What Is Tonic Water

If you are a person who enjoys liquor, especially gin, you won’t need an excuse to use tonic water with your drink. Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink that contains quinine as one of its ingredients. Tonic water is generally used and is popular for its preventive properties especially against malaria and is often used in mixed drinks, particularly gin and other tonics. Tonic water is a beverage that has a fairly bitter taste which is derived from the addition of quinine in it. Quinine is derived from the bark of the Cinchona tree found in the Andes, in South America. Quinine is believed to cure malaria to some extent and keeps the body healthy and protected from dangerous viruses. Quinine is also known for its relaxing effect it has on our muscles and is also considered an energy booster. Therefore, tonic water apart from being used as an agent to fight malaria can also be used as a sports drink or energy drink by people undergoing rigorous physical exercise. For more interesting information on tonic water, read on.

Information On Tonic Water

History Of Tonic Water
Tonic water is a drink that gained its title due to the addition of bitter quinine in it.  Quinine was added to the drink as prevention against malaria, since the drink was consumed by people living in the tropical areas of South Asia, Africa and South America, areas where malaria is widespread. Drinking a mixture of gin and tonic water originated in colonial British India where the British used to mix their medicinal quinine tonic with gin. Since the year 2005 there has been a great emphasis on using real quinine instead flavoring it with other liquors in order to obtain maximum medicinal benefits.

Tonic Water Ingredients
Quinine is a chemically processed tonic which is used and consumed mainly to treat malaria. However, it has been proved through various studies that quinine does not actually cure malaria completely; rather, it helps reduce the fever and the symptoms leading to the sickness. Tonic water these days contains very little quinine to prevent malaria. Nevertheless, it is still known as ‘tonic water’ because it is good for health due to the presence of some amount of quinine in it. Tonic water comes in different flavors and sweeteners. Tonic water in general contains the following ingredients;

• Spring water
• Natural quinine
• Sugar
• Citric acid
• Some 'botanical' flavors (presumably some of the usual bitter herbs)
• Carbonated water
• Sodium citrate
• Natural fruit flavors
• Sodium benzoate (preservative)
• Saccharin (5.1 mg per fluid ounce)

• One of the major benefits of tonic water is that it contains quinine. This is an ingredient that helps relax the muscles and helps people suffering from spasms. Tonic water, because of the presence of quinine in it can also benefit people with sore or tight muscles. However, tonic water cannot be used to treat any specific disease.
• Tonic water contains sugar which is a common ingredient in all aerated drinks. Therefore, tonic water can be used in situations of higher caloric needs or in cases of stress.
• Tonic water can prove to be a good substitute for any sports drink. It can be used by a person who requires higher amounts of water after an intense workout which leads to profuse sweating.
• Tonic water also helps people who want to cut down on their consumption of liquor.
• Tonic water, unlike normal water contains fizz and sweetness that makes it a perfect mix for gin and other hard liquors.
• Tonic water can be a source of daily water in case of non-availability of normal water and can also supply your body with the required amount of calories. It can serve as an energizer on a rough and tiring day and can help you stay on track.