Beyond being great for your general well-being, confidence, and street credit, we’re just finding out that drinking whiskey (in moderation) comes with some legitimate health benefits. Just in case you needed another excuse to get on the whiskey bandwagon, here are some of our findings:
Stave off Dementia
Contrary to popular opinion, whiskey might actually boost cognitive ability. Research is still in-process, but we do know that ellagic acid, found in, you guessed it, whiskey, is effective in raging against free radicals. Free radicals are connected with interrupting neural pathways and the way we connect ideas together. Of course, drinking too much can kill brain cells, but sipping whiskey and it’s ellagic acid is like calling in the cavalry to fight back.
Protect the Heart
There’s nothing better than whiskey for a broken heart. Literally, as it turns out. Studies show that moderate whiskey drinkers have a 50% lower chance of heart attack or stroke.
Blood Clots
People with high cholesterol are at an increased risk of blood clotting. Clotting is a good thing externally, like for papercuts. However, internally, clots can block up arteries and lead to fatal issues like thrombosis. Whiskey, like most alcohols, is a blood thinner and is also loaded with “good” cholesterol which can prevent these complications.
Back Up, Cancer
Let’s talk some more about that ellagic acid. It’s an antioxidant, which is a trendy word that means ellagic acid neutralizes the bad byproducts of our cellular metabolisms that cause many cancers. Antioxidants aren’t effective in fighting cancers, but they have been connected to cancer prevention.
The Diabeetus
Drinking small amounts of whiskey is a fantastic way to balance insulin and glucose levels. In fact, recent studies have suggested that whiskey drinkers experience 30-40% reduced chances of diabetes.
The Original Cure-all
We’ve seen the old Cowboy films. Guy on horseback gets shot, partner-in-crime douses the wound in whiskey to keep it clean. It turns out they were on to something. The antioxidants and trace vitamins found in whiskeys does, in fact, stimulate the immune system and stave off infection.
Drink it Neat
Obviously, dressing whiskey up in sugar-filled mixers does nothing to control weight loss. However, whiskey is one of the lowest-calorie alcohols we can drink and it’s completely fat and bad cholesterol-free.
tl;dr
Whiskey, in moderation, is actually pretty darn good for you. Round of Jame-o, please.