Can a tipple be good for you?

For as many reports that alcohol is bad for you there seems to be an equal number espousing its the health benefits. Now while we are not advocating binge drinking we are encouraged that indulging in the odd tipple can actually be good for us.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 evaluated the mental abilities of 12,480 women and found that moderate drinkers had a 23% reduced risk of mental decline compared with nondrinkers.

Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, has also discovered that moderate drinking can raise levels of good cholesterol, reducing risks of heart attack and stroke.

And the best news of all was a study of over 70,000 women by Eric Rimm that discovered teetotallers gained more weight than those that drank moderately (one drink per day)!

So with this in mind we were thrilled to learn that Kosmopol, the uber chic Swedish bar in Chelsea, had designed a cocktail that will further rev up the metabolism creating a near calorie neutral drink. The Gin-Fast Bikini Martini not only tastes delicious but it has three fat burning ingredients to aid weight loss, detox and boost your immune system all whilst on a night out before your summer holiday.

As well as gin, this luxe cocktail contains agave nectar, know to increase satiety and decrease appetite, L-Carnitine, a nutrient that helps the body turn fat into energy and the Acai berry which provides the body with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E, as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium, copper, calcium, and zinc. This combination of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants is known to help decrease levels of LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol while increasing levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol.

As if that wasn’t enough, cognac brand Courvoisier has also jumped on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon, teaming up with healthy living company mindapples.org to sponsor pop-up urban health farm The Big Treat. Hitting London on 16th and 17th July 2010 they are inviting Londoners to treat mind, body and soul by indulging in luxurious treats.

You can sample delicious health foods, take part in creative and interactive wellbeing workshops, have urban picnic on real grass and try some deliciously healthy salads and smoothies from Crussh, indulge in a gentle massage from Positive Touch, get fit like Bruce Lee with a spot of wing chun from Austin Goh find some room in your head with urban meditation classes from Headspace and learn tango workshops from Tangonautics in our ‘alive at five’ remedy for the Friday rush hour.

For further information on this great free day out visit Mindapples.

[picture credits: blueandwhitehoops; stock.xchng]

Miss B

Miss B is a Belle About Town who likes to bring a little bit of style into every aspect of her life. An experienced journalist with over a decade in the industry she turned to the web to fill a gap for tech-savvy stylish women who want the best life has to offer at their fingertips. She loves a decadent cocktail bar, a beautifully cut dress, the perfect pair of heels, quality over quantity and is partial to Asian-fusion food, enjoys holidaying in the sun and shopping breaks to New York. But her first love is of course London!