The weekend is a great time to break out the top-shelf vodka and relax with a vodka cocktail. It’s when people choose to leave their worries behind and celebrate the week finally being over. However, there is much more to vodka than having a good time with your friends after a long, tiring week. Actually, there are quite a few health benefits of vodka most people don’t even consider.
While vodka (like any type of alcohol) isn’t necessarily healthy, there are some benefits to the spirit. Just make sure you don’t use them to justify excessive drinking.
1. It Can Help You De-Stress
Everyone has a way that they use to unwind after a long and stressful day at work. While some might turn to exercise or binge-watching Netflix shows to relax, some choose vodka as their companion for the night.
There is a widespread belief that for such an activity, wine is the right alcoholic beverage. This idea might stem from the fact that we’ve seen hundreds of movies on how certain protagonists drink bottles of wine to recline after a hard day. Well, despite the popular opinion on wine, science doesn’t necessarily agree with it. In the study, both vodka and red wine’s effect on stress were examined, and the results suggest that vodka had an apparent impact on stress reduction, unlike red wine that didn’t have any effect.
2. It Can Impact Sleep Quality
Like any other alcoholic drink, you’re not taking full advantage of the benefits if consumed at larger amounts. Science says that if drunk moderately and not regularly, it’s possible for vodka drinkers to experience the drink’s benefits.
In small doses, vodka can induce sleep and stimulate sleep latency. That’s why many people that suffer from insomnia drink alcohol right before bed. It’s one of the many benefits of drinking vodka (moderately, of course!). Plus, you can use the best vodka mixers and have yourself a before-bed cocktail.
One of the leading symptoms for insomniac people is the difficulty of falling asleep. However, the quality of sleep will leave a lot to be desired if you regularly drink more than you should. You’ll increase your alcohol tolerance and may experience a reduction in sleep duration and increased sleep disturbances.
3. It Can Help You Lose Weight
If you happen to be thinking about dieting but can’t really consider the option of having to give up on alcohol, then vodka is the right drink for you. Other alcoholic beverages like cheap beer can give you the ‘beer belly’ due to the sugar and calorie levels found in the beer. However, the case with vodka is quite different.
There are many varieties of vodka; some are made from potatoes, some from grain, and some from grapes. The number of calories might depend on the type of vodka you choose, the alcohol level in it, and whether it’s proof or flavored. Still, vodka drinks contain approximately 60 calories, a way lower number than other alcoholic beverages.
4. It Can Lower Your Cholesterol Levels
So, is vodka good for your health?
Once again, moderation comes into play. Vodka as an alcoholic drink can increase levels of good cholesterol (HDL) which fights the bad cholesterol (LDL) from clogging the arteries. Instead, it sends LDL toward the liver from where it’ll be removed from the body.
Not only does vodka help with the cholesterol levels, but it also reduces the risk of myocardial infarction. According to the study that came to this conclusion, the participants that experienced this decrease of the risk consumed alcohol three to four days a week. However, beware that the excessive use of vodka as any type of alcohol can lead to damage in the cardiovascular system.
5. It Can Be Used as a Skincare Product
Almost everyone has a skincare routine they follow through every night. A skincare routine contains a number of products, and vodka—with its disinfectant and detoxifying properties—could quite easily become part of it. Its uses would vary from unclogging and tightening your pores to treating acne breakout.
While vodka could help clear your skin all by itself, when combined with different ingredients such as green tea, distilled water, oils, and many others, the effects will be apparent sooner.
6. It Can Help Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
The mouth can serve as the window to overall body health. That’s why we should pay more attention to maintaining our oral health. While we can use many dental products to manage our mouth health, we could also put vodka’s properties to use.
If you struggle with getting rid of bad breath, vodka could resolve this issue for you. You can simply take a shot of vodka and instead of chugging it, gargle your mouth with it and done—the bad breath is gone. You could also mix the vodka with other ingredients to serve this purpose. It’s all up to you.
7. It May Reduce Inflammation
Among the many mentioned properties of vodka, we’re going to mention an additional one. Vodka may also act as an analgesic. This side of vodka came forward in a study where moderate consumption of alcohol and specifically vodka was linked to risk and severity reduction of rheumatoid arthritis. Patients who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and consumed vodka for a month experienced less severe symptoms than those that didn’t drink vodka or alcohol of any kind. Though this study should be taken with a grain of salt.
8. It May Stimulate Hair Growth
Using vodka to stimulate hair growth is one of the many remedies that are suggested by many beauty blogs on the internet.
According to one of these blogs, mixing vodka with water and then using the mix as a rinse after washing your hair can remove the product buildup from the scalp and strands, and, in turn, stimulate the growth of hair and give them lots of shine. The same blog suggests that using vodka with other different ingredients like dried rosemary, organic honey, and conditioner can lessen dandruff, reduce frizz, and prevent hair loss. While there isn’t any scientific study yet that can prove these claims, this remedy seems to be doing something right since people keep bringing it up.
Overall vodka can sort of be an all-purpose drink. It can help people relax, sleep well, take care of their appearance, and most importantly, reduce medical symptoms and risks. What can we say other than it’s a win-win situation for all vodka enthusiasts out there? Assuming you they’re drinking responsibly.
You can start taking advantage of these numerous vodka benefits starting today!
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