Root beer was often advertised as a health drink in the past because it contained traditional “botanical” ingredients such as herbs, berries, or roots for flavoring. Ginger, dandelion, sassafras, hops, birch, sarsaparilla (smilax ornata) were commonly used. The amounts of those “natural” ingredients in this root beer probably had little effect on health, but its sugar-sweetened drinks is not recommended for children today.
From Ladies’ Home Journal Magazine, July 1891
To learn more see Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries, Modern Lessons from Historical Themes