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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   5877 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 21, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Digestifs seem to be a very European phenomenon. All across Europe, most countries have some types of liquors that many people drink a small amount of after their dinner to "aid digestion". Grappa is one popular example. Aperitifs are a similar phenomenon, meant to be drank before a meal.

However, I remember hearing previously that any alcohol consumption will actually hinder digestion, by needing to be processed in a lengthy manner.

Is there any support for digestives and aperitifs actually working? What does "aid digestion" actually mean? Does it mean that it makes you feel less full? Does it help increase your metabolism?

To me a digestif is usually pretty herbal; ie. Benedictine, Jaeger, something like that.

So maybe the bitterness or non-alcohol components could have some effect?

Drinking something like grappa after dinner (or coffee drinks) is just a way of shaking off the torpor so you can party on -- which I suppose is probably better for digestion than lying on the couch for an hour, but more like a side effect.

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