There's no denying that many of these carb-heavy, calorie-laden, sugar-filled drinks aren't great for you (or your waistline). But choose wisely — and choose whiskey — and you'll find you can pour yourself an almost surprisingly good-for-you drink after all.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00There's no denying that many of these carb-heavy, calorie-laden, sugar-filled drinks aren't
00:05great for you, or your waistline.
00:07But choose wisely, and choose this drink, and you'll find you can pour yourself an adult
00:11beverage with actual health benefits.
00:13What drink are we talking about, you ask?
00:16"...Whiskey."
00:17"...Do you mean whiskey?"
00:20"...What?"
00:21"...You're saying it weird."
00:23"...Saying what weird?"
00:24Red wine gets all the positive press when it comes to an alcoholic drink with health
00:27benefits.
00:28But scientific research shows that it's actually the bottle of whiskey you should be reaching
00:32for.
00:33And here's why.
00:34Back in ye old times, whiskey was once used for medicinal purposes.
00:38It was often found being passed around the battlefields in the bloody aftermath, and
00:42it was frequently used as an antiseptic.
00:44It's a movie cliche, sure, but a study published in the Annals of Microbiology gave complete
00:49credence to the practice.
00:50The study looked at just how many different types of bacteria could survive in the ice
00:54found at a bar or restaurant.
00:56And let's just say that it's not great news.
00:58There were 31 different species of bacteria found, including the kind that causes staph
01:03infections.
01:04Researchers then measured their resistance to different types of alcohol, including whiskey
01:07and vodka, as well as different types of mixers and different environmental conditions.
01:13Bacteria continued to thrive and swim and do whatever it is bacteria does in all the
01:16samples except one.
01:18The whiskey was the only drink to get rid of all different types of bacteria.
01:22Should you take a flask of whiskey with you whenever you go out?
01:25Should you only order whiskey from restaurants and bars?
01:28We're not here to tell you how to live your life, but yeah, maybe pump the brakes on that
01:31one a little, pal.
01:33"'Cause she drinks so much, and so quickly."
01:36But just because we're not advising you to nurse a handle 24-7, that's not to say that
01:40a reasonable drink every now and then can't do wonders.
01:43Case in point, in September 2018, Britain's Grace Jones turned 112 years old.
01:48NPR spoke to this oldest woman in Britain, known to her friends as Amazing Grace, and
01:52asked her just what she attributed to her long life.
01:55Her answer?
01:56Her decades-long practice of having a glass of single malt whiskey every night before
02:00bed.
02:01"'She puts her longevity down to the nightly tot of whiskey she still enjoys.'"
02:05"'My little drop of whiskey, I don't drink anything else.'"
02:11It sounds too good to be true, right?
02:13It might not be.
02:14A slew of scientific research has found whiskey has some fascinating properties.
02:18Take the high concentration of elagic acid.
02:21Those are the antioxidants that help your body destroy rogue cells.
02:24In other words, it helps fight a ton of different diseases.
02:27It's the same thing that's in wine, but whiskey has tons more of these little warriors.
02:31And speaking of antioxidants, let's take a look at the age-old belief that a hot toddy
02:35is exactly what the doctor ordered when you're suffering from a cold.
02:38The drink, traditionally made with hot water, whiskey, honey, and lemon, is basically medicine,
02:43according to Dr. William Schaffner, Chair of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
02:48Okay, so maybe it's not going to cure your cold, but it is going to lessen your symptoms.
02:53The hot water will help clear congestion, and the honey is going to soothe your sore
02:56throat.
02:57Meanwhile, that magic whiskey is going to dilate blood vessels, relieve that swollen
03:01feeling, and encourage your immune system to deal with the infection.
03:04A hot toddy just before bed might also help you fall asleep faster, and sleep is the real
03:08hero here.
03:09Oddly enough, all this scientific research is just verifying what our ancestors already
03:14knew.
03:15Says the Scotsman.
03:16This traditional drink of Ireland and Britain was originally given the name Uscaba, which
03:20translates to water of life, and a 16th-century treatise by a historian named Raphael Holinshed
03:25shows just how valued whiskey was as a cure-all.
03:28He writes,
03:29"...being moderately taken, it slows the age, cuts phlegm, helps digestion, cures the dropsy,
03:34it heals the strangulation, keeps and preserves the head from whirling, the tongue from lisping,
03:38the stomach from wobbling, the guts from rumbling, the hands from shivering, the bones from aching,
03:43and it truly is a sovereign liquor if it be orderly taken."
03:46You can't get more of a glowing recommendation than that, can you?
03:49Now that science is starting to back up all the praise whiskey has been garnering over
03:52the years, and it's becoming clear that there's more to whiskey than meets the eye, you have
03:56all the reasons you need to keep a few bottles for more than just special occasions.
04:01After all, everybody knows that age-old adage,
04:03"...a shark on whiskey is mighty risky, a shark on beer is a beer engineer."
04:10Or something like that.