The Million Dollar QuestionHow do you include carbohydrates in you diet in a safe, effective, and controlled way? The “Please KISS Me” (Please Keep It So Simple for Me) plan for carbohydrate control is a wonderful tool that only contains 3 simple rules: RULE 1: Include the following in your diet:

• Fruits: 2-4 servings daily
• Vegetables: 3-5 servings daily
• Whole grain breads, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal, and brown rice: 6-11 servings daily
• Legumes, beans and peas: 1-2 servings daily
• Low-fat and non-fat dairy products: 3 servings daily

RULE 2: Limit the following to less than 2 servings daily:

• Fruit Juice
• Refined and processed white flour products (bread, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal)
• White rice
• French fries
• Fried vegetables

RULE 3: Eliminate the following from your diet or eat only on occasion:

• Sugary desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, candies
• Doughnuts and pastries
• Chips, cola and carbonated beverages
• Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly, molasses

That’s it! A simple, effective carbohydrate-controlling plan that, when combined with your SparkDiet, allows you to reap the countless benefits of complex carbohydrates and fiber while enhancing your health and maintaining a healthy weight. The long term result will be a healthy you!

• More energy and stamina
• More confidence
• Sleep better
• Feel physically stronger and capable
• Look better in your clothes (due to fat loss, toning, better posture, etc.)
• Give you a feeling of accomplishment – just like we feel every time we do what we say we’re going to do
• Plus it drains off exercise stress energy (not to mention excess fat)
• And that's just the start...

It's also great for clearing your head and for feeling more grounded and centered. And feeling slim and toned is pretty darn empowering in and of itself. You are your own work of art! All it takes is learning how to lose body fat in ways that you can stick with and feel confident about.

We also show you how you can work out at home (for free!) in ways that keep you entertained and your body stimulated so you keep making progress with your fitness (and all of your) goals

• More energy and stamina
• More confidence
• Sleep better
• Feel physically stronger and capable
• Look better in your clothes (due to fat loss, toning, better posture, etc.)
• Give you a feeling of accomplishment – just like we feel every time we do what we say we’re going to do
• Plus it drains off exercise stress energy (not to mention excess fat)
• And that's just the start...

It's also great for clearing your head and for feeling more grounded and centered. And feeling slim and toned is pretty darn empowering in and of itself. You are your own work of art! All it takes is learning how to lose body fat in ways that you can stick with and feel confident about.

We also show you how you can work out at home (for free!) in ways that keep you entertained and your body stimulated so you keep making progress with your fitness (and all of your) goals

Chiggers - tiny six-legged larvae that mature into mites - are so small that you can't see them with the naked eye. They're most active in the American southeast in late spring and early summer, and chigger "bites" cause intense itching and raised, red spots that signal their presence in your skin. Unlike other seasonal pests such as mosquitoes and ticks, chiggers don't draw blood or burrow into skin, they sink their tiny mouthparts into a skin pore or hair follicle and inject a digestive enzyme that liquefies skin cells and hardens the surrounding flesh. This forms a feeding tube through which the larvae suck the liquefied skin cells. After about four days of feeding, the larvae drop off, leaving behind red welts that can continue to itch for a week or longer.

If this disturbing scenario is enough to make you want to avoid chiggers, take the following precautions:

• Avoid grass, weeds, wild berry patches and woodland underbrush in damp, shaded spots, areas where chiggers are most present.
• Wear loose clothing, as chiggers tend to attach to parts of the body where clothing fits tightly, such as around the waistline or under socks.
• Protect areas of the body to which chiggers are attracted: where skin is wrinkled or thin such as the ankles, armpits, back of the knees, in front of the elbow or the groin.
• Avoid sitting or reclining on the ground when camping, picnicking or working outdoors.
• Consider using a natural insect repellent such as a geraniol-based product.

If you think you may have been exposed, launder clothes in hot (125-degree) water as soon as possible, and shower with plenty of soap several times. Bathing in hot water after exposure may help dislodge the chiggers themselves but won't get rid of the itchy welts that formed where they were feeding. Tea tree or tamanu oil can help minimize the itching, which is important for more than just comfort - while chiggers themselves don't transmit disease, scratching the welts can lead to infection.

NaturalNews) Essential oils extracted from common kitchen herbs and spices can be used as safer, less destructive pesticides, according to research led by Murray Isman of the University of British Columbia and presented at the Fall Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C."We are exploring the potential use of natural pesticides based on plant essential oils -- commonly used in foods and beverages as flavorings," Isman said.Isman's team has been researching the pest control properties of clove, mint, rosemary and thyme for 10 years, and has found that diluted mixtures of the essential oils from two to four of the plants can be used to both repel and kill agricultural pests. These natural pesticides have been effectively used to fight aphids and mites that would otherwise prey on spinach, strawberry and tomato crops.The essential oils provide several major advantages over synthetic pesticides. They are significantly less toxic to farm workers and the surrounding environment than synthetic chemicals. Because they break down quickly, they are less likely to cause lasting harm to the environment or human health. Researchers also claim that insects are less likely to evolve resistance to the plant compounds.Because they are not engineered but simply extracted from foods already deemed safe, essential oil pesticides do not need regulatory approval and can be used on organic crops.Because the essential oils degrade so quickly in the environment, however -- lasting as little as a few hours -- they need to be applied relatively frequently. In comparison, synthetic pesticides may remain in the soil for months and resist breakdown long after this time, which is part of what makes them so dangerous. The herb and spice-based pesticides also need to be applied in larger doses than synthetic pesticides."They're not a panacea for pest control," Isman said. "It comes down to what's good for the environment and what's good for human health."

Johnson & Johnson has issued a recall of over 40 Tylenol brand children's products, including Concentrated Tylenol Infant Drops, Children's Motrin, Children's Zyrtec, Benadryl and other over-the-counter products. The recall was triggered by what the FDA calls "manufacturing deficiencies." Douglas Stearn, a senior FDA official, said the manufacturing process was "not in control", which is the FDA's polite way of saying it was "out of control."