BELOVED of sportspeople, and especially golfers, magnetic devices have been touted as having the capacity to cure everything from back ache to cancer. But according to a new study from a team of US researchers, they have no proven benefits. This news will be a big blow to an industry whose estimated sales of bracelets, insoles, knee bands and neck braces amount to an estimated $1bn globally.

According to Professors Leonard Finegold and Bruce Flamm, who made their comments in the British Medical Journal, a major review showed the industry couldn't back up the extraordinary claims made of magnets and that selftreatment risked leaving underlying medical conditions untreated. The professors added that if patients insist on using magnetic devices, they should buy the cheapest as this will at least alleviate the pain in their wallets.

Balancing act THE lure of the 'super food' is very seductive. What's not to like about the idea that piling your plate with broccoli, blueberries, oily fish and nuts, washed down with a glass of red, will kill free radicals, protect cells and slow the aging process? But it now appears that this particular road to Wellsville isn't quite so straightforward.

Although consumers are eagerly buying up anything carrying an antioxidant-rich label, researchers are warning that the hype about antioxidants is creating a false sense of security . . . eating a daily handful of brazil nuts, which is said to be good for heart health, won't do much good if you're chowing down on fast food the rest of the time.

Scientists are also unsure as to whether antioxidant-rich diets are beneficial because of the antioxidants themselves, or because of the way they and other nutrients perform.

Their advice is, as ever, to eat a balanced, moderate, varied diet and look to the bigger picture . . . good news for anyone who feared that the way forward was an eating plan based around cabbage and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Picture of calm THE next time the stress monsters attack, try visiting your nearest art gallery to relieve the tension. A research team at the University of Westminster in the UK sent 28 superstressed City workers to the Guildhall Art Gallery and studied their reactions after a 40-minute wander around. After perusing the collection, which includes paintings by Constable and the PreRaphaelites, the saliva samples taken from participants were found to contain 32% less cortisol (a stress hormone) than before.

In ordinary circumstances, it would take approximately five hours for cortisol levels to fall to this extent.

Study leader, Professor Angela Clow said: "People often ask me what they can do about their stressful lives; this study shows that we can take control and make ourselves feel and be better."

It certainly makes sense that immersing yourself in culture during your lunch hour is a lot more pleasant than jostling at the Centra hot counter for the last hot chicken fillet baguette.