Common Tonifying, Health-Promoting, and Longevity-Enhancing Wines, Lǐ, and Láo
Common Tonifying, Health-Promoting, and Longevity-Enhancing Wines, Lǐ, and Láo
In China, using medicinal wines for tonification, disease prevention, and longevity has a long history.
The invention of alcohol advanced medicine, especially pharmaceutical formulation and food therapy, significantly. Alcohol itself has benefits such as promoting blood circulation, nourishing the spleen, thickening the stomach and intestines, moisturizing the skin, removing cold, and enhancing drug efficacy. Hence, ancient people said: "Alcohol is the leader among all medicines."
Traditional tonifying wines are classified into three types by composition: "jiu" (alcohol), "lǐ" (alcohol with added sugar), and "láo" (alcohol with added sugar and residual lees from fermentation). "Jiu" mainly contains ordinary herbal ingredients; "lǐ" includes ordinary herbs plus sugar; "láo" contains ordinary herbs, sugar, and fermentation residues.