The tonic of gin
The wonderful thing about the Internet is how you can unexpectedly find something that you didn’t even know existed and it can make your day. I was going to write about ginsoaked raisins being good for arthritis when I came across the following:
“Ten Reasons Why Drinking Gin Can Be Good For You” by Heather Fishel.
I actually gave up drinking gin a few weeks ago because I decided wine was better for me. Ha! Heather Fishel is my new best friend.
The wonderful thing about the Internet is how you can unexpectedly find something that you didn’t even know existed and it can make your day. I was going to write about gin-soaked raisins being good for arthritis when I came across the following:
“Ten Reasons Why Drinking Gin Can Be Good For You” by Heather Fishel.
I actually gave up drinking gin a few weeks ago because I decided wine was better for me. Ha! Heather Fishel is my new best friend.
Here is a condensed version of this important health discovery.
The oil in the juniper berries used in making gin helps fight off coughs and lung congestion by agitating the bronchial passages and expelling mucus. (I have had a bronchial cough for a few weeks now. Coincidence? I think not).
The makeup of gin helps to relieve the pain caused by achy joints, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. (I recently had my worst flare-up of arthritis in the neck! Down a quart maybe?)
The herbs used to create gin increase stomach acid secretions and digestive enzymes which break down ingested food thereby aiding better digestion. (I hardly know what indigestion and heartburn feel like, just saying.)
The natural ingredients in gin (juniper berries, coriander, cassia, nutmeg, sage, angelica root, and rosemary, among others), make it a smorgasbord of nutritious herbs and probably the healthiest liquor on the market today. (Dubious praise but I’ll take it.)
Thanks to its natural ingredients, gin is packed with antioxidants that work to keep your skin fresh, dewy, and youthful. A good gin martini may aid in encouraging cellular restoration and overall skin restoration. (Think of all the money I’ve saved on skin care products!)
Gin may help your blood circulation as you get older because juniper berries contain flavonoids, which have a whole slew of benefits for cardiovascular health such as prevention of atherosclerosis and clogged arteries. (What can I say; no issues of this nature so far.)
I realize this is all a bit tongue in cheek (or gin in mouth or whatever), but I’m not finished yet.
The beginning of this next part seems a little farfetched “in addition to potentially warding off obesity and weight gain” (!) gin is a relatively low calorie alcoholic drink. A shot of gin weighs in
at 97 calories.
How about “gin and tonic can ward of malaria.” (I have to admit I have never had malaria).
But did you know that gin is good for your liver? Since the juniper berries in gin are diuretic, drinking gin can increase urine output and reduce water retention, possibly reducing bloating, or urinary tract infections and even liver disease.
I would not recommend increasing your gin intake to avoid liver disease. I do realize that if we were to take all of this seriously, lung congestion, stomach acid, dry skin and poor circulation could end up being the least of our problems. However it did give me a bit of a laugh/lift (and some logical reasons to put gin back in my diet) until I read the next part.
“While juniper berries do have a lot of antioxidant properties, regular gin is relatively devoid of antioxidants, so you need barrel-aged gin to get any antioxidants as the lengthy aging process in wooden barrel produces polyphenols and furans that are leeched out from the cask.”
Even though I believe you can always find something on the Internet to say what you want to hear, I can find no evidence that any of my preferred gins are aged in wooden barrels.
I do have some aged in raisins. Well actually it’s the other way around, which is how this column started but that will have to wait for another day.
“The natural ingredients in gin (juniper berries, coriander, cassia, nutmeg, sage, angelica root, and rosemary, among others), make it a smorgasbord of nutritious herbs and probably the healthiest liquor on the market today.”