Extracted & Concentrated Review: Fresh American Hops

When a 30ml jar of pure full-spectrum hops extract bounced into my life this spring, I first wondered if the recommended 40mg dose under my tongue would have me feeling woozy the next morning. “WTH are hops, anyway?” I asked myself first, and then the internet. Natural high-quality medicine is what they are, it turns out. They come from a small family of flowering plants, including cannabis, and are used as a bittering and flavoring agent in beer. For craft beer enthusiasts, it’s all about the hops.

Many varieties of the hops herb are grown by farmers around the world, but primarily in North America.

The Health Benefits of Hops

Hop cones contain a number of different oils including lupulin, a yellowish, waxy substance that possess powerful antibiotic and anesthetic properties. The main terpenes of hops oils are myrcene, humulene, and caryophyllene. Xanthohumol is the herb’s principal flavonoid and has shown potential benefits against breast cancer and in estrogen-positive and estrogen-negative cancers.
As an herbal medicine, hops also display qualities similar to valerian extract which may improve sleep, promote relaxation, and reduce anxiety. It did in my case, almost immediately. While the taste is almost unbearably bitter the buzz is wonderfully beachy.

The tincture I tried was the Natural Blend featuring honey, MCT oil, 100 percent Humulus Lupulus extract, and four percent Xanthohumol Levels. Other flavors currently available at Fresh American Hops are Banana Blend and Beet Black Current Blend, which may be easier to swallow. Customers can choose between 250mg, 500mg, and 1000mg infusions.

Bottoms Up, Baby

From eye health to appetite suppression here are a few more benefits of dropping hops on the daily, as advertised on Fresh American Hops’ website.

• Hops are 200 times more powerful than Resveratrol for brighter, tighter, younger looking skin.
• The essential oils in hops have shown inhibitory effects on more than 60 different types of cancer. Petri dish tests show the Humolones and Lupolones in hops killing cancer and restricting leukemia cancer cells from clinging to the bone.
• This bitter herb protects against free radicals with six times the power of any antioxidant rich strengthened fruit.
• Hops helps to modulate liver enzymes which help remove carcinogenic toxins from the body.
• Looking to shed a few pounds? Hops also features anorectic qualities which may help with weight loss.

Maybe the last perk is what beer drinkers tell themselves before ordering just one more.

I googled the health benefits of drinking beer and it turns out, not so shockingly, most of the good stuff comes from hops. Extracts by Fresh American Hops are a way to get those benefits without the consequences of liver damage, a beer belly, or a hangover. In the meantime, I’m eager to find my long-lost youthful complexion at the bottom of the bottle in 30 days (or maybe less, hopefully).

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