A Message From The Creator
Inspirational Woman Of The Day: Ali Hewson
Women In Business: KRAFT FOODS NAMES KIM RUCKER EVP, CORPORATE AND LEGAL AFFAIRS, FOR FUTURE NORTH AMERICAN GROCERY COMPANY
Women’s Health: Cruciferous Vegetables Improve Survival in Women With Breast Cancer
A Message From The Creator
Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
Leon J. Suenes
Inspirational Woman Of The Day: Ali Hewson
Alison “Ali” Hewson (née Stewart; 23 March 1961), is an Irish businesswoman and activist, and wife of U2‘s lead singerBono. Hewson is the co-founder of both EDUN Clothing and NUDE Skincare. Chief among her efforts as an activist is her work with Chernobyl Children’s Project International.
Hewson is the daughter of Terry and Joy Stewart, and a granddaughter of Hector Grey, a well known Dublin trader and shop owner. Alison grew up in Raheny, a suburb located on Dublin’s Northside, and she studied at Mount Temple Comprehensive School where she met Bono.
They began dating in November 1975. Soon after the death of Bono’s mother, Stewart took care of Bono, cleaning his clothes, going to school with him, and cooking for him. She married Bono on 21 August 1982 in a Church of Ireland (Anglican) ceremony at All Saints Church, Raheny. Together they have four children: daughters Jordan (b. 10 May 1989) and Memphis Eve (b. 7 July 1991), and sons Elijah Bob Patricus Guggi Q (b. 18 August 1999) and John Abraham (b. 21 May 2001).
Although she wanted to become a nurse, Hewson gave up her career ambitions to foster her relationship with her new husband. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from University College Dublin (UCD) in 1989, shortly after giving birth to her first daughter, Jordan. Before that, Hewson worked in a motor insurance company, and with her father, in his electrical business.
Hewson is a founder of the EDUN fashion label, which encourages fair trade with third world nations and the abolition of sweatshops and child labour. She is also co-founder of Nude skincare with Bryan Meehan, a luxury, natural skincare company.
She has been voted Sexiest Celebrity Other Half.
Hewson is a patron of Chernobyl Children’s Project International, an organization that works with children, families and communities who continue to be affected by theChernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. She participated in Greenpeace protests against the Sellafield reprocessing plant and narrated Black Wind White Land, an Irish film which highlighted the plight of victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. She also participated in the film “Chernobyl Heart” with Adi Roche.
The U2 song “The Sweetest Thing” was given to Hewson as a gift because her husband forgot her birthday while writing and recording with the band during The Joshua Tree sessions. She appears in the song’s music video and received income from its sales. She gave all proceeds to Chernobyl Children’s Project International. Furthermore, Bono dedicated U2’s song “All I Want Is You” to her.
Women In Business: KRAFT FOODS NAMES KIM RUCKER EVP, CORPORATE AND LEGAL AFFAIRS, FOR FUTURE NORTH AMERICAN GROCERY COMPANY
Avon Executive Brings Outstanding Legal, Corporate Governance and CPG Experience to Role
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090420/KRAFTLOGO)
“Kim’s extensive experience providing strong strategic and legal counsel to Boards of Directors, CEOs and executive teams of large public companies will be invaluable as we become a stand-alone entity,” said Vernon. “Her broad and deep background in law and corporate governance, plus her knowledge of the CPG sector, make her an important asset to our team. I look forward to working closely with Kim as we become a world-class public company and North America’s favorite food and beverage business.”
Since 2008, Rucker has led Avon’s global legal operation, including corporate governance, compliance, litigation, government affairs and intellectual property. Prior to joining Avon, she was Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer for Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU Corp. Previously, Rucker was corporate counsel for Kimberly-Clark Corporation and a partner in the Corporate & Securities group at Sidley Austin in Chicago.
“I am extremely delighted and honored to join a world-class executive team and a company embarking on an exciting future,” said Rucker. “It’s a unique opportunity to help build on Kraft’s long-standing leadership in making great foods and beverages for families throughout North America.”
A Harry S. Truman Scholar, Rucker holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Iowa. She simultaneously earned her Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
A Chicago native, Rucker and her family will relocate back to the area.
About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2011 revenue of $54.4 billion. Twelve of the company’s iconic brands – Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia,Tang and Trident – generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually. On Aug. 4, 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to divide and create two independent public companies: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2012. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. Visit kraftfoodscompany.com and facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words such as “expect,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, our plan to create two industry-leading public companies; timing of the spin-off; and expectations for the North American grocery company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements. Please see our risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in our filings with the SEC, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Foods disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
– make today delicious –
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1ipTB)
Women’s Health: Cruciferous Vegetables Improve Survival in Women With Breast Cancer
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
#1 New York Times Bestselling author, family physician specializing in nutritional medicine and natural methods
At the recent American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, new evidence highlighted the importance of cruciferous vegetables for breast cancer protection.
The cruciferous vegetable family:
- Arugula
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Broccoli rabe
- Broccolini
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Collards
- Horseradish
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Mustard greens
- Radish
- Red cabbage
- Rutabaga
- Turnips
- Turnip greens
- Watercress
The cruciferous family is unique among vegetables because of their glucosinolate content — glucosinolates give cruciferous vegetables their characteristic spicy or bitter tastes; when the plant cell walls are broken by blending, chopping, or chewing, an enzyme called myrosinase converts glucosinolates to isothiocyanates (ITCs) — compounds with potent anti-cancer effects, including:1
- Anti-inflammatory effects — ITCs have been found to decrease the secretion of inflammatory molecules.
- Anti-angiogenic effects — isothiocyanates can inhibit the development of new blood vessels to limit tumor growth.
- Detoxification of carcinogens — Some carcinogens must be converted to their active form before they can bind DNA to cause carcinogenic changes — isothiocyanates can block this transformation.
- Preventing DNA damage — Isothiocyanates also increase the production of our body’s natural detoxification enzymes, which protect DNA against damage from carcinogens and free radicals.
- Stopping cell division in cells whose DNA has been damaged
- Promoting programmed cell death in cancerous cells
- Anti-estrogenic activity — Exposure to estrogen is known to increase breast cancer risk; estrogens can alter gene expression, promoting cell proliferation breast tissue. ITCs have been shown to inhibit the expression of estrogen-responsive genes.
- Shifting hormone metabolism — Eating cruciferous vegetables regularly helps the body to shift hormone metabolism, reducing the cancer-promoting potency of estrogen and other hormones.
Eating cruciferous vegetables produces measurable isothiocyanates in breast tissue,2 and observational studies show that women who eat more cruciferous vegetables are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. In a recent Chinese study, women who regularly ate one serving per day of cruciferous vegetables had a 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer.3 A 17 percent decrease in breast cancer risk was found in a European study for consuming cruciferous vegetables at least once a week.4
What about women who already have cancer? Is it too late for cruciferous vegetables to improve their prognosis? We know that childhood and adolescence are the most crucial times for environmental stimuli to affect breast cancer risk, but changes made during adulthood and even after diagnosis still have the potential to create positive changes in the body.
The new study kept track of cruciferous vegetable intake in Chinese women with breast cancer for the first three years after diagnosis, and followed the women for a total of five years. They found dose-response effects — this means that the more cruciferous vegetables women ate, the less likely they were to experience breast cancer recurrence or to die from breast cancer. When the women were grouped into four quartiles of cruciferous vegetable consumption, in the highest quartile had a 62 percent decrease in risk of death and 35 percent reduced risk of recurrence compared to the lowest quartile.5
This new data supports a previous report from the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) study. Breast cancer survivors who reported higher than median cruciferous vegetable intake and were in the top third of total vegetable intake had a 52 percent reduced risk of recurrence — especially powerful since the average intakes were quite low, 3.1 and 0.5 servings/day of total and cruciferous vegetables, respectively.6
Don’t forget: cruciferous vegetables must be chopped, crushed, or chewed well for maximum benefit! The myrosinase enzyme is physically separated from the glucosinolates in the intact vegetables, but when the plant cells are broken, the chemical reaction can occur and ITCs can be formed. The more you chop before cooking (or chew, if you are eating the vegetables raw), the better. Some ITC benefit may be lost with boiling or steaming, so we get the maximum benefit from eating cruciferous vegetables raw — however, gut bacteria also have the myrosinase enzyme, so additional ITC production may occur in cooked cruciferous vegetables after we eat them. Also, we can increase ITC production from cooked cruciferous vegetables by having some shredded raw cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, kale, collards or arugula in a salad in the same meal to supply the myrosinase enzyme, which the body can use during the digestive process.
Combine anti-cancer foods to maximize protection against all cancers: A number of plant foods are associated with lower risk of cancers, and substances contained in these foods display anti-cancer or immune-boosting properties. The cancer-fighting strategy I describe in my book Super Immunity involves eating these super-foods (“G-BOMBS”: greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) simultaneously and in significant quantities. The combination of cruciferous vegetables with the rest of these powerful anti-cancer foods — the onion family, mushrooms, beans and seeds — creates delicious, healthful, and powerfully protective meals.
Read more about breast cancer prevention here.
For more by Joel Fuhrman, M.D., click here.
For more on diet and nutrition, click here.
References:
1. Higdon J, Delage B, Williams D, et al. “Cruciferous vegetables and human cancer risk: epidemiologic evidence and mechanistic basis.” Pharmacol Res 2007;55:224-236.
2. Cornblatt BS, Ye L, Dinkova-Kostova AT, et al. “Preclinical and clinical evaluation of sulforaphane for chemoprevention in the breast.” Carcinogenesis 2007;28:1485-1490.
3. Zhang CX, Ho SC, Chen YM, et al. “Greater vegetable and fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among Chinese women.” Int J Cancer 2009;125:181-188.
4. Bosetti C, Filomeno M, Riso P, et al. “Cruciferous vegetables and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies.” Ann Oncol 2012.
5. Nechuta SJ, Lu W, Cai H, et al: “Cruciferous Vegetable Intake After Diagnosis of Breast Cancer and Survival: a Report From the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study.” Abstract #LB-322. In Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4. Chicago, Il; 2012.
6. Thomson CA, Rock CL, Thompson PA, et al. “Vegetable intake is associated with reduced breast cancer recurrence in tamoxifen users: a secondary analysis from the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study.” Breast Cancer Res Treat 2011;125:519-527.
Inspiration Of Motherhood: Is Motherhood The Only Path To Success?
Melanie Notkin
CEO Melanie Notkin Media, Inc/Savvy Auntie
I realize I’m about to step in it. And by “it,” I mean the “Marissa Mayer is a female CEO — and she’s pregnant!” discussion that inevitably leads back to the “Can women have it all?” exchange that began last month.
As a single woman who does not have children, I already shared some thoughts on “having it all” here. I was trying to hold back on this new hot topic, but a PR pitch I received this morning pushed me right into it. It read:
So, you’re not Marissa Mayer, 37-year-old newly minted CEO of Yahoo! and six-months pregnant with her first child. The picture of success for the modern woman. Can you still have it all? What lessons can be learned by Marissa’s meteoric rise to the top of the business world? How can women yearning to get ahead without sacrificing family life emulate Marissa or make the best choices for themselves?
The next line was a pitch for a hair care product, because naturally, the best way to become CEO and get pregnant is with “gorgeous hair.” But putting the idiocy of the PR pitch aside, are we now saying that Marissa Mayer is successful because of this equation: CEO + Mother-To-Be = Success? If it had been simply this one PR pitch, I would have put it aside. But the conversations this week around Marissa being a mother (to-be) on top of being a female CEO were already beginning to wear on me. Whatever future success I had with my career and my business, would I ever be seen as a true modern woman success story without also juggling motherhood?
Nearly 50 percent of American women are childless. While the majority of women — about 80 to 85 percent — become mothers eventually, most highly educated, high-income earning women like Marissa Mayer have their first baby later in life. Marissa, who turned 37 in May, will be one of the 14 percent of first-time moms who have a first birth at age 35 or older. And in general, Marissa and her college-educated cohorts are more likely to get married later than the national average (Marissa was married in 2009) and are most likely to become mothers only once married. (Only 2 percent of women age 35 and older were single at first birth in 2008, although that number is expected to grow.)
It was the line: “The picture of success for the modern woman” that really got me. Not all women can be mothers. Not all women want to be mothers. Not all women will be mothers. And not all women should be mothers. So as long as we pin “success for the modern woman” with motherhood, we will undermine some of the most gifted women in this country — and those girls and women who aspire to be like them. Is Oprah Winfrey not a success? Is Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor not a success? Is the former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, not a success?
Furthermore, Marissa has had the good fortune and ability to fall in love, get married and conceive a child, but she’s not actually yet a mom. Does simply being pregnant while having an extraordinary career make you a greater success as a woman?
I have sincere respect for mothers (all mothers — working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, etc.) and I always expected and wanted to be a mother myself. I support the challenges moms face having to or wanting to do things outside the context of motherhood. But when we say that success is only achieved when one does those things along with being a mother, we cast aside the women who are not mothers as if they are not eligible to be a “picture of success for the modern woman.”
I wish Marissa all the best in all her endeavors, personal and professional. Success is relative to each person’s potential. And I have a feeling she’s only just begun.
—The 4th Annual Auntie’s Day(R) is Sunday, July 22, 2012 Melanie Notkin is the national bestselling author of Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids(Morrow/HarperCollins)
LadyRomp 