A Fruity Drinking Idea: are cocktails the healthiest drink

Woot Woot! I'm all for this scientific research!

Quaffing a fruity drink has long been considered the girliest way to imbibe alcohol -- but now a naturopath and best-selling weight loss doctor says it's the healthiest way to down a grog.

Dr Sandra Cabot - who wrote The Liver Cleansing Diet and is an expert in women's health and weight loss - says mixing spirits with fruit increases the antioxidants the body absorbs.What's more, low carbohydrate cocktails are the best way to get drunk without getting fat.

"You actually get more of the nutritional content of the fruit when it's mixed with spirits than you would if you ate the fruit on its own," she says.

And Dr Cabot isn't just making this up -- a study done last year shows mixing berries and ethanol increases the antioxidants that scavenge free radicals absorbed from the fruit.

But is downing a fruity cocktail the equivalent of ordering a Diet Coke with a Big Mac?

Should we give up wine, beer, champers and the like for health reasons?

Dr Cabot insists that creating low-carb cocktails with spirits and fruit is the best way to drink alcohol and maintain weight loss.

"I'll probably get into trouble for saying this -- alcohol is something you should have in moderation -- but cocktails made with fruit and pure spirits can be good for you," she says.

"We've known for a long time that brandy has therapeutic benefits in terms of relaxation but if they can give you more antioxidants, then all the better.

"If people are battling with their weight, they should choose those cocktails because most other alcohol like wine and beer is high in carbohydrates. Diabetics normally complain they can't drink but a low carb cocktail shouldn't interfere with their blood sugar control."

Downing a Cosmopolitan in a slick city bar might be as dated as Sex In The City repeats, but mixing pure spirits -- tequila, vodka, gin, whisky, rum -- with fruit (not sugar) and creating low carb cocktail is the key, according to Cabot.

"MY sister used to be a bartender in New York and she came up with all these low carb cocktail recipes for a book we did together. It's easy and it's healthy."

The New York Times has reported that healthy cocktail bars are a hot new food trend - read it here - and some women are buying cocktails instead of eating vegies for dinner.

Posted by Alex May (SMH)
March 28, 2008 12:39 PM

Ok that last bit? Substituting vegetables for dinner for cocktails? Thats a stretch guys. I'm not advocating that at all. I do take calories into account when I'm drinking now. At least I can pretend (to myself) I'm not drinking empty calories if I drink vodka + fruit juice. I also quite enjoy the low carb/low calorie wine and champagne that's around now.

Now, bring on the Ponipolitans!