Consciously drinking.
They are on more and more shelves: alcohol-free 'drinks with benefits' that promise a buzz or stimulating effects, without the hangover. Does that really work or is the effect just in your head? Beverage journalist Esmee Langereis looks deep into the glass.
Anyone who drinks with the times has probably already noticed: alcohol seems to be on the decline. No reason to panic, because in its place are so-called 'drinks with benefits' that promise the buzz without the risk of texting your ex at three in the morning.
Functional drinks, as they are also called, are not new in themselves. In the late 1980s we were introduced to energy drinks with caffeine and ginko or ginseng and our intestinal tract was never the same after the introduction of Dr. Shirota's probiotic drink Yakult in the 1990s. Since then, AAs, wheatgrass shots, isotonic beer, broth-to-go, acai berry smoothies and vitamin waters have been in review. All of them are 'functional drinks', because they contain something extra, but when we talk about functional drinks we quickly find ourselves in the corner of alternatives to alcohol - and there has been an increasing demand for this in recent years.
We exercise more, eat less meat and sugar and more attention is also paid to the negative health effects of alcohol.
