decided to explore a retail location.
Fragras and her husband dove into farmers markets with their pain relief cream and wellness water recipes and eventually decided to launch Infused Wellness in Fairwood in 2019 as a store and community education center.
“We mix Western herbalism and Chinese herbalism,” she said. “The goal is to help your body get to the point where it can heal itself.”
Glass jars filled with herbs like lemon balm, peppermint and milk thistle seed share the space with their own blend of teas with names like ‘ManTea’, ‘Girl Power Tea’ and ‘DeTox Me Tea’ “.
Their sister company, Sky Bison Beverages, offers jun on tap.
“Jun is similar to kombucha but less sweet and less vinegary,” Fragras said.
Also on tap, their house root beer.
“We call it root tea. It’s very popular,” she says.
Everything in store is certified organic, including makeup lines, bath and body products, and essential oils.
Books share shelf space with fermentation supplies for those who want to make their own kimchi or kombucha.
“I keep the best of what I would give to my family and friends, and I don’t wear competing companies,” Fragras said.
Infused Wellness offers all kinds of classes and workshops. One of Fragras’ daughters teaches the Chinese practice of brewing Gong Fu Cha tea.
“She is the ‘tea keeper’, and we sell her specialty tea blends.”
Although they opened shortly before the pandemic, they were able to establish a loyal customer base, which has continued to grow.
“Nurses are one of our biggest customer groups,” Fragras said. “But we see everyone from teenagers to people in their 80s. Health is a unifier between all of us.
She often hears stories similar to hers.
“The stories I hear on a daily basis bring me to tears,” she said. “We want to live longer, not die longer.”
These interactions motivate her to dispel myths about healthy lifestyles.
“We’re trying to change the health conversation,” Fragras said. “I want people to walk out knowing something they didn’t know when they walked in.”
