By Jane Hart, MD

People who ate the highest amount of allium veggies had a nearly 50% lower risk of stomach cancer. The advice to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables has become a modern day mantra for disease prevention. A study in Gastroenterology affirms such advice and suggests that people who regularly eat veggies from the allium family, such as onions, garlic, and leeks, may lower their risk of stomach cancer by nearly 50%.

Health in the veggies

In this meta-analysis, researchers evaluated 21 studies with a total of 543,220 participants, which looked at the link between allium vegetable consumption and stomach (gastric) cancer. These vegetables include garlic, leeks, chives, scallions, and onions.

Results showed that people who ate the highest amount of allium veggies had a nearly 50% lower risk of stomach cancer compared with people who ate the least. For every 20 grams per day (average weight of 1 garlic bulb) of allium vegetables that participants ate they experienced a 9% decrease in stomach cancer risk.

In addition to calling for more research, the study authors comment, "Allium vegetables contain high levels of flavonols and organosulfur compounds, which contribute to the anticancer effects." They add that such vegetables "have an antibacterial effect against Helicobacter pylori, which is a key risk factor for gastric cancer." Helicobacter pylori is a type of bacteria commonly found in people’s stomachs and has been linked to inflammation of the stomach lining, ulcers, and stomach cancer.

What you should know about stomach cancer

Stomach cancer is not as common in our country as it is in other parts of the world such as in Japan, and the good news is that stomach cancer rates have been decreasing in the US over the past several decades. Still, more than 20,000 people in the US will be diagnosed each year, so early detection and treatment are important.

Risk factors for stomach cancer include: smoking, Helicobacter pylori, age over 50, being a man, and having a family history of stomach cancer. An unhealthy diet - one high in smoked and pickled foods and low in fruits and veggies - is also an important risk factor.

Live a healthy lifestyle by getting plenty of exercise, not smoking, eating right, and perhaps adding some healthy allium veggies to your diet. See a doctor to discuss your risk for stomach and other cancers and about important preventive actions.
(Gastroenterology 2011;141:80–9)

About The Author:

Jane Hart, MD, board-certified in internal medicine, serves in a variety of professional roles including consultant, journalist, and educator. Dr. Hart, a Clinical Instructor at Case Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio, writes extensively about health and wellness and a variety of other topics for nationally recognized organizations, websites, and print publications. Sought out for her expertise in the areas of integrative and preventive medicine, she is frequently quoted by national and local media. Dr. Hart is a professional lecturer for healthcare professionals, consumers, and youth and is a regular corporate speaker.

By Dr. Joanne Stern

"It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it myself."
- Joyce Maynard

You may be surprised at how much time and attention successful wealthy families devote to family issues. Sure, you receive a lot of information on stock market analysis, strategic investment recommendations and the best ways to grow and protect your family wealth. But financial matters are only part of the equation.

That's because the best financial advice in the world can't overcome a weak family unit that's unprepared to meet the challenges of preserving multigenerational wealth. That's why we devote so much energy to showing you how to build a positive family culture, develop strong family relationships, learn better communication skills and resolve conflicts before they tear your family apart.

So what underlying element creates a cohesive, cooperative family capable of sustaining both financial and personal prosperity?

The answer is character.

Character doesn't necessarily earn you more money or ensure your financial security. And because character is subtle, it doesn't naturally boost your ego. But it is the foundation upon which successful families are built.

Broken Trust in the Family

I've been consulting with a wealthy family whose parents recently passed away. The oldest son (I'll call him Jim) took over the family business. Everyone thought Jim was a great guy. But he allowed the winds of temptation to carry him away and become deeply involved in porn and prostitution. When his wife found out, she was devastated. He repulsed her. She threatened divorce.

His siblings told Jim that he should resign from his position in the family company. They were horrified that someone with such a deeply flawed character was representing them. They were disgusted because his morals so violently opposed their own. And they were fearful that his behavior would become known in their community and thus ruin their business.

Instead of pursuing honesty, integrity and sound moral behaviors, Jim got sidetracked. He lost sleep thinking of how to cover these new tracks by lying, hiding and covering up. He became exhausted, anxious, and depressed.

Jim is clawing his way out of the hole he dug within his family. You can imagine how tenuous his relationships are. But he can't go backwards and undo what he has done. He's now working hard to repair that trust and rid himself of the character defects that nearly destroyed him, his family and the family business.

The Slippery Slope of Dishonesty

Not all character flaws are as dramatic as Jim's. Sometimes lack of character can be as simple as lying when you're afraid to tell the truth. You convince yourself that bending the truth, just this once, won't really matter.

But bending the truth is a slippery slope that leads to dishonesty creeping into other areas of your life. It makes you untrustworthy, which damages both personal and business relationships.

Recently I worked with a family trying to divide the household items in the family home after the last parent passed away. It was a large estate home with many antiques and museum-quality valuables. One brother kept slipping into the warehouse and snatching oriental rugs, antique purses, beautifully framed photographs of ancestors and family documents dating back two hundred years.

When the sisters questioned their brother about the missing items, he simply said he didn't know what had happened to them. They knew he had taken them, but there was nothing they could do. The trust between them vanished and will likely never be rebuilt.

The sisters were angry at the loss of these sentimental and valuable articles. But most of all, they were disappointed in their brother, a man they had loved for many years who had degenerated into a person of low character. The loss of the brother they knew far outweighed the loss of the valuables.

Are You a Moral Compass?

If you're a parent or a grandparent, there's an additional purpose of constantly monitoring your character - of making sure you are living an upstanding life. You are the most important role model your kids will ever have, and they imitate your behavior far more than your words.

Even when your kids become adults, they still look to you to be the moral compass in their lives. They watch how you behave and how you treat other people. They take their cues from you.

I met Natasha when she was twenty-one. Her mother is an alcoholic and has been divorced four times, with lots of boyfriends in between. Her mother has never worked because she lives very well off her family trusts. She's immature, selfish, self-centered and considers only what works for her,without regard for how it impacts Natasha.

Natasha doesn't want to live like her mother. She doesn't want to become an alcoholic. But she has watched her mom slug a few drinks every time discomfort or anxiety spilled into her life, and Natasha fights against the urge to do the same.

Natasha is now in a serious relationship that resembles her mother's marriages. But it's difficult for Natasha to change because her mother is still the most important adult in her life.

Natasha wants to have a job that pays for her lifestyle, even though she also receives monthly checks from her family trust. But she doesn't know how to talk with her mother about career possibilities because her mom doesn't understand. Natasha is fighting against her mother's character and trying to build a better life for herself. But her mother's behavior has made that an uphill battle.

Like Red Wine on a Cashmere Sweater…

My two daughters each have toddlers. They tease me because both toddlers repeat my phrases from time to time. One has picked up, "Oh honestly!" The other uses, "What the heck!"

It's obvious that my grandchildren pay close attention to what I say and do. How I behave in front of them leaves much the same imprint as spilling a glass of red wine on a white cashmere sweater. Once it's there, it's really hard to remove. Am I helping them build good character? Or will they have to overcome the negative influence of my behaviors?

If you place great value on materialism, your children will do the same. If you put on a show and flaunt your wealth in public, your children will probably do the same. If you cheat - on your income taxes, on your spouse, on your restaurant bill - it's like giving your children a pass to cheat as well. So don't be surprised if they get caught cheating on their SATs, copying someone else's term paper, or denying bad behavior.

Dishonesty takes a wide variety of forms… and kids learn to mimic them all.

The Greatest Gift of All

All is not lost. Take comfort in knowing that instilling character in your children is within your control. If you live your life with honesty and integrity, they will learn to do the same. If you are generous and thoughtful of others, they will follow suit. If you have a good work ethic and put your passion and energy into producing rather than consuming, they will value that as well.

Sometimes we get so busy dealing with the urgent things at hand - in business and at home - that we don't take time to examine the state of affairs in our families.

With that in mind, I urge you to take a deep and honest look at your behavior by following these four steps:

1. Make a list of character traits that are important to you and your family's success.

2. Talk with your kids about character and why it's important.

3. Analyze whether or not you are living up to the character traits you deem valuable.

4. Take specific steps to align your daily behavior with your ideals.

I recommend that you periodically call "time out" in life to assess where your family is and where you want it to be. These moments help remind you of the long-term goals that can sometimes get lost in the noise of your everyday routines. They also reinforce a sense of mission and purpose in your life.

We all want happiness and well-being for our loved ones. One of the best ways to accomplish that is to act as a shining example of high character in words and deeds. Be the person you want your children to be. It won't always be easy… but it may be the greatest gift you can give them.

About the Author:

Dr. Joanne Stern is the author of the acclaimed book, "Parenting Is a Contact Sport: 8 Ways to Stay Connected to Your Kids for Life," and is a highly sought after international speaker who has appeared on many popular TV and radio shows.

by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. Psalm 128:1

There are times when parents should allow their children to experience the unpleasant consequences of sin. Our kids need to understand that those painful consequences come by God's design. Children have a right to know that our merciful God of love is also a God of righteous wrath.

When I was nine years old, my (jcd's) mother read me the story of Samson (Judges 13-16). I heard that after this mighty warrior fell into sin, the Philistines put out his eyes and held him as a common slave. Samson repented before God and was forgiven, but he never regained his eyesight or his freedom. "There are terrible consequences to sin," my mother told me. "Even if you repent and are forgiven, you will still suffer for breaking the laws of God." I am thankful today that my mother had the courage to acquaint me with this "warning note" in Scripture. The knowledge that I would one day stand accountable before God led me to moral decisions at times when I could have easily chosen otherwise.

As you teach your children about the Christian faith, be sure to communicate that we serve a God not only of love, but of justice: "The Lord is known by his justice" (Psalm 9:16). To reveal only one side of the coin is to distort one of Scripture's most significant truths.

Before you say good night…

Are you teaching your kids equally about God's love and justice?

Do your kids understand that there are inevitable consequences to breaking moral laws?

Heavenly Father, may we be bold enough to believe in justice and honor as much as we believe in love and grace. Give us the courage to teach our children who You truly are, an infinitely powerful God whose every interaction with us has eternal meaning. Amen.

by Bob Proctor

Why in the world, when success is available to everyone, do so few succeed? To the vast majority of managers, teachers and parents, this is one of the most perplexing questions with which they can be confronted.

Many will tell you it is a rhetorical question - there is no answer. However, that is just not so. There is an answer and I want to share it with you. Perhaps you have already heard the answer. It was delivered in a speech years ago in Philadelphia by Albert E. N. Gray. The speech was titled, The Common Denominator of Success.

Mr. Gray explained that success is something achieved by the minority of men and women, it is therefore unusual, and not to be achieved by following our usual likes and dislikes, nor by being guided by our natural preferences and prejudices. In other words, success cannot be achieved by doing what comes naturally. Gray said the common denominator of success is in forming the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do. Let me repeat, successful people form the habit of doing things failures don't like to do.

Mr. Gray was asked why the successful people like doing the things that make them successful. He replied that the beautiful truth is, successful people don't like doing these things, which is precisely why they have formed the habit of doing them. A habit is something you do without any conscious thought given, you automatically do it.

Successful people are influenced by the desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by the desire for pleasing activities. They are inclined to be satisfied with such results as can be obtained by doing things they like to do. Make a list of six activities you know will give you the success you seek. Commit to do these things religiously for thirty days and they will become habitual.

by Sally Becker

One day I had lunch with some old friends. Jim, a short, balding golfer type, about 85-years old, came along with them; all in all, it was a pleasant bunch.

When the menus were presented, my friends and I ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Jim who said, "A large piece of home-made apple pie, heated please."

I wasn't sure my ears heard him right, and the others were aghast, When Jim continued, completely unabashed...."along with two large scoops of vanilla ice cream."

We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time, but when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy eating mine.

I couldn't take my eyes off of Jim as I watched him savoring each bite of his pie a-la-mode. The other guys just grinned in disbelief as they silently ate their lunches.

The next time I went out to eat, I called Jim and invited him to join me. I lunched on a white meat tuna sandwich, while he ordered a chocolate parfait. Since I was chuckling, he wanted to know if he amused me.

I answered, "Yes, you certainly do, but you also confuse me. How come you always order such rich desserts, while I feel like I must be sensible in my food choices?"

He laughed and said:

 "I'm tasting all that is possible for me to taste. I try to eat the food I need and do the things I should in order to stay healthy, but life's too short, my friend. I hate missing out on something good. This year I realized how old I was. (He grinned) I've never been this old before. So, while I'm still here, I've decided it's time to try all those things that, for years, I've been ignoring."

He continued:

"I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many trout streams I haven't fished. There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead."

"There are too many golf courses I haven't played. I've not laughed at all the jokes.
I've missed a lot of sporting events and potato chips and cokes."

"I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face."

I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace.

"I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast.
I want un-timed long distance calls to the one I love the most. "

"I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain.
I need to feel wind on my face. I want to be in love again."

"So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire.

I had that final piece of pie before my life expired."

With that, I called the waitress over.. "I've changed my mind, " I said. "I want what he's having, only add some more whipped cream!"

This is my gift to you. Live well, love much, & laugh often - Be happy and enjoy doing whatever your heart desires. You only go around once on this crazy planet.

Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people we like, respect, and enjoy spending time with.

Remember that while money talks, ICE CREAM SINGS!