Herbs, Health, and the Hard Stuff
Just how healthy are our drinks? Could alcoholic beverages actually have some benefit to our health? Red wine may come to mind, but spirits and liquors may also be similarly beneficial for our health. As the famous historical saying goes, "alcohol is the best medicine” (Zenkanjo, Shihuozhi, 200 B.C.)[1]. This intersection of health and alcohol has attracted a lot of attention, with one group of scientists recently formulating the ‘perfect’ herbal liquor with antioxidant properties. If medicinal herbs could harness the power of alcohol, we could certainly enjoy our drinks with an added bonus. Here we will take a closer look at the science and recent innovations of alcoholic drinks.
When we think of alcohol having some benefit to our health, red wine is the chief contender. There has indeed been consistent findings of a longer life expectancy the more red wine is drunk, as well as numerous other positive effects on cholesterol, blood sugar levels, antioxidant levels, and reducing the risk of cancer. This means that, in general, red wine drinkers are less prone[2] to heart disease, diabetes, and dementia than non-wine drinkers. The key preventative compound responsible for this is procyanidins, which are also found in such foods as berries and dark chocolate. So we could think of a glass of red as roughly equivalent to eating a handful of cranberries and nuts. Much research has gone into pinning down exactly which wines are the best health-wise, and it points towards a younger wine with more tannins as being the most beneficial. And it is even better if it is drunk in moderation and with a meal. At the heart of the research on wine and health is moderation. We only have to think of the “J-shaped curve”[3] of public health – this means a small amount of consumption will have health benefits (the dip of the J), but any more will start becoming detrimental to health. So a medium glass of red at mealtimes is the way to go.
The health benefits of wine are well-established, but when it comes to other types of alcohol, there is not necessarily a difference in health between spirit drinkers and wine drinkers. Studies find that any health benefits or detriments are probably more likely due to our drinking patterns[4]. For example, one only has to think of the “French paradox”. This refers to how a typical French diet is very fat-heavy, with cheese and rich creams and a lot of red wine – and yet they have surprisingly low rates of heart rate disease in the population. Again, this is largely down to moderation; a gentle solitary glass with a meal is the perfect way to consume alcohol to obtain those notable health benefits.
However, let us consider liquors. Liquors are a very concentrated, often sweet distillation of herbs, which stem from the original cordials and elixirs of medicinal apothecaries. Many recipes have been traced back to Ancient Egypt, as well as the monasteries of Italy and France during the Middle Ages. This may suggest that liquors might still retain some health benefits to the drinker. Indeed, research has shown that a very moderate consumption of liquor may be linked to a lower risk of ischemic strokes[5]. This is due to how it prevents arteries in the brain from narrowing, and thus artery blockages and strokes from occurring. One example of a herbal liquor is Jagermeister, which is famously blended with a secret formulation of over 50 herbs, guarded religiously by the brand. Jägermeister[6] was originally consumed as a medicine to soothe digestion and ease coughing, before then becoming widely drunk for pleasure. Indeed, some of the known herbal ingredients have very health-inducing properties. For example, clove[7], which is anti-inflammatory and reduces fevers, as well as reducing the risk of intestinal cancers; juniper[8], which has a myriad of positive impacts on health; and many others[9] like anise and liquorice root. However, the way Jägermeister is made involves removing the plant matter itself, which leaves just the flavours and essential oils. This means the liquor is mostly sugar and alcohol, both of which are known to be rather detrimental to our health in larger quantities. Alongside the resulting risk to obesity, Jägermeister carries with it the same risk of alcohol dependency as any other alcohol. Thus, having lost the real essence of those herbs, Jägermeister is probably not net “good for us” in the same way that more traditional herbal remedies once were.
However, in complete contrast, an innovative new recipe has hit the alcohol scene. Researchers have created a new herbal bitter liquor[10], specifically designed to have healthful properties. They describe their research as being motivated by how herbal spirits can be considered to have functional health properties. Through a number of trial shots with willing participants, scientists pinned down the optimal levels of sugar content which people found tasty. Interestingly, this was many magnitudes less than the sugar content of common liquors such as Jägermeister. From here, they then concocted the perfect balance of bitter and aromatic flavours by adjusting the proportions of mint and anise extracts. Once this balance had been perfectly formulated, the new liquor was compared with other famous herbal liquors – Jägermeister included – and was found to have a much higher phenolic content. In other words, it has great antioxidant properties. So whilst it is not quite a superfood, this newly formulated liquor can provide more benefits to health than similar liquors, and presents an exciting new avenue of research for alcohol-lovers.
So the question of whether alcoholic drinks could be healthy is certainly a contested one, but wine and the newly formulated herbal liquor do seem to have some notable benefits. This of course must be balanced against the largely asymmetrical risks of alcohol in general, including diabetes and liver disease, but it is encouraging news. With scientists working on new ways of formulating spirits and liquors to become ever more healthy and beneficial, we are surely on the way to an even better beverage.
References
[1] Yomeishu. (n.d.) Herbs and Health Liquor. Available at: https://www.yomeishu.co.jp/english/ingredients/
[2] Corder, R. (2007) The Red Wine Diet. Penguin Publishing Group.
[3] Chokshi, D., El-Sayed, A.M. (2015) J-Shaped Curves and Public Health. JAMA. 314, 13. 1339-1340. Available at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2443580
[4] Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. (2018) Is Wine Fine, or Beer Better? The Nutrition Source. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/is-wine-fine-or-beer-better/
[5] Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.) Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits. Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/alcohol/art-20044551
[6] WebMD. (n.d) Jägermeister: Is It Good For You? WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/diet/jagermeister-is-it-good-for-you#1
[7] Cortés-Rojas, D.F., et al. (2014) Clove (Syzygium aromaticum): a precious spice. APJTB. 4,2. 90-96. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3819475/
[8] Bais, S., et al. (2014). A Phytopharmacological Review on a Medicinal Plant: Juniperus communis. Int Sch Res Notices. 2014. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4897106/
[9] Life With Gremlins. (2015) What’s In Jagermeister? Does It Have Medicinal Uses or Health Benefits? Life With Gremlins. Available at: https://www.lifewithgremlins.com/whats-in-jagermeister-medicinal-uses/
[10] Petrović, M., et al. (2019) New herbal bitter liqueur with high antioxidant activity and lower sugar content: innovative approach to liqueurs formulations. J Food Sci Technol. 56,10. 4465-4473. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6801303/