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Tomatoes, onions, artichokes?

Thing

...now with added haecceity!
Thing
Joined
Dec 25, 2005
Messages
510
The cafe at the place where I work has put out leaflets advertising soups with a number of claims:

"These delicious soups are full of immune-boosting nutrients"

"You need to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day to reinforce your defences"

"This fresh tomato soup is bursting with the phytonutrient lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant that protects against many types of cancer, particularly prostate."

"Onions are an excellent tonic and benefit the body in many ways. They have a decongestant effect on the respiratory tract and as they cleanse the blood they improve circulation."

"Artichokes. A valuable source of vitamins A & C. Good for the digestive tract. They are from the Thistle family and are effective at detoxifying an overworked liver."

I am concerned about the truth of these claims and their effect on the reputation of the institution. Obviously the onus is on the people making the claims to support them, but I wanted to do some preliminary reading before raising the issue. The first two are pretty vague; they don't say what you're being defended against, vampires perhaps? I've found a certain amount of support for the tomato claim. The last two are just as specific, but I haven't been able to find anything authoritative, can any of you do better?
 
Cainkane1 said:
Well the claim may be valid. Cooked tomatoes do contain lycopene which is very healthful. People should eat their veggies and eat sparingly of meat.
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Yeah but if you eat too much lycopene it turns your skin orange????? Is that true.
 
technoextreme said:
Yeah but if you eat too much lycopene it turns your skin orange????? Is that true.
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Yes, I think that's true, but you have to eat a lot of it, and the result is benign. I eat lots of carrots and sometimes get a little orange at the edges too (really).

The claims about onions and artichokes sound as if they came straight out of some old herbalist book. I have no doubt onions, like other allium plants, are good for you, but statements about tonics, liver detoxifying, and cleansing the blood raise a red flag.
 
Im a greengrocer. Its all true. Eat more. Buy it from me. Please.
 
Have any of these concepts been proven in valid in vivo studies?

Antioxidants have not. And anything to do with cleansing or detoxifying is just a bunch of crap.

I think they are ALL woo.
 
casebro said:
Have any of these concepts been proven in valid in vivo studies?

Antioxidants have not. And anything to do with cleansing or detoxifying is just a bunch of crap.

I think they are ALL woo.
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Well you would, but then you're probably suffering from dementia, liver toxicity and stunted growth, all because you didn't eat your vegetables as a kid (or maybe didn't chew them properly, if you did).*

*stolen from amusing song by Lou & Peter Berryman, sorry, can't find lyrics on line. Others are here.
 
Thing said:
I am concerned about the truth of these claims and their effect on the reputation of the institution.
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It will gain them the reputation of being a new-agey vegan place for people who want healthy organic food but don't really care what the industrial scientific fundamentalist complex says about nutrition.

This is probably exactly the reputation they want, so why not start suggesting new organic recipes? You could prepare a homeopathic solution of very nutritious organic vegetables, add a tablespoon to a bottle of apple juice, and sell it for ten bucks a glass!
 
Madalch said:
It will gain them the reputation of being a new-agey vegan place for people who want healthy organic food but don't really care what the industrial scientific fundamentalist complex says about nutrition.

This is probably exactly the reputation they want, so why not start suggesting new organic recipes? You could prepare a homeopathic solution of very nutritious organic vegetables, add a tablespoon to a bottle of apple juice, and sell it for ten bucks a glass!
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Without wishing to give away too much about where I work, and hence who I am, I think I can safely say that that it's firmly in the industrial scientific fundamentalist complex.
 
Thing said:
Without wishing to give away too much about where I work, and hence who I am, I think I can safely say that that it's firmly in the industrial scientific fundamentalist complex.
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Then definitely call them on the "blood-cleansing" woo. And the liver detoxing.
 
Silly Green Monkey said:
What about the vitamin claims?
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Some fruit and veg do contain large amounts of vitamins compared to others, but the "5 a day" is the still the best piece of advice for getting your RDA.

With a varied and vaguely healthy diet you'll be getting your RDA anyway,any excess normally gets 'flushed'. Generally buying the "super foods" means your pissing your money away, literally, if you're after the vitamins but there's nothing wrong with liking the taste though :)


*The above relates to average people with no special needs or chronic deficiencies. If you suspect a deficiency see a qualified health professional*
 
JJM said:
"Immune" enhancement is nonsense:
http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2008/09/immune_to_reality.php
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"Immune system" has been a woo buzzword since the advent of AIDS, just as "electric" followed the advent of cheap batteries and "vibrations" followed Maxwell's Equations. "Quantum", "energy", "antioxidants", it's all grist to the mill.

I've heard polished stones advertised as "boosting the immune system" justified by reference to Ayurvedic knowledge. Which does not even embrace the germ theory of disease, let alone have a Sanskrit term for "immune system".
 
Madalch said:
It will gain them the reputation of being a new-agey vegan place for people who want healthy organic food but don't really care what the industrial scientific fundamentalist complex says about nutrition.
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They hope. The whole promotion smacks of desperation to me, and if Thing's reaction is anything to go by (Hi, Thing :)) it's not going to work.
 
I don't think anyone can deny that eating vegetables is good for you. But I also am suspicious of the claims that are sometimes made about them.
 
Thing said:
"Onions are an excellent tonic and benefit the body in many ways. They have a decongestant effect on the respiratory tract and as they cleanse the blood they improve circulation."
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I can certainly guarantee you that finely chopping onions will have a decongestant effect on your upper respiratory tract.
 
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