Anti Oxidants

More fuel to inflame you today, as I discuss one ardent belief of many today..... the power of some kinds of food to stop diseases. I have always been skeptical of miracle diets for health. You know, the ones where eating certain foods is supposed to prevent cancer or help the heart. It just doesn't add up that such things work, and no research has ever proven it is so. Many times a researcher will make a modest claim that, let's a say -blueberries- can protect against a cancer. But the media makes it headlines, embellishes it and creates a myth that eating the "right" foods will make one younger or healthier.
Well now I just read an article that quotes quite a few "researchers" and they are speaking out. What they say might make mom not reach for that "antioxidant rich" item on the grocery shelf. They suggest that antioxidants aren't so important after all. Diets rich in antioxidants (doesn't that include most foods anyway?) may help one a bit, but it's not clear whether that benefit is due to the antioxidants people pay so much extra for or to the overall diet and the way the antioxidants and other nutrients in it interact.
In other words, what matters is the entire diet one eats and how that food interacts , not whether a food is "high in antioxidants". Eating patterns make the difference in health, not eating particular foods (I'll eat those "unhealthy" donuts, thank you!) or taking antioxidant supplements.
But I see people in my country spending a small fortune for bottles of pills that promise antioxidant magic, and paying more for foods labeled "high in antioxidants". I think those people have a certain false sense of security. They tend to believe that as long as they eat those antioxidant foods they can eat anything else in any amount. So I think it is best to ignore all of those health food claims about antioxidants (most of which are completely unsubstantiated). Many of those claims are based on studies the food companies them selves pay for. Instead of worrying about antioxidant or other health food hype, it might be better to eat a variety of foods. Uh......for me that includes those greasy donuts.
Apparently the wild office Christmas party is a dying animal, replaced by a more formal and dignified one. You know what I mean by "wild". Ones where bare butts were photographed by the office copy machine, gossip about the sex lives of coworkers (not present at the party) flew across the room, drunken orgies, and the fat guy dancing naked on top if a table while tanked to the gills on gin! In just about every country where the work office had a Christmas party this year there was bound to have been some rowdy ones.
But wait!. It seems that people are more sobered by the drunk driving problems as a result of the parties, and in particular, employers now fear being sued or slandered because of what happens at one of them. So egg nog has replaced Jack G Daniels whiskey and more adult behavior is seen in place of the drunken fraternity style parties of the past. Now many offices have skipped the party or run a sedate one, with wine and beer replace hard liquor, and "healthy foods" on the table as reminders to behave.
The reason I am writing about this subject after Christmas is because I saw some results of a survey conducted in Britain on the subject. According to that one two-thrids of Brits responding said they kissed a colleague at an office Christmas party and a third said they had sex with a boss at such a get-together. How come I wasn't invited to one of those!! Oh, never mind. I probably would have a better chance of kissing egg nog than of kissing a pretty lady at one of those affairs.