Gin, botanicals, and the myth of “natural”

About ten years ago gin became the latest thing, artisan brands springing up in a garage near you.
Every bar had at least 20 varieties including a plethora of local creations
All you needed was some alcohol, flavouring and a good label to launch a gin brand!

I never got on with gin - I’d feel disproportionately hung-over the next morning.

The last time I had a gin it was ‘botanicaled’ with gorse flower…
Folklore says your body is instinctively repelled from what it recognises isn’t good for it and I have never liked the yellow gorse flower.

I took it as a clear message: “Avoid gin in the future dummy”.
Years later, that instinct resurfaced when I became interested in supplements.

I’m naturally cautious of ingredients that are newly fashionable but not yet well studied. Terms like “essential oil” or “botanical extract” sound wholesome and reassuring, but Mother Nature’s chemistry set contains both medicines and poisons.

For instance Digoxin, a powerful heart drug, is derived from the common foxglove. Certainly beneficial — but only at the right dose, under strict control.

Add in inconsistent growing conditions, variable processing, and long-term daily dosing, and some “natural” products become a potential minefield.

I recently read reports linking long-term use of a now commonplace supplement with liver damage.
‘Natural’ isn’t a synonym for safe.
Sometimes, a little healthy scepticism — and listening to your instincts — is a wise path.
Chin-chin.