Dr. Greta Bunin of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia studied 305 mothers with children aged six or younger who had developed brain tumors, and her team found a significant association between early pregnancy intake of multivitamins and reduced risk for brain tumor development.
"Children whose mothers took multivitamins close to the time of conception seemed less likely to suffer medulloblastoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the brain," said Dr. Bunin.
Dr. Bunin's research showed that there was an association with early-pregnancy women taking multivitamins and a protective effect on the fetus based on similar results from earlier studies Dr. Bunin had conducted previously in 1993.
The team also looked at dietary intake of processed meats -- which are known to cause nervous system tumors in animals -- but found no association between the intake of these products and risk of brain tumors in infants whose mothers had consumed such products.
Mike Adams, a conventional medicine critic against consumption of processed meats, was quoted as saying, "Although there was no link between processed meat consumption by pregnant women and brain tumor development does not mean these foods are nutritious. On the contrary, the consumption of processed meat products containing dangerous chemicals like sodium nitrite is bad in every way for human health -- pregnant or not."
Adams is the author of "The Seven Laws of Nutrition," which warns against the health risks associated with the consumption of processed meats.
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