A recent study suggests women who take multivitamins early in pregnancy could reduce the risk of their child developing a brain tumour – giving further leverage for marketing to this important consumer group.
In the study, which appears in this month's issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention (Vol 15, 1660-1667, September 200), the protective effect of multivitamins early in pregnancy was found to be weakly significant. However, as results were similar to more statistically significant results the Pennsylvania researchers obtained in 1993, they concluded this apparent benefit is unlikely to have occurred by chance.
Doctors already urge pregnant women to take multivitamins containing folic acid early in pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. As such, the finding that a multivitamin could a have anti-cancer properties for babies gives these types of easy-to-take supplements an added boost.
"This current study suggests another possible protective effect for the vitamins," said lead author, Greta Bunin of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Children whose mothers took multivitamins close to the time of conception seemed less likely to suffer medulloblastoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumours of the brain."
Medulloblastoma is the second most common brain tumour in children, occurring in one in 20,000 children under age six. The tumour appears in the cerebellum, the lower portion of the brain that coordinates movement. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the brain (PNET) are similar to medulloblastoma but occur in other parts of the central nervous system.
The collaborative study compared 315 children diagnosed with these tumors before age six to 315 randomly chosen healthy children. The children with cancer were registered with the Children's Oncology Group, an organization of pediatric cancer programs in the US and Canada.
In the periconception period of pregnancy, several months before and after conception, mothers of children with brain tumors were less likely than control mothers to report use of multivitamins (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.4-1.0; P = 0.08).
The researchers found that taking multivitamins later in pregnancy did not significantly reduce a child's risk of medulloblastoma and PNET.
"Our findings suggest that the time close to conception may be a critical period in the development of these tumors," said Dr Bunin.
"However, most women do not yet know they are pregnant at this very early stage. That is why women of reproductive age are advised to take multivitamins to prevent neural tube defects even if they are not trying to get pregnant."
The researchers questioned mothers in a telephone survey. All of the children with cancer were diagnosed between 1991 and 1997.
Which is the reason why everyone should be on multi-vitamin supplements. Even JAMA says so.
LifePak Prenatal is optimal dietary supplementation designed to help meet the basic and specific nutrient requirements for pregnant and lactating women. Available in individual packets for your convenience, LifePak Prenatal supplies pregnant and lactating women with important dietary ingredients to assist in maintaining general wellness.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Sophistication, quotes, truth
I read a little one-liner that said, 'If your children lie to you, who has made them afraid to tell the truth?' That was like a door slamming me in the face, because kids lie. At a certain stage of their life, they are testing different forms of communication to see which works. We sat down with our kids, and we said, 'Always tell us the truth. If you tell us the truth, we promise you'll never get into trouble for telling the truth. You'll get into trouble for lying, but I promise you you'll never get into trouble for telling the truth.'
Most people are just trying to get through the day. Sophisticated people learn how to get from the day.
Sophistication is understanding the difference between trinkets and treasures.
Don't spend major money on minor things. In the last ten years the guy has bought two tons of donuts and only two books - and the books are primarily filled with pictures.
Sophisticated people don't leave early. The man says, "Yeah, but I want to beat the traffic." Isn't that a great skill to have - beating the traffic!
It doesn't take a million dollars to learn the difference between a bottle of fine wine and a Pepsi. Sophistication is a study not an amount.
One of the early signs of sophistication is not giving way to all inclinations but rather sending your emotions to school so they will learn how to behave.
Money doesn't make you sophisticated. Only study and practice make you sophisticated. Even people of modest means can become sophisticated because it is within study and practice. How much is a night out at the symphony? About thirty dollars. You say, "Poor people can't afford thirty dollars to go to the symphony." Yes, they can. It's only thirty Hershey bars!
We must teach our children not to spend their money a dollar at a time. If you spend your money a dollar at a time, you'll wind up with trinkets instead of treasures. You can't buy much of value a dollar at a time.
Most people are just trying to get through the day. Sophisticated people learn how to get from the day.
Sophistication is understanding the difference between trinkets and treasures.
Don't spend major money on minor things. In the last ten years the guy has bought two tons of donuts and only two books - and the books are primarily filled with pictures.
Sophisticated people don't leave early. The man says, "Yeah, but I want to beat the traffic." Isn't that a great skill to have - beating the traffic!
It doesn't take a million dollars to learn the difference between a bottle of fine wine and a Pepsi. Sophistication is a study not an amount.
One of the early signs of sophistication is not giving way to all inclinations but rather sending your emotions to school so they will learn how to behave.
Money doesn't make you sophisticated. Only study and practice make you sophisticated. Even people of modest means can become sophisticated because it is within study and practice. How much is a night out at the symphony? About thirty dollars. You say, "Poor people can't afford thirty dollars to go to the symphony." Yes, they can. It's only thirty Hershey bars!
We must teach our children not to spend their money a dollar at a time. If you spend your money a dollar at a time, you'll wind up with trinkets instead of treasures. You can't buy much of value a dollar at a time.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Reflection On The Readings for Sunday, September 17, 2006
Isaiah 50:4-9, Psalm 116, James 2:14-18, Mark 8:27-35
The Gospel this coming Sunday is what one may call a Gospel of paradoxes. Webster defines a “paradox” as a statement that seems to contradict common belief, or a self-contradictory statement or proposition. These paradoxes alone must have presented Jesus as an enigma to His disciples. His teachings --- in words and in deed – were very different from the conventional wisdom of His time. Someone who, lived during His time on earth probably cannot help but wonder how His disciples stuck with Him for three years! He was a non-conformist whom the Pharisees and scribes would rather not have in their midst. There are at least three paradoxes in this Sunday’s Gospel.
Paradox One: Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah and yet, Jesus also says that He must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders and scribes. This is contrary to the Jews’ concept of the Messiah who will free them from the oppression of the Romans -- a hero who will lead them in a revolt to drive away the oppressors from their land. Jesus, through this first paradox of a suffering Messiah, taught us the virtues of humility, and obedience --- an obedience that took Him to the shameful yet glorious and triumphant death on the cross.
Paradox Two: Peter offers to save Jesus from his coming persecution, and yet he was rebuked by Jesus by saying, “Get behind me, satan. You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do.” If we share our problems with a friend, and a friend offers to help us out, wouldn’t we be grateful and not rebuke our friend for offering to help? Jesus knew that He had to obey His Father’s will and not be distracted by Peter. By rebuking Peter, Jesus taught us to be strong and steadfast --- to trust and to be obedient to God’s will.
Paradox Three: Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.” How can one save his life, and yet lose it? Or conversely, how can one lose his life and save it? This statement would have been a big puzzle --- almost incomprehensible to those who heard Him. Jesus was telling us that the way to eternal life is to let go of the things that are of this world --- dying to ourselves by letting go of the attachments, vices, and all those things that feel good and yet that keep us away from God.
The renewed Christian’s life is also full of paradoxes. Conventional wisdom is not always consistent with a truly Christian life. Things that are pleasing to the senses – such as alcohol, gambling, drugs and other vices, promiscuity—are not pleasing to the Lord. Things that we think can make us look good and feel good --- wealth, fame, power, and glory that are achieved at all costs – do not make us look good before the Lord. Being renewed Catholics, we need to be steadfast and firm in our convictions and be non-conformists when the situation demands it. As such we are a minority – oftentimes outnumbered. Our actions – including those that show our love rather than revenge for our enemies and those who have hurt us -- are a powerful testimony to our faith. As James says in the Second Reading “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Our actions and works flow from our faith. Living the virtues of humility, and obedience, living a life without attachments, keeping our faith and trust in the Lord, and expressing our love for Him by loving our neighbor including the ‘unlovable’ , will almost always be at odds with the values of the world. As one author said, “We can’t live or do business in this world without rubbing shoulders with those driven by the world’s desires.” How many times have we been faced with situations where conventional wisdom dictates that we take the easy way out, and yet we know deep in our heart that the Lord does not want it that way? Our associates, and perhaps even our friends and relatives did not understand our actions, or may even think that we are weird.
Living a truly transformed Christian life is not easy. Mother Teresa once lamented, "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." What will make us steadfast is our love for Jesus, and the vision of eternal life with Him.
The Gospel this coming Sunday is what one may call a Gospel of paradoxes. Webster defines a “paradox” as a statement that seems to contradict common belief, or a self-contradictory statement or proposition. These paradoxes alone must have presented Jesus as an enigma to His disciples. His teachings --- in words and in deed – were very different from the conventional wisdom of His time. Someone who, lived during His time on earth probably cannot help but wonder how His disciples stuck with Him for three years! He was a non-conformist whom the Pharisees and scribes would rather not have in their midst. There are at least three paradoxes in this Sunday’s Gospel.
Paradox One: Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah and yet, Jesus also says that He must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders and scribes. This is contrary to the Jews’ concept of the Messiah who will free them from the oppression of the Romans -- a hero who will lead them in a revolt to drive away the oppressors from their land. Jesus, through this first paradox of a suffering Messiah, taught us the virtues of humility, and obedience --- an obedience that took Him to the shameful yet glorious and triumphant death on the cross.
Paradox Two: Peter offers to save Jesus from his coming persecution, and yet he was rebuked by Jesus by saying, “Get behind me, satan. You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do.” If we share our problems with a friend, and a friend offers to help us out, wouldn’t we be grateful and not rebuke our friend for offering to help? Jesus knew that He had to obey His Father’s will and not be distracted by Peter. By rebuking Peter, Jesus taught us to be strong and steadfast --- to trust and to be obedient to God’s will.
Paradox Three: Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.” How can one save his life, and yet lose it? Or conversely, how can one lose his life and save it? This statement would have been a big puzzle --- almost incomprehensible to those who heard Him. Jesus was telling us that the way to eternal life is to let go of the things that are of this world --- dying to ourselves by letting go of the attachments, vices, and all those things that feel good and yet that keep us away from God.
The renewed Christian’s life is also full of paradoxes. Conventional wisdom is not always consistent with a truly Christian life. Things that are pleasing to the senses – such as alcohol, gambling, drugs and other vices, promiscuity—are not pleasing to the Lord. Things that we think can make us look good and feel good --- wealth, fame, power, and glory that are achieved at all costs – do not make us look good before the Lord. Being renewed Catholics, we need to be steadfast and firm in our convictions and be non-conformists when the situation demands it. As such we are a minority – oftentimes outnumbered. Our actions – including those that show our love rather than revenge for our enemies and those who have hurt us -- are a powerful testimony to our faith. As James says in the Second Reading “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Our actions and works flow from our faith. Living the virtues of humility, and obedience, living a life without attachments, keeping our faith and trust in the Lord, and expressing our love for Him by loving our neighbor including the ‘unlovable’ , will almost always be at odds with the values of the world. As one author said, “We can’t live or do business in this world without rubbing shoulders with those driven by the world’s desires.” How many times have we been faced with situations where conventional wisdom dictates that we take the easy way out, and yet we know deep in our heart that the Lord does not want it that way? Our associates, and perhaps even our friends and relatives did not understand our actions, or may even think that we are weird.
Living a truly transformed Christian life is not easy. Mother Teresa once lamented, "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." What will make us steadfast is our love for Jesus, and the vision of eternal life with Him.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Priceless
Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't Taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the Party.
As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong. Jack had To force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple Of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a Single red rose!
Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and Pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, Spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, Cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom Mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written In red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:
"Honey, breakfast is on the stove. I left early to go get groceries to make You your favorite dinner tonight. I love you darling! Love, Jillian"
He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, Steaming hot coffee, and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the Table, eating. Jack asks, "Son... What happened last night?"
"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell Over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and Got that black eye when you ran into the door."
Confused he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order, So clean, I have a rose and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"
His son replies, "Oh THAT! ... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she Tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, lady, I'm Married!"
Broken Coffee Table $239.00
Hot Breakfast $14.20
Two Aspirins: $0.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time . .
Priceless!!
As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong. Jack had To force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple Of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a Single red rose!
Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and Pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, Spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, Cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom Mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written In red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:
"Honey, breakfast is on the stove. I left early to go get groceries to make You your favorite dinner tonight. I love you darling! Love, Jillian"
He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, Steaming hot coffee, and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the Table, eating. Jack asks, "Son... What happened last night?"
"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell Over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and Got that black eye when you ran into the door."
Confused he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order, So clean, I have a rose and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"
His son replies, "Oh THAT! ... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she Tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, lady, I'm Married!"
Broken Coffee Table $239.00
Hot Breakfast $14.20
Two Aspirins: $0.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time . .
Priceless!!
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