Every year, at around this time, the same articles start doing the rounds. You MUST have seen them by now. It’s the highly popular ‘news’ that gin soothes hay fever and we need to start knocking them back now to save ourselves before the pollen renders us immobile throughout May to September. Backed by industry professionals, we all love to hear how our favourite tipple is helping to keep us healthy.
‘’Asthma UK says that while alcoholic drinks like beer and red wine often make hay fever and asthma worse, switching your regular bar order to gin might help to relieve symptoms more than other drinks.’’
The reasoning behind the proclamation is due to gin having a low histamine content and containing exactly zero sulphates. Sadly, this doesn’t mean that gin is likely to cure your hay fever, just simply, that it is the best choice if you fancy a tipple but have the itchy eye/ runny nose combo that this season is so famed for.
However, it has got us thinking! What are the some of the health benefits associated with drinking gin and how can we use them to our advantage this Summer?
- It can treat chronic pain and inflammations
It’s a well-known fact that when you’re intoxicated things don’t seem to feel as bad (‘’that’ll hurt in the morning’’)- but both the gin and the tonic involved in its namesake cocktail are genuinely proven to help treat chronic pain and inflammations. These could include, but are not limited to, such ailments as arthritis and general joint pain, which is thanks to the Juniper in gin. The quinine in the tonic water is also proven to be a muscle relaxant, and who doesn’t have muscles that want to feel more relaxed?
- Juniper berries, the more the merrier
Where do you start with a berry like Juniper? It has quite literally been branded a ‘Super Berry’. Juniper berries contain an inordinate number of antioxidants which help keep the human body in tip top shape. Everything from flushing the liver and kidneys to actually preventing wrinkles appearing on your face, have all been linked to juniper berries. A lot of this is down to the flavonoids which are perfect for preventing heart disease and improving your blood circulation as you enter the later years of your life. They are brimming with infection fighting qualities as they are warming, stimulating and disinfecting. Juniper berries promote cell regeneration in the body which would explain why after a few gins following a taxing day at the office we start to ‘feel like a new person’.
- Garnishes. Aka; ‘one of your five a day’
Thanks to the recent garnish craze we are within, we have seen bartenders chucking everything apart from the kitchen sink into a G&T. Luckily, a lot of these garnishes that have been adorning our drinks are made up of mini herbaceous health kicks. A popular garnish which is widely known for its immune system boosting properties is the small but mighty Ginger. Ginger has been used medicinally for thousands of years to treat anything from nausea to cold and flues and helps aid digestion.
Do be aware of OCG- Obsessive Compulsive Garnishing*
*OCG is not a real condition, and definitely won’t pass as an excuse to miss work when you have a sneaky hangover.
- Less calories in gin = more ice creams on the beach
Gin has been a firm fave for those watching their waistlines for a while now because of its low sugar content, meaning less carbs. It has been crowned one of the least calorific alcoholic drinks weighing in at a nice and low 97 cals per shot. If you compare that to something like white wine which has a staggering 200 + calories per large glass, or something seriously dangerous like a Pina Colada which has over 400 calories, the numbers speak for themselves. In layman’s terms, you can drink gin whenever you want, you should only have white wine at the weekends, and we recommend limiting your Pina Colada’s to your yearly holiday somewhere exotic.
- One must stay hydrated!
The clue is in the name, tonic water started life as straightforward water, and everybody knows you’re meant to drink lots of water when you get hot and bothered. Yes, it has been carbonated and yes it has had flavours added to bring it up to tonic water standards, but that fizzy Fever-Tree you’ll be enjoying in a glass clinking with lots of ice and gin is your good ol’, humble H2O.
After all is said and done, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you though that Mr Hobbs is not a registered, legal, medical practitioner and nor has he ever been. The opinions expressed in this article are largely myths from the internet and excuses to make ourselves and you feel better about all the gins we will be consuming over Summer 2019.
Excessive use of gin to aid your health and well-being can induce severe sore heads, total inebriation and many, many giggles in your local pub garden.
And remember; sipping, no guzzling.
