You know the symptoms all too well: fever, cough, congestion, sore throat, headache, and drowsiness. The common, yet dreaded, cold. There’s no cure for these viruses, only medicines that hasten recovery and decrease those nagging symptoms. While we often turn to Vitamin C and Zinc and other remedies to help, should we also consider that classic elixir, the Hot Toddy? The drink — traditionally made with hot water, whiskey, honey, and lemon — has been a cure-all for a long time. So, which is it — medicine or an old wives’ tale?
According to Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University, it acts just like a medicine. Again, while it’s not going to cure your cold, it is going to lessen your symptoms considerably. The hot water and lemon will help clear mucous and congestion, the honey (which itself is packed with many anti-inflammatory compounds) is going to help soothe your sore throat, and the whiskey is going to work to dilate blood vessels and encourage your immune system to deal with the infection. A hot toddy just before bed might also help you fall asleep faster — and rest is a major boost to your body’s recovery, too.So the next time you start feeling down from a cold, consider pouring yourself a Hot Toddy before bed as the science now shows what the earlier generations knew all along – the Hot Toddy is a tasty and healing tonic.The Ultimate Bacterial KillerUntil the past century, whiskey was often used for medicinal purposes. It was regularly found being passed around the battlefields in the bloody aftermath, frequently being used as an antiseptic to clean wounds. It’s something you see in movies, but is there any science behind this use? The answer is yes. A study published in the Annals of Microbiology in 2017 gave complete credence to the practice.
The study looked at just how many different types of bacteria could survive in the ice found at a bar or restaurant, and what they found might gross you out! There were 31 different species of bacteria found, including the type that causes common staph infections. Researchers then measured their resistance to different types of alcohol, including whiskey and vodka, different types of mixers, as well as different environmental conditions. And what they found: Bacteria continued to thrive in all the samples except one – the whiskey. Whiskey was the only drink to get rid of all different types of bacteria! So it appears whiskey, with its high level of alcohol and antioxidant compounds, is indeed the ultimate bacterial killer.Settanni, L., Gaglio, R., Stucchi, C. et al. “Presence of pathogenic bacteria in ice cubes and evaluation of their survival in different systems”. Ann Microbiol 67, 827–835 (2017).