Thursday, April 03, 2008
Newsletter Archive
HFL March 2007
Hello Subscribers! Thanks for signing up for our monthly newsletter. As a thank you, please take $5.00 off your next order at HealthFitLabs.com. Enter NEWSLETTER as the coupon code at checkout to redeem your discount.
Other news: please visit HealthFitLabs.com for some great new features!
Advanced search engine option and intuitive search (all you need to do is type in three letters of what you're looking for and we will do the rest!)
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Our Mission: At HealthFitLabs we sell only the highest-quality natural vitamins and nutritional supplements, as well as bath and personal care products. We're passionate about customer service and dedicated to helping our customers and affiliates meet their personal health goals.
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Hot Headlines
SickKids Researchers Find Prenatal Multivitamins Reduces Risk of Childhood Cancers
Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found that taking prenatal multivitamins fortified with folic acid can reduce the risk of three common childhood cancers: leukemia, brain tumors and neuroblastoma. This research was published online on February 21, 2007, in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
"Our research indicates that a large proportion of several early childhood cancers can be prevented by taking a prenatal multivitamin before and during pregnancy," said Dr. Gideon Koren, the study's principal investigator, director of the Motherisk Program at SickKids, a senior scientist in the SickKids Research Institute and a professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Medicine and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto. "This affordable approach could contribute to a significant reduction in the number of childhood cancer cases diagnosed each year, which has huge implications for society at large."
The study examined the findings of seven American articles that met the inclusion criteria and found that prenatal supplementation of multivitamins containing folic acid is associated with a 47-percent protective effect for neuroblastoma, 39-percent for leukemia and 27-percent protective effect for brain tumors. While other studies have investigated the effect of prenatal vitamins on rates of pediatric tumors, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of prenatal multivitamin use before and during early pregnancy and its protective effect for several pediatric cancers.
Leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, accounts for 25 to 35-percent of new pediatric cases each year. Brain and spinal tumors, the second most common form of cancer, accounts for 17-percent of new pediatric cancer cases each year, and neuroblastoma, the most prevalent solid tumor that occurs outside of the brain in children under the age of five, affects one in every 6,000 to 7,000 children in North America.
Additional research is required to determine which components of a prenatal multivitamin provide protective effect for pediatric cancers and whether any of the protective effects can be attributed to folic acid. A previous study by Motherisk found that prenatal multivitamins fortified with folic acid can reduce the risk of a wide range of serious congenital defects. Women who are consi dering pregnancy are generally advised to supplement with folic acid but findings of these studies suggest that
supplementation with a multivitamin containing folic acid may be a preferred method.
Other members of the research team included Ingrid Goh, Tom Einarson, and Eneka Bollano, all from SickKids.
This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Research Leadership for Better Pharmacotherapy during Pregnancy and Lactation. The research also received funding from Duchesnay Inc., which did not have a prenatal vitamin on the market during the time covered by this study.
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), affiliated with the University of Toronto, is Canada's most research-intensive hospital and the largest center dedicated to improving children's health in the country. As innovators in child health, SickKids improves the health of children by integrating care, research and teaching. Their mission is to provide the best in complex and specialized care by creating scientific and clinical advancements, sharing our knowledge and expertise and championing the development of an accessible, comprehensive and sustainable child health system. For more information, please visit http://www.sickkids.ca. SickKids is committed to healthier children for a better world.
*Find multivitamins and prenatal vitamins at our Vitamins and Minerals Section on HealthFitLabs.com.*
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It's time to SALSA!
Relish Good Health with Salsa
Step-aside, ketchup; salsa is winning the hearts and taste buds of more Americans all the time. Salsa simply means sauce in Spanish. In Mexico, most meals are served with a simple fresh salsa made with tomatoes, jalapeño chilies and onions. Now, Americans are using salsa as a tangy condiment for foods like burgers, baked potatoes and eggs, or wherever else ketchup would go. And salsas uses far surpass ketchups, accompanying whole-grain pasta, soups, poultry and seafood.
The traditional peppery fire of salsa is training our taste buds to crave a zesty kick to our meals. Salsa can be comfortably mild or fiercely hot. But whichever you prefer, salsa is also a healthy veggie dish that can be eaten liberally. A half-cup of salsa will add a serving of vegetable or fruit to your daily tally. It can supply a wide range of cancer-fighting antioxidant vitamins, natural phytochemicals (such as lycopene in tomatoes), and the mineral potassium, which may be in short supply in the typical American, high-protein diet.
Salsa can be cooked or uncooked (fresh). Most commercial salsas cooked and processed -- dont contain added fat and have only small amounts of sugar, although sodium content can be in the high range of 90 to 270 milligrams (mg) in just two tablespoons. Compare the sodium content listed on the Nutrition Facts labels to find brands that are lower in sodium.
Mix It up Fresh
Homemade salsas that use fresh vegetables and fruits usually have the advantage of far less sodium than the kinds you buy in a jar. You can make a batch of uncooked salsa in 15 minutes and keep it refrigerated for up to a week.
Salsa has the same name as a type of Latin dance music because both are a mixture of different ingredients. Popular salsa recipes on cooking web sites and television shows now combine vegetables and fruits and may even omit tomatoes. Examples include black beans, sweet red pepper and hot chili pepper with orange and avocado; peach, cucumber and lime; mango and avocado with cilantro; and pineapple, corn and mango.
Start experimenting with the traditional salsa recipe by adding roasted peppers seasoned with aromatic herbs to the ingredients. When youve achieved the degree of heat you prefer, using hot sauce, cayenne or chile pepper or chopped jalapeño peppers, try adding other chopped vegetables and fruits. Here are some recipes to get you started.
Basic Tomato Salsa
Yield: 2 cups
3 medium or 4 small fresh firm tomatoes, stems removed, finely diced
2 Tbsp. canned, diced mild green chilies
2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 - 1 tsp. cumin
Juice of one lime, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In medium bowl, place tomatoes, chilies, chives, cilantro, oregano, and cumin. Stir in lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for a half hour to let flavors blend before serving, and refrigerate any leftover salsa.
Makes 4 servings. Per 1/2 cup serving: 30 calories, less than 1 g. total fat (0g saturated fat), 6 g. carbohydrates, 1 g. protein, 1 g. dietary fiber, 23 mg. sodium.
*For more recipes and articles, please visit our Healthy Library.*
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Healthy Humor
Here's one in honor of St. Patrick's Day!
Paddy was tooling along the road one fine day when the local policeman, a friend of his, pulled him over.
"What's wrong, Seamus?" Paddy asked.
"Well didn't ya know, Paddy, that your wife fell out of the car about five miles back?" said Seamus.
"Ah, praise the Almighty!" Paddy replied with relief. "I thought I'd gone deaf!"
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Ask the Expert
Mighty Migraines
by Dr. Daniel Gerwig
Q: I have suffered form migraine headaches for years and nothing has helped. Can Chiropractic care help me?
A: Migraines are a severe and debilitating problem that can incapacitate you for days at a time. The cause of your migraine headache can often be difficult to diagnose and therefore treat. The current theories on migraines find that they are caused by either a neurological (nerves), vascular (arteries and veins) dysfunction, or a combination of the two. Once you start to have migraines they tend to become more frequent and more painful. This is because your body, specifically your neck, becomes very tight and stiff. This tension creates more headaches and perpetuates the problem. Chiropractic care has been found helpful in relief of both migraine headaches and the stress headaches that are created by them. If you or someone you know suffers from migraine headaches, call my office at (630) 790-1422 today to stop the suffering.