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In perpetual motion
Edmonton gymnast and Shumka dancer heading to Cirque du Soleil audition
times a week for as much as four hours a session. A member of the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, Mortensen also dances at the Shumka Studios in north Edmonton three times a week for at least three hours each session. And until next Sunday, hes playing the acrobatic role of Happy the Gnome in the Canadian premiere of Snow White and the Seven Gnomes of Christmas at the Citadel. Mortensens credits also include A Royal Christmas with Andre Bocelli and Home for the Holidays with Robert Goulet and Shirley Jones. Besides keeping him in great shape and feeding his insatiable desire to be in perpetual motion, theres another good reason for Mortensens gymnastics and Ukrainian dancing madness. He wants to join the Cirque du Soleil. After recently submitting a video resume, Mortensen has earned an audition next June with the famed theatrical troupe. It would just be my dream to do that. It would mean Ive put all my efforts into the right points of my life, he explains. My chances are slim, but hopefully they see that Ive got it. Mortensen knows it includes flexibility, strength, tumbling ability, high-bar

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Edmonton Sun YOUR

HEALTH Monday, December 11, 2006

Jeff Mortensen was what youd call an energetic kid. By the time he was five years old, his parents decided to enroll him in gymnastics so he could work off some of that energy. I just had a ton of excess energy, the 18year-old Edmontonian recalls, adding he was excited to follow in his fathers footsteps. My dad did gymnastics when he was young, too. A short time Cary later, at the urging of his aunt, Mortensen also KEEPING FIT signed up for Ukrainian dancing. Thirteen years later, hes still doing both. Along the way, gymnastics and Ukrainian dancing have kept him in amazing shape. As child obesity rates continue to soar in this country, the five-foot-eight accomplished gymnast and dancer is nearing the end of his teens at a lean 140 pounds. Gymnastics is really good for core strength and keeping your body in shape with good endurance, says the first-year University of Alberta student. And dancing is great cardio exercise. My leg strength and my balance have improved a lot. They (gymnastics and dancing) really go hand in hand. These days, Mortensen practises gymnastics at Capital City Gymnastics and the University of Alberta three

Castagna

DAVID BLOOM/SUN

Jeff Mortensen keeps fit by dancing with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. Mortensen is featured here in a photo call for Snow White and the Seven Gnomes of Christmas earlier this week.
skills, dancing prowess and the knack for pulling off plenty of improv. In the meantime, the graduate of Louis St. Laurent school is also practising good nutrition. Although he burns off a ton of calories daily, Mortensen strives to eat a balanced diet that includes wholesome foods like fish, pasta, yogurt and fruit. And a couple times a week, he feeds his sweet tooth with an ounce of dark chocolate. I always try to stay away from fast food, he adds. No matter what happens after next summers Cirque audition, Mortensen has no plans to give up gymnastics or Ukrainian dancing. Ive got to keep myself busy. Its good to have something every day, he says. I think Ill always keep active. The Biggest Winner Follow my progress in Club Fits Biggest Winner Contest at: www.edmontonsun.com/ Lifestyle/castagna.html and www.clubfit.ca/biggestwinner/blog. Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at ccastagna@edmsun.com.

Cancer prevention starts as early as pregnancy

Dr. Richard

CANCER PREVENTION
Pediatric cancers are a genuine tragedy, and send children and their families into a whirlwind of physical

Beliveau

and emotional pain. If the causes of these child cancers still remain unclear to this day, it appears that some of them are linked to damage sustained by fetal cell genetic material during pregnancy. Some research suggests that the nutrition of pregnant women could play an important part in preventing this damage and therefore actively help decrease the incidence of some pediatric cancers. Although pediatric cancers account for less than 1% of all cancers, they still remain the top-ranking cause of death in Canadian children.

Approximately 1,500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Until now, the prevention of two main types of child cancers has been researched, namely for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumours. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most frequent child cancer. This type of leukemia is triggered by chromosomal and white blood cell re-arrangements leading to the overproduction of proteins that stimulate the increase of the white-cell count and, consequently, to the devel-

opment of a cancer. Some observations suggest that the nutrition of pregnant women could play a key role in preventing the

Approximately 1,500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Dr. Richard Beliveau
appearance of chromosomal anomalies. For instance, a study conducted in Greece brought to

light that an abundant intake of fruits and vegetables as well as fish and seafood by pregnant women was linked to a lower risk of their children contracting leukemia. On the other hand, mothers-to-be who consumed a lot of red meat or sugar ran a greater risk (around 30%) of giving birth to a child that would end up with leukemia during the first five years of their life. These observations obviously remain to be confirmed, but still hint that the mother's diet could have an impact on the risk of their children contracting cancer.

Brain tumours are less frequent than leukemia, but these cancers unfortunately still remain extremely difficult to cure to this day. Since the fetus is in direct contact with the mother's blood, it is therefore not surprising that the cancer risks for the fetus could be influenced by the composition of the mother's diet. By eating well, it is possible for pregnant women to kill two birds with one stone: give birth to healthy baby and live a long time to see them grow. What more could a mother ask for?