... are good for you !!

Found this article in the Daily Mail

Quote:-
It's cool, colourful and deliciously sweet, and if that weren't enough, the strawberry daiquiri is also good for your health.
Scientists have found that treating the berries with alcohol boosts their cancer-fighting properties - suggesting that strawberry-based cocktails may be better for us than we realised.

The researchers, who were looking for ways to keep the fruit fresh during storage, discovered that alcohol enhances the strawberry's ability to mop up harmful molecules linked to cancer, heart disease and arthritis.

Strawberries were already known to be good at tackling the dangerous free-radicals - but now it seems that adding a dash of alcohol into the mix makes them even better at fighting disease. Suitable cocktails could include the strawberry daiquiri.

Said to be one of the favourite drinks of Ernest Hemingway, the Cuban cocktail contains a blend of rum, lime or lemon juice, strawberry liqueur, sugar - and fresh strawberries.

Those not keen on rum might prefer to try a vodka-based strawberry martini. Even the humble trifle could be healthier than we realised.

Blueberries - the only other fruit looked at by the US and Thai researchers - also became better for us on treatment with alcohol. It is likely many other fruits would be affected in the same way.

Produced naturally in the body, free-radicals are harmful molecules that damage cells. Anti-oxidants, including some vitamins, and plant chemicals, minimise damage by mopping up the free radicals.

The research, published in the Journal of Science and Food Agriculture, showed that treating strawberries with alcohol boosts their natural anti-oxidant capacity by around a third.

Strawberries are also rich in cholesterol-lowering fibre, potassium, which aids digestion, folic acid, which wards off heart disease, and vitamin B6, which plays a vital role in keeping our immune and nervous systems health.

The health benefits of strawberries were recognised hundreds of years ago, with the Romans believing the berries eased ills from melancholy to liver disease.

Once a quintessentially summer treat, changing farming practises and climate mean the British strawberry is on sale earlier and earlier. This year, home-grown fruits arrived on supermarket shelves in the first days of March - a full month earlier than the previous year's crop. The increasing use of glasshouses and polytunnels mean British berries are likely to be available until the end of December.

How to Make the Perfect Strawberry Daiquiri
Ingredients
1/2 oz strawberry schnapps, 1 oz light rum, 1 oz lime juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, handful of strawberries.
Method
Blend all ingredients with crushed ice and pour into a chilled glass. Enjoy!!

Trifle Good for you You heard it here first

Best news I've heard all year

I fancy meself sipping them theer dakiris

Good ... one for the bash then

oh gawd don't get me on cocktails The glasses are never big enough

Too right Wards - I could always do with a whole pitcher - with a straw and cocktail umbrella of course

you an 've the brolly and the sparkler - gimme the pitcher

You can't have the whole pitcher - we'll have one straw each

... leave some for me ...

ahem.....................er.................wheres my straw

Think we need 2 pitchers and 4 straws

3 pichers and 5 straws

I reckon we'd need about 75 pitchers and 5 straws

Are you saying we drink a lot Andy?