After a particularly sumptuous meal such as roast goose, fondue or raclette, many people reach for the infamous digestive liquor to relieve the feeling of fullness. In this article, we would like to address the question: Does alcohol help with digestion and what are the alternatives?
Does liquor have a positive effect on digestion?
What is really on the digestive liquor? This question was also asked by a group of Swiss scientists from the University Hospital in Zurich. For this purpose they made a small “cheese fondue experiment”. Twenty test subjects each ate 200 g of melted cheese, together with 100 g of white bread. Half of the subjects drank a glass of white wine with their meal, and the other half were given a cup of black tea with their meal. An hour and a half after the meal, the wine drinkers were given a glass of brandy, while the tea drinkers were given a glass of water as a “digestif.”
The fondue cheese was equipped by the researchers with special marker molecules. These markers were then used to find out how the alcohol affects digestion. Breath tests were used to track the breakdown of the molecules in the stomach and intestines so that the speed at which the meal was digested could be measured.
The result was that the test subjects who had drunk a glass of wine during the meal and a glass of brandy afterwards spent significantly longer digesting the meal than the half who had drunk a cup of tea and water. Even though the number of test subjects was very small, the result shows very clearly: high-proof alcohol delays digestion. So the “digestive liquor” is a myth.
But why do we often feel more relaxed after a digestif anyway?
The relaxing feeling that often follows a digestive schnapps has little to do with digestion. The reason for this lies in the alcohol. It dilates our blood vessels and has a relaxing effect on our muscle cells. Since the stomach is also a muscle that relaxes, the feeling of fullness decreases and a “deceptive relief” sets in. Alcohol has rather “numbed” the feeling of fullness and slowed down our digestion.
The alternative: herbal tea for better digestion
To really do something good for our digestion, we can drink a cup of tea with our meal as well as an alternative to digestive liquor. The following varieties, among others, have proven to be particularly effective and beneficial:
Reason for the positive effect are the valuable ingredients of the herbs, such as the contained essential oils and bitter substances.
By the way, in our store you can find not only the single herbs just mentioned. We also offer you high-quality ready-made tea blends, such as our “Digestive Herbal Tea” blend. Here we have created for you valerian, chamomile, caraway and peppermint from controlled organic cultivation to a soothing and tasty herbal tea blend.
If you have any questions about our products or the positive effects of herbal teas, please feel free to contact us. The team of the Herbathek is gladly there for you.
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