Health News__
Multivitamins Fortified With Folic Acid Can Reduce the Risk Of Three Childhood Cancers

.....Expectant mothers who take multivitamins fortified with folic acid during their pregnancies can reduce the risk of three common childhood cancers. Researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children say multivitamins are associated with:
.....- a 47 per cent protective effect against neuroblastoma,
.....- a 39 per cent cut in rates of leukemia
.....- and a 27 per cent drop in rates of brain tumours.
.....This research was published online in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Women considering pregnancy have long been advised to take folic acid to prevent congenital defects such as spina bifida. But these latest findings suggest that supplementing with a multivitamin containing folic acid may be even better.
.....Surveys show that fewer than half of Canadian women take prenatal multivitamins before or during pregnancy, a number doctors say needs to be increased significantly.
.....While other studies have looked at the effect of prenatal vitamins on rates of pediatric tumours, this is the first meta-analysis of prenatal multivitamin use before and during early pregnancy and its protective effect for several cancers.

Study Finds Mental Stimulation
Combats Alzheimer's Disease

..... Just a modest amount of mental stimulation can go a long way toward warding off Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers who created mice genetically modified to get a condition similar to it.
.....Researchers at the University of California-Irvine studied hundreds of mice altered to make them develop abnormalities known as plaques and tangles in brain tissue that are considered hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in people. The findings highlight an idea that also has emerged in other research -- that exercising one's mind is important to staving off Alzheimer's disease, the degenerative brain malady that is the most common form of dementia among the elderly. Other studies have found that more highly educated people are less likely to develop Alzheimer's than people with less education. Crossword puzzles, reading books, learning a new language -- anything you can do to stimulate the brain can be beneficial.

Lutein & Your Eyes

.....Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition affecting as many as 15 million Americans and millions more around the world. The disease attacks the macula of the eye, where our sharpest central vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness, it robs the individual of all but the outermost, peripheral vision, leaving only dim images or black holes at the center of vision.
.....There are several forms of macular degeneration, but the fastest growing form is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the number one cause of severe vision loss and legal blindness in adults over 60. As our population ages, and the "baby boomers" advance into their 60's and 70's, we will see a virtual epidemic of AMD.
.....The macula, specifically a yellow spot of pigmentation on the macula known as the macula lutea, contains the highest concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin in the human body. Light entering the eye passes through the macula to reach the rods and cones. The tissue in this area is extremely thin and prevents light from being scattered to maintain visual acuity. Lutein absorbs blue light, which is a very damaging form of light. Lutein helps protect the more delicate structures of the retina. When blue light passes into the rods and cones and oxidizes them, deposits known as “drusen” can form. Drusen prevents the flow of oxygen and nutrients into the retina.These deposits are one of the possible causes of Age-related Macular Degeneration.
.....If you eat lots of fruit and vegetables rich in carotenoids, then you are likely getting enough lutein in your diet. Foods like spinach and other green leafy vegetables provide high levels of lutein.
.....Nutritional experts recommend 6 milligrams of lutein a day as a reliable guideline. The average Canadian intake is only 1.4 mg/day