Posted on 04/19/2007 8:40:48 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.
Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found.
Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
Dr. Korakot Chanjirakul and colleagues at Kasetsart University in Thailand and scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture stumbled upon their finding unexpectedly.
They were exploring ways to help keep strawberries fresh during storage. Treating the berries with alcohol increased in antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity, they found.
Any colored fruit or vegetable is rich in antioxidants, which are chemicals that can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of compounds called free radicals.
Berries, for instance, contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. People who eat more of these fruits and vegetables have a documented lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases.
The study did not address whether adding a little cocktail umbrella enhanced the effects.
I will have a mango margarita, please, with the tiny little umbrella just to be safe.
lol!
The new food pyramid...I'll drink to that!
Just a thought...where did the word “cocktail” come from?
where did the word cocktail come from?
—
I shall defer to the wordsmiths of FR (and cover my eyes for good measure) awaiting a reply to your question. ;-)
So, sangria made with cranrasberry juice, rose` wine and orange slices is good for me? ... Yes?
Strawberry daquiri, please...
Let me know when bourbon is a health food.
“Take 10 gallons of ale and a large cock, the older the better; parboil the cock, flay him, and stamp him in a stone mortar until his bones are broken (you must gut him when you flaw him). Then, put the cock into two quarts of sack, and put to it five pounds of raisins of the sun-stoned; some blades of mace, and a few cloves. Put all these into a canvas bag, and a little before you find the ale has been working, put the bag and ale together in vessel. In a week or nine days bottle it up, fill the bottle just above the neck and give it the same time to ripen as other ale.”
Thanks. lmao!
Cocking my tail sounds like a good idea right about now.
(I’m laughing so hard, I have tears in my eyes.)
I will, after I figure out whether Scotch belongs at the bottom or at the top. Need some more while I figure it out.
Strawberry Margarita’s for EVERYONE!
Mmm...strawberry daiquiris...
Can add those to the list with dark chocolate, coffee, green tea, wine...
I’m a health food *nut*, really I am!
Woo hoo! Vindicated ... after all these years!
(The 4 food groups: chocolate, grease, alcohol and salt.)
“Suck ‘em down!”
- Don Ho
Froo-froo Chick Drinks ping
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