Quotes of the Day

Seeking to understand requires consideration; seeking to be understood takes courage. [2004] - Stephen R. Covey

Some people will experience vitamin D toxicity when taking 2,000 iu per day of vitamin D if their magnesium and vitamin A intakes are too low. On the flip side, too much vitamin A without the right levels of vitamin D can result in increased risk of hip fracture. [2016] - Laura Kelly

It's not enough to compare ETFs solely on the basis of their MER by assuming a fund that is cheaper by 3 or 4 basis points will automatically outperform a competitor by that same amount. An ETF with a slightly higher fee but consistently lower tracking error might turn out to be a better choice. You can usually learn the fund's tracking error by visiting its web page: the major ETF providers (including iShares, Vanguard and BMO) publish both fund returns and benchmark returns (e.g. XUU lagged its benchmark by 1.52% in 2020). You can also find this information in the Management Report of Fund Performance: this document is typically published twice a year, and you can download a copy on the fund provider's website. [2021] - Dan Bortolotti

Intermittent fasting is a promising nutritional approach for cancer prevention, as it protects against many of the risk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and inflammation. Low-carbohydrate diets reduce glucose and insulin, but not the other nutrient sensors, mTOR and AMPK. Fasting simultaneously reduces all the human nutrient sensors and most of the growth pathways, such as PI3K, mTOR, and IGF-1, and also increases autophagy and mitophagy. One recent study found that women who fast for fewer than thirteen hours per night, despite having a lower BMI than other women in the study who fasted for that duration, had a 36 percent higher risk of recurrent breast cancer. [2020] - Jason Fung

Schedule a dental appointment as early in the day and week as possible, ideally after a long weekend when the office air will have settled. Avoid Friday afternoon when office air may be fogged with bacteria. Boost your immune system with a healthy diet and probiotics for several weeks before an appointment. [2018] - Ellie Phillips