Early Health and Medicinal Use
The main use of vodka in the early mid-centuries was as a cleansing agent and an antiseptic. However, Russian folklore tells a story of a monk named Isidore in 1430 who created one of the first vodka beverages that was known to be of a higher quality and alcohol percentage. In 1534 Poland, Stefan Falimierz wrote in his work On Herbs and Their Potency, that vodka could be used “to increase fertility and awaken lust”.
As time progressed, vodka became more and more popular, both as a drink and for its medicinal purposes. In the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, documentation of how vodka was used for trade in 1958 is evident. You may find it odd that the Journal of Public Health Dentistry is writing about vodka. How in any way is vodka used for teeth? Well, it actually wasn’t, instead it was actually traded by the fifth for five gallons of fluoride-enriched water. This is just one example of how vodka was used over time in the economy and how trade played a large part in vodka’s popularity and globalization.
As time progressed, vodka became more and more popular, both as a drink and for its medicinal purposes. In the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, documentation of how vodka was used for trade in 1958 is evident. You may find it odd that the Journal of Public Health Dentistry is writing about vodka. How in any way is vodka used for teeth? Well, it actually wasn’t, instead it was actually traded by the fifth for five gallons of fluoride-enriched water. This is just one example of how vodka was used over time in the economy and how trade played a large part in vodka’s popularity and globalization.
Medicinal Use And Health Benefits TOday
While the ratio of medicinal use to recreational use of vodka leans heavily towards the latter, vodka still has many practical health benefits and medicinal uses. Vodka is seen as a stress reducer, and has been scientifically proven to improve cardiovascular health. It’s proven that Vodka has a diluting effect on the arteries, which stimulates good blood flow and prevents heart disease. Vodka can also still be used for both its antiseptic and anesthetic qualities. Vodka can still be used to disinfect wounds and prevent infections, as well as for diuretic properties when attempting to flush toxins out of the body. Vodka is used in Russian folklore to treat everything from mild headaches, to common colds, to bad hangovers. As an anesthetic, vodka can be used in making tinctures and herbal remedies. Organicfacts.net explains that, by soaking herbs in vodka the essential oils that are rich in healing qualities are extracted and can be taken orally or applied to the skin topically. Vodka also has many beneficial properties when applied to the skin. Because it helps cleans and tighten pores, it is used as a cleanser, toner, and an anti-acne product. It is also known to eliminate toxins by cleansing the scalp, which can be used to treat dandruff.
Vodka is also known for it’s dietary purposes. When drinkers go out, vodka is often a logical choice opposed to other types of alcohol. Vodka contains a low amount of calories, if any, and does not have any of carbohydrates that drinks such as beer have. Nutrition magazine published an article in 2009 about the new trend of Green Tea Vodka. Green Tea is a popular drink in America for many people looking to live healthier lifestyles, and it is now being paired with vodka in what Nutrition calls “almost paradoxical considering the possible protective effects of green tea and the well-known role of ethanol in hepatic damage by oxidative stress”. While Vodka and all alcohol is known to cause stress on the liver, there is a possibility that by pairing it with an antioxidant rich drink like green tea, it might help to provide a therapeutic role. |
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Sources Used: [5], [8], [12], [13]