Sangria Time!


Posted on August 2nd, by Helen in Diet. No Comments

Sangria Time!

Try this refreshing sangria recipe for extra skin cancer and sunburn protection.

Skin-Saving Sangria

  • 3 cups (750mL) red wine
  • 1 cup (250mL) pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup (250mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
  • 1 orange, sliced into thin rounds
  • 1 lime, sliced into thin rounds
  • 1 lemon sliced into thin rounds
  • 1/2 cup (125mL) blueberries
  • ¼ tsp (1mL) ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp (1mL) ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp (1mL) ground all spice
  • 4 cups (1L) soda water

INSTRUCTIONS: In a large pitcher combine red wine, pomegranate and orange juices, lemon, lime and orange slices, blueberries, honey and spices. Stir to combine. Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight. To serve, pour 4oz over ice in a tall glass and top with an equal amount of soda water and spoon in the fruit for decoration. Makes 20 servings.

THE BENEFITS: As if you need another reason to drink red wine, recent research suggests that it may be good for your skin.

A class of antioxidants known as polyphenols – which includes the famed heart-helper resveratrol – seems to be the reason. These polyphenols provide protection against a certain type of free radical that causes sun-induced skin damage that leads to hyper pigmentation, wrinkles and skin cancer. While polyphenols are found in other fruits like blueberries, pomegranates and citrus fruits, it’s the skins and seeds of grapes that are used in the fermentation process of wine that account for the high concentration of polyphenols in wine.

It’s interesting to note that red wine contains more of these free-radical busting antioxidants than white wine does. In fact L.A.-based dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu lists red wine as one of the top foods that fight skin cancer in her book Feed Your Face. Dr Wu writes, “In people who already have actinic keratosis precancers, half a glass of red wine a day has been shown to reduce AKs by 27 percent.”

Additionally consuming a glass of red wine after day out in the sun may prevent you from getting a sunburn, according to a study published in the Journal of the German Society of Dermatology. In this study, two groups of volunteers were exposed to UVB light (the burning rays), but one group was instructed to drink 6mL of red wine for every kilogram of their body weight beforehand. The other volunteers received no wine; these people ended up with skin that had more redness, swelling, burning, and blistering than the wine drinkers.

Before you soak yourself in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape post-beach bath (you thought it, right?) keep in mind that the same German researchers tested the theory of topical application of wine to the skin. Results? Red wine offers no protection from UVB radiation when applied to the skin. You’ve got to drink it.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Marianne Wren, a Toronto-based food stylist and recipe developer. Visit her website at foodstylist.org.

 

 





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