Hop

History of Hop

Hop counts as one of the younger cultivated plants and has been established as crop plant in Europe in the 8th century. Back then, monks started to use hop for brewing because they found out that hop is durable for a very long time and resistant to rot. Consequential they concluded that hop was suitable for conservation and therefore the perfect beer ingredient.

Initially, hop did only play an inferior role in the field of medicine. Appreciated especially amongst the lower class, it was used from people suffering liver diseases, stomach problems and gout. Only a couple of hundred years later, in the 11th century, Hildegard von Bingen delved into the advantages of hop. In her medical work 'Physica', she describes the calming effect but also notices that it is 'heavy' on the intestines and that it makes humans ‘sad’.

Back then hop was also said to strengthen hair growth.

Scientifically proven, hop is these days used

• to reduce anxieties, 
• inner tensions and 
• sleep disturbances.

In medical science only the hop cone is used though, as they contain the ingredients humolon and hupulon. Those ingredients have a calming and soporific effect. Furthermore, the ingredients have a bacteriostatic effect and are helpful for fighting digestive disorders and bladder trouble.

Hop can be used in various ways:

• Hop tea: For sleep disturbances, restlessness and anxieties / the effect is strengthened     through the use of balm or valerian
• Hop oil bath: Helps to fight joint pain and joint inflammation
• A pillow filled with hop cones: Helps to calm down and to rest