Advantages and Disadvantages of Palm Wine (Toddy)

A worldwide alcoholic beverage, palm wine has several local names, prepared from the sap of various palm tree species such as the date palms, palmyra, and coconut palms. It has different names in different part of the world and mostly consumed and cultured in several parts of Africa, West Africa, South America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Micronesia, and Southeast Asia. The wine is also called as Mmanya ocha in Igbo, Toddy in Asia, and Tuba, Mimbo, Doka, and Vino de coyol in several parts of the world. Palm wine is basically a white fermented sugary beverage and is slightly alcoholic when fermented for a long duration.

The drink is significantly popular in rural regions due to its tremendous health advantages and cultural importance. However, there are some potential disadvantages of drinking palm wine according to experts and researchers.

Basically, there are two methods of tapping the palm wine. The first method is by draining the wine directly from the palm tree inflorescence which can be achieved by climbing onto the tree, making a precise incision, and attaching or wrapping a clay pot for the wine to drip. And the second method involves uprooting the entire tree before making an incision on the tree’s trunk in order to attach and connect a tube to a clay pot or gourd. The sap gradually drips and drains out. Loaded with ample antioxidants and vitamin C, the palm wine nutritional values are way too much beneficial for human health. 

Nutritional Facts of Palm Wine per 100 ml

• Sugars – 9 mg
• Protein (amino acids) – 59 mg
• Fats – 62 mg
• Ethanol – 3 mg
• Vitamin B3, B6
• Vitamin C
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Magnesium
• Iron
• Nicotinic acid
• Probiotics
• Thiamine

Advantages of Palm Wine

1. Enriched with antioxidants.

Palm wine is enriched with all sorts of antioxidants especially Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin which helps to fight against free radicals that cause cell damage increasing the risk of developing cancer. The antioxidant properties of palm wine also speed up the process of wound healing by boosting tissue repairing and promoting the healthy cells growth.

2. Enhances eyesight and vision

Palm wine is rich in antioxidants, especially Vitamin C which helps in maintaining good eye health. Plus, palm wine also contains Vitamin B1 or thiamine, an antioxidant which is responsible for improving your vision.

3. Antibacterial properties

Palm wine has antibacterial properties as well which is why palm wine is specifically consumed to treat food borne diseases and diarrhoea as well, which is one of the advantages of palm wine.

4. Loaded with probiotics

Palm wine is loaded with acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria that are both probiotics and beneficial for gut health and immunity. Presence of protein, sugar, fats, minerals, vitamins, and probiotics make this wine a complete beverage drink to build your body’s defence against several diseases.

5. Improves skin health

Palm wine is also rich in iron and vitamin B complex that are both needed for a healthy skin, hair, and nails. Plus, iron is useful for the development, growth, and functioning of certain cells in our body which is why the beverage helps in promoting wound healing.

6. Promotes lactation

Palm wine is traditionally believed to induce lactation in lactating mothers who find it hard in lactating sufficiently. In rural areas, people believe that drinking freshly tapped palm wine without fermentation or alcoholic effect can increase breast milk flow for new-born babies as freshly tapped wine contains significant amounts of nutrients that are beneficial for both baby and mother.

7. Reduces stress and anxiety

Fermented palm wine has some traces of alcohol and probiotics as well that help in calming down and regulating anxiety attacks. As per recent studies, probiotics can also help in reducing anxiety by attuning sequences in the gut-brain axis, yet another effective advantage of palm wine.

Disadvantages of Palm Wine

1. Dangerous if consumed by pregnant woman

A solid disadvantage of palm wine is the drink is absolutely not recommended for pregnant woman’s consumption as alcohol during pregnancy can lead to miscarriages, and developmental disorders in foetus. Palm wine is highly capable of permeating the placenta into the foetus causing ‘Foetal Alcohol Syndrome’ which is a health defect passed over to a baby in the womb which includes poor attention, poor brain development, low body weight, poor memory, learning disabilities, speech disorder, vision or hearing problems and so on.

2. Risk of blood clotting disorder

When injury occurs, blood cells have a natural tendency to get clump together covering the spot of the injury, and also it releases proteins known as a clotting factor. These clotting proteins cover the spot of the injury and according to research, excessive consumption of palm wine thins out the blood and when there’s an injury, the clumping or clotting of blood cells becomes hard. Thus, this phenomenon leads to blockage in the blood vessel of the heart, and uncontrollable bleeding with a risk of heart attack.

3. Fatty liver

Drinking palm wine as daily routine and in excessive amounts can lead to Alcohol-Related Liver Disease (ARLD) called Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease which occurs when there is a fat build-up in the liver due to excess intake of palm wine.

4. Neurological symptoms

Excessive and daily intake of palm wine can also cause neurological symptoms such as body rigidity and muscle contraction in both men and women.

5. Infertility

Excessive consumption of palm wine can lead to low sperm count or production, early ejaculation, impotence, change in sperm’s shape, size and mobility which are common infertility signs in men which is another disadvantage of palm wine. In women, when palm wine is consumed more often can cause interruption in the menstrual cycle or irregular menstruation, and ovulation irregularity or difficulty in ovulation, changes the testosterone levels in the woman, and high levels of prolactin in the blood.

6. Risk of kidney stone

Human body has got naturally the antidiuretic hormones (ADH), ADH which is produced by the brain and is responsible for signalling the kidney when it’s time to stop producing urine. Excessive consumption of palm wine can suppress the antidiuretic hormone, which results in more urination. And recurrent urination leads to severe dehydration which further allows the collation of hard salt and minerals causing kidney stones.

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