It appears that it's a combination of monoterpenes, campene,champhor, l-limonene, and beta-caryophyllene. The essential oils that contain a high enough percentage of this combination of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and ketones are the following: Rosemary, Hyssop, Idaho Balsam Fir, Frankincense, Melaleuca alternifolia, Eucalyptus globulus, and a Young Living blend called Melrose. 

A little side note: I found a study showing that the essential oil Sandalwood was very effective against mosquito larvae. What wasn't clear was if, or how, Sandalwood would effect fish.

Anyway, you can pretty much expect that a lower quality essential oil you find in stores, health food stores included, will not produce positive results at repelling mosquitoes. Particularly when you take into account that many so-called 'pure' essential oils (essential oil quality)aren't even essential oils at all, but rather are 100% synthetic, or are of such poor quality that they won't have the percentages of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and ketones that are required to repell mosquitoes.

Get Young Living's essential oils here

For mosquitoes, DEET just plain stinks: study

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2008 (Reuters) — DEET, the widely used mosquito repellent, does not block the insects' sense of smell but simply stinks to them, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

This in turn could help in the development of better mosquito repellents, according to the team at the University of California, Davis.

They managed to record the signals from individual neurons in the antennae, which mosquitoes use to smell, and determined that they were not blocked but stimulated in a way that suggested the odor was simply unpleasant.

"We found that mosquitoes can smell DEET and they stay away from it," said Walter Leal, a professor of entomology who led the work. "DEET doesn't mask the smell of the host or jam the insect's senses. Mosquitoes don't like it because it smells bad to them."

DEET, the common name for N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide, is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health groups recommend DEET as the best way to avoid the bites of mosquitoes, ticks and other disease-carrying insects.

It was developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and patented by the U.S. Army in 1946.

Most experts believed DEET worked by blocking the insect's ability to detect 1-octen-3-ol, a volatile substance that is contained in human sweat and breath. That would mean that the insects, which find their human victims by smell, would fly right on by a DEET-disguised arm or ankle.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Leal and his group described how they tested this theory.

Collaborator Zain Syed discovered the precise neurons on the antennae of mosquitoes that detect DEET, and found they are right next to the neurons that sense 1-octen-3-ol.

The DEET neurons reacted strongly to DEET, and more strongly when more DEET was used, the researchers reported. They would not have been stimulated if DEET was merely blocking them.

"I was so delighted when I first encountered the neuron that detects DEET, a synthetic compound," Syed said in a statement. "I couldn't believe my eyes because it goes against conventional wisdom."

It [mosquitoes] also reacted, even more strongly, to compounds known as terpenoids, which help make up the distinctive aromas of eucalyptus, cloves, menthol and camphor.

"In the future, this new knowledge can be incorporated into developing new repellents and maybe in control strategies," Major Dhillon, president of the American Mosquito Control Association, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; editing by David Wiessler)

Buy Young Living essential oils

Ambos tem a mesma função; porém o comando find executa a busca direto no local que você especificou, enquanto o comando locate executa a busca a partir de uma base.

Explicando melhor... com o comando find, cada vez que solicitamos uma busca, ele tenta localizar o que pedimos dentro do local que especificamos e aproveita checa os subdiretórios também. Assim, uma busca com o find pode demorar um pouco, principalmente se o local especificado tiver muitos diretórios!

A sintaxe do comando find é:

find caminho opções nome_do_que_será_procurado

Exemplo:

# find / -name passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/pam.d/passwd
/usr/bin/passwd
/usr/share/lintian/overrides/passwd
/usr/share/linda/overrides/passwd
/usr/share/doc/passwd

A leitura do comando acima, seria algo como "procure no diretório / algo que case com o nome (opção -name) passwd"; ou seja, pedimos para o find procurar dentro da estrutura do diretório / algo que tenha passwd no nome!

Outro exemplo de uso do find:

# find /etc/ -type d -name apt
/etc/apt

Acima, pedi para o comando find localizar dentro da estrutura do /etc algum diretório (opção type -d) algo que case com o nome apt!

A opção -type aceita os seguintes argumentos: f - arquivos; d - diretórios e l - links simbólicos.

Agora, falando sobre o comando locate, ele faz a busca dentro de uma base que é construída com um outro comando, o updateb.

Assim a busca sendo um pouco mais rápida, pois o locate vai usar a base que o updatedb construiu! Só um detalhe muito importante: imagine que você tenha atualizado a base do comando locate e em seguida crie um novo arquivo. Se você não executar o updatedb novamente, o arquivo que acabou de ser criado não será localizado pelo locate!

Então, antes de vermos um exemplo do locate, vamos construir a base que ele irá utilizar:

# updatedb

Esse comando pode demorar um pouquinho para ser terminar e deve ser rodado como root (o usuário administrador da máquina). Enquanto o updatedb estiver rodando, o terminal fica indisponível... quando você receber o prompt de volta, significa que o comando terminou e aí pode passar para o próximo passo, que é executar uma busca com o locate.

Exemplo:

# locate passwd
/etc/pam.d/passwd
/etc/passwd
/etc/passwd-
/lib/security/pam_unix_passwd.so
/usr/bin/gpasswd

Um outro exemplo... imagine que você tenha criado um arquivo no sistema e não lembre onde está guardado. E o pior, não faz nem idéia se criou o arquivo como Marketing.txt ou marketing.txt ou MARKETING.TXT....

Aí complicou... são muitas possibilidades, e você está perdido... então vamos usar a opção -i do locate para localizar o tal arquivo! Essa opção é ignore-case, ou seja, ele vai procurar independente do arquivo estar nomeado em maiúsculo ou não!

Então.. primeiro a gente atualiza a base do locate:

# updatedb

Agora, vamos tentar localizar o arquivo:

# locate -i marketing
/root/MaRkEtIng.tXt

Mmmmm.. que nome hein! Se não existisse a opção -i ia ser difícil advinhar onde estava o arquivo!

Bem, esses são os exemplos deste post.Os comandos find e locate são muito úteis para localizar algo dentro do sistema....

O comando find é poderoso (tem um monte de opções bacanas) e, reza a lenda que ele acha até moeda de um centavo perdida no limbo do seu home ;) !

Ficam aí duas opções que podemos usar para localizar arquivos e diretórios, mas é importante lembrar que o que foi mostrado aqui não é tudo! Então, para saber mais...

# man find

# find --help

# man locate

# locate --help

These words that you typed in a search engine led you to my blog and I want you to know that Jesus is real and I prayed for you that his will would be done in your life, that you would seek him, and that he would provide you a job.

Search Packages

When Ubuntu updates packages it keeps a package cache of .deb files in /var/cache/apt/archives. This archive can be used to review recent changes on your server. Here are a series of examples to help with searching packages.

Search packages added in last week
find /var/cache/apt/archives -iname '*.deb' -atime -7

Note that atime is used because packages in this directory are not modified they are only added.

Search for packages which have a specific name
Be sure to use the “-n” option as it will force the search to be used for file that have the text string, in this example “apache”, in the name. Otherwise it will include those who have that text string in the description.

apt-cache search -n apache

This search will provide very helpful information for what packages were changed on an update. The “reverse depends” list shows packages which require, recommend or suggest the package searched. The “dependencies” list shows which packages are required, recommended, or suggested for your searched package.

Search for Sizes

Find all files over 10 MB
find / -size +10000000c 2> /dev/null

Find all files over 50 MB
find / -size +50000000c 2> /dev/null

The “2> /dev/null” sends all error messages to the trash instead of the screen.

Search User Owned Files

If you want to find files that belong to only a certain user, you can do that with the "-user" switch. Add a second criterion to find only files of a certain type that belong to a certain user.

find / -user tom -iname '*.txt'

You can adjust this search by changing the text string which represents the file type. In the example, “.txt” is used but that could be changed to and file type, like; “.rtf”,”.conf”,”.jpg”,”.gif”, etc.

Managing Versions
Using the “-v” option you can show the version of many programs to verify which version is current. Here are a few examples.

apache2 -v
Server version: Apache/2.2.8 (Ubuntu)
Server built: Jun 25 2008 13:54:13

syslogd -v
syslogd 1.5.0

Using Aptitude to Locate Information

Aptitude is a text mode tool with a menu front end for apt. It can easily provide information about packages and the versions that you currently have installed as well as packages that are not installed. You can access aptitude with:

sudo aptitude

When you open aptitude you will see a menu bar at the top of the screen with two panes below the menu bar. The top pane lists package categories and the bottom pane contains information related to the packages and package categories that you select.

Caution: You can easily break your system using aptitude carelessly as you will be running as root and you can easily install or uninstall packages.

--- Installed Packages
--- Not Installed Packages
--- Obsolete and Locally Create Packages
--- Virtual Packages (do not exist but the names are required by other programs)
--- Tasks (select packages by groups)

Select any of the five categories and it will expand to show groups related to software packages. For example if you select Installed Packages you will see a list of categories that starts like this:

--- admin
--- main (Fully supported software)
I grub 0.97-29ubu
--- universe (Unsupported software)
--- base
---comm

Select a specific category and you will see the individual repository that the packages come from. When you select a repository you will see a list of applications followed by the version that is used. If you see an “I” it indicates that it is installed on the system. In the bottom pane you will see a description of the package.

Whenever you list packages they will have one of these indicators in front of the package to indicate the status of the package.

i: Installed package
c: Package not installed, but package configuration remains on system
p: Purged from system
v: Virtual package -
B: Broken package
u: Unpacked files, but package not yet configured
C: Half-configured - Configuration failed and requires fix
H: Half-installed - Removal failed and requires fix

You can use the F10 key to access the menu across the top.

Actions Undo Package Resolver Search Options Views Help

Actions – install and uninstall options, clean cache
Undo - undo actions

Package – manage install, remove, purge, etc of packages
Resolver – try to resolve issues with conflicts
Find – locate packages
Options – display options
Views - quick access to various view options
Help - basic help

Using dpkg to Locate Information

The dpkg or Debian Package Management tool is an additional way to locate information about packages. If you use the “-l” option you can provide a topic and it will list the package version that is installed.

dpkg -l apache2
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-====================-====================-
ii apache2 2.2.8-1ubuntu0.3 Next generation, scalable, extendable web server

dpkg -l cron
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-====================-====================-
ii cron 3.0pl1-100ubuntu2 management of regular background processing

If you want to list all packages installed use “-l” alone. It will list the package name, version and brief description.

Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-==========================================

ii acl 2.2.45-1 Access control li
st utilities
ii acpi 0.09-3ubuntu1 displays information on ACPI devices
ii acpi-support 0.109 a collection of useful events for acpi
ii acpid 1.0.4-5ubuntu9 Utilities for using ACPI power management
ii adduser 3.105ubuntu1 add and remove users and groups

Nice song..

Recommended to watch~

The press conference held today by the three men that had found the Bigfoot in Georgia was attended and watched by many. (You can watch the press conference here.) But some of the major news groups and actual Bigfoot believers were skeptical, calling the trio liars, and calling the whole thing a big hoax.

The supposed frozen body was actually a popular Halloween costume stuffed in cooler with some extra animal parts for added effect.

The group of men who "found" the body aren't even Bigfoot hunters or anything, they're really just some con artists trying to get the media's attention while they get book deals, tv spots, etc.

Sorry everyone, but this whole thing was a hoax. :(

To be honest, I really wanted to believe that this time, maybe this just once, someone actually found the legendary Bigfoot! I was actually kind of excited to hear about this. But as I kept on looking at the photos and stuff, I thought to myself: "why hold a press conference three days later, when this should be front page everywhere?" Now I'm just upset to learn that all of this excitement and everything was for a stupid costume and some animal guts. Those guys should be charged with something, anything.

[ Get more information and links to how the hoax got started. ]

Coral bleaching in tropical areas, it will destroy oceanic life and ocean tracts.

Rising sea levels, caused by melting polar caps, which is being caused by global warming (notice the problems are all inter related)

(click on this link to donate to protect the worlds oceans)If these situations are not stopped soon we may lose all ocean life as we know it...so donate to good cause today...so we can save our oceans.

"You look like a girl who never gets lost," said a sweet Indian gentleman at the local convenient store. 

"Why would you say that?"

It was only then he pointed to the compass around my neck that I realized where he was coming from. 

"Oh. No. I don't get lost very often." 

Which I don't. 

However, I do get desperate. 

So at the moment, I'm writing articles for this website, but I'm getting paid in American dollars, so I need to find a job in London fast. Especially since I just recently moved into a nice flat in Islington for 600 pounds a month in rent! Yeah, there was no deposit, I could afford it. 

Not to mention my flatmates are this boho chic "John and Yoko" (Tilia likes to call them) couple named Helga and Javier. Helga is white german who used to have blonde Rastafarian dreads and Javier is a hot Naveen Andrews look a like Cuban with long dark curls and a child's laugh. He watches sports alot, which turns me off. However there's something strangely sexy knowing I'm taking a shower in the same place right after him. Anyway, they're lovely, though they never seem to leave the house after work. Which is a shame because I can't take advantage of the pimp living room and flat screen TV too often without them breathing down my neck. 

I was actually worried about being attracted to Javier, since he is Helga's husband after all, and I like Helga so I wouldn't want to go there anyway...But I think the little crush has passed, as he seems to have little patience for the intellectual, the biggest turn on to me. He's a bit of a simpleton. But because of this, he  is extra super nice, which is sometimes a turn on. Plus the accent never hurt anything. 

He was showing me how to use the vacuum and when he said the word "suck" I wanted to faint. Yes, Tilia thinks this is foolish. I never suggested otherwise. 

But back to the job fiasco. It seems the more online applications I seem to fill out the more discouraged I've become. I'm about to get a job in a dinky shop somewhere close to where I live just to pay the rent. Isn't it great to have a Master's Degree? 

Sigh. 

We actually went to the grocery for a bottle of wine (we had plans to meet with some friends for a drink later that evening). Little did we know at that very moment they were setting up a wine closeout like never before. I like this particular grocery for their selection- their wine steward has an excellent taste and presents a fine selection that competes with shops many times their size. Wow, oh my head this closeout.

Bottles were marked down at half price, and then marked down an additional half price. We purchased three bottles of Conundrum ($30.00) for only $9.00 a bottle. I love to try new wines and this is definitely the opportunity and way to do it.

Some we knew we liked (such as the Kim Crawford, Conundrum, and Groth) and others we knew we liked other varietals from their vineyards and were curious to try others by them- and with these prices it was impossible to pass up. There were some great French wines I have been curious to try as well that were included in the close out, a white Bordeaux among them. Pinot Noir is a favorite of ours and so we purchased some new selections to taste as well.

Oh, here's a kicker.. when you purchase six bottles (even with the close out) you receive an additional 10% off. Even more enticing to purchase more wine.

The Wine Steward was of great assistance, too- she liked many of the same wines we did and gave us some great recommendations of what to try next. There is so much here I am not quite sure where to start!

Needless to say, there will be some tasting notes posted as I do.

Christian Dior is one of the biggest names in the fashion industry. The namesake of its founder, Christian Dior, the company began in France and has grown to more than 60 worldwide stores. Department stores are licensed to sell Dior accessories, but not clothing. Retailers sell such Dior accessories as sunglasses, scarves and ties, perfumes, jewelry, lingerie and handbags. The young Christian Dior, former heir to his family’s fertilizer fortune, has grown into a worldwide fashion empire.

Finding Christian Dior handbags is a relatively easy task. There are many online as well as brick and mortar stores that market Christian Dior handbags. In addition to Christian Dior handbags, you can purchase bags from many other designers such as Ford, Versace, Celine, Fendi, Juicy Couture, Jean Paul Gaultier, Cavalli, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Baccarat, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and DKNY.

Dior has a complete line of handbags so there is a style for every woman. Christian Dior offers styles ranging from the popular hobo, shoulder bags, large shoppers, drawstring bags and their trademark saddle pouches. Christian Dior handbags come in a variety of materials from leather to fabric. Christian Dior handbags can be found online at Amazon, eLuxury and eBay. Christian Dior handbags can also be found at Pure Moda. This popular online store sells Dior products such as the saddle purse and the double saddle. Pure Moda also offers a wide selection of accessories such as wallets and keychains.

Remember that purchasing luxury items such as Christian Dior handbags should not be an impulse buy. These handbags are great investments and will last for years even with daily use. Shop around for the best deal and make your purchase from a reputable dealer to ensure that you receive an authentic Christian Dior handbag.

Remember too that there are a significant number of Christian Dior handbags on the market that are not authentic, but poorly made copies. Christian Dior is one of the most copied designers in the world. As there are many individuals who are looking for a cheap version of an authentic Christian Dior handbag, there are as many unscrupulous dealers willing to sell a Christian Dior ripoff for a few dollars. Additionally, these ripoffs are unlicensed copies, which means that the Christian Dior Company receives none of the profits it is entitled to, making this type of sale highly illegal. However, you can avoid making an illegal purchase of an unlicensed ripoff by shopping at a reputable dealer.

Wall Mural?

:)  I think the answer/route  regarding our treatment (dare I say, amiration of Fred Williamson) is obvious...but we want to know how you swung "The Hammer."

Tell us, or better yet, SHOW us.

The NERD of her wants some feedback...

We also wanna know if Fred Williamson ever got some help for his feet.

Happy 9 lives y'all.

*Best submission wins some glory.

I was never a part of the cool group. Probably I wasn't cool enough.. or maybe I was not as hip as they were. I didn't know enough about the TV-shows they were talking about, or maybe my dress code was not accepted. To be honest - I have no idea why they kept ignoring me - and some others.. not only ignoring - but also looking down at.. judging. This was really annoying.. No matter what I tried to do about it - there was no change. It was not that I didn't have friends - because I did have friends.  It was just that I was curious what was wrong with me.. and a bit jealous. Why couldn't I be a part of it?

One day I finally realized that I didn't even wanted to be a part of the "cool group". What would I do then? - join them judging people because they were smarter, or less smart, had different interests, or whatever. NO -fat NO I respect people who respect me. And I want to be a friend with anyone who can accept me in the way I am.

Realizing this - was one of the best things I could ever do. I like myself in the way I am and I don't want myself different.  Problem solved!

I thought this group thing was something that kids do.. and then you grow up and it's over. But apparently I was wrong on this point. There are still people out there that are way to cool for me. But I can also see that we ended up having completely different lives, where I like my life a lot better - and I'm happy I'm not in their shoes..
Today I'm happy and thankful that nobody let me into the group - and also - I'm sad that this group thing still exists.

Of course it's hard for a kid to see theese things.. to see that being popular is not necessarily the most important thing in life. It's hard to be different.. to have different interests. It's not easy to find soulmates if you are a real original. But by the time you find them - I think you appreciate it more. Nobody who has 300 friends can keep a good contact and be a good friend with all of them. It's the real freinds - the soulmates that count.

No names mentioned in this post.. no hard feelings.. ok?

I'd say I've got two soulmates.. in very different ways though. One I met the first time at the age of 6.. Ida - which by the way got married a couple of days ago. Congrats! She's like a sister to me and even though we for many years have been living far apart (read: different countries) we are still very close on some level.
The other one is hubby.(Sorry dude.. should have mentioned you first. You know that you're the one I love the most)

I could go on for 18 pages about what theese two people mean to me.. but I'm not gonna' do that.

I was kind of hoping that it would at least leave me the GPS coordinates but alas it obviously forgot at the last no smoking check point.  Does giving up smoking steal your mojo? Well I thought so and hence the box that I bought.  Ok see I can't lie, I never did but I am considering it if it means that I will be able to track down my long lost personality.

Life has kind of taken it out of me recently and in all honesty I decided to quit smoking during the one time that I probably could've done with some drugs. Ah the addict within me speaks!  The addict is never far away, mojo she be gone but addict she be strong.

My favourite part of the day is when they take the dog for a walk and I get to make a quick cup of coffee with out funny looks.  Ok ok I am a rebel and the mere fact that I am doing it while they are out just gets my heart beat racing. Hey got to get it racing some how right...! (Rhetorical quiet).  Meal times I get to really use my imagination while avoiding the imagery that goes along with loud sniffing and mash (yeah gross).

That's the fluffy bits, the bits that I don't mind sharing, the other bits are well... they're there but I'm making ostrich burgers out of them covered in onion and Mrs Balls Chutney (it really is called that).  Soul searching and asking those wonderfully awkward questions is my past time now while I apply for jobs galore, try and work out my next move and come up with an escape plan.

Oh where oh were could my humour be, I seriarsely can't get that line out of my head.

How I miss my mojo, if you know where it is please send it back to me.

Thanks for bearing with me.

FOS: a Supernutrient Documented to Rebuild Intestinal Flora, improve mineral absorption, and more 

• Minimal impact on blood sugar levels 

• Glycemic index of 0 

• Ideal sweetener for diabetics

• Increases populations of beneficial bifidobacteria in the colon 

• Reduces populations of harmful bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens 

• Improves calcium and magnesium absorption 

• Improves liver function 

A naturally sweet, indigestible fiber derived from chicory roots, FOS (fructooligosaccharides) are one of the best-documented, natural nutrients for promoting the growth of Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria bacteria, a key to sound health. 

FOS has also been clinically studied for its ability to increase magnesium and calcium absorption, lower blood glucose, cholesterol, and LDL levels, and to inhibit production of the reductase enzymes that can contribute to cancer. 

Because FOS can increase magnesium absorption, it can also lead to lowered blood pressure and better cardiovascular health.

FOS is one of the most powerful prebiotics to be researched in the last decade (a "prebiotic" feeds intestinal flora; a "probiotic" adds more actual cultures to existing intestinal flora). 

The subject of over 100 clinical studies, FOS is one of the best-documented natural nutrients for improving the healthy balance of bacteria in intestines and stimulating the growth of the beneficial bifidobacteria—also called "friendly flora"—that reside in the colon.

How important to good health are these so-called "friendly flora" that populate our intestines? They are our front-line defense against invading disease-causing organisms, combating premature aging caused by the toxin-producing bacteria and fungi that reside in our intestines.

7 Reasons Why Bifidobacteria Are Vital to Health

1. They produce substances that stop the growth of harmful, toxic gram-negative and positive bacteria in the intestines (Kawase 1982, Rasic 1983, Gibson and Wang 1994a&b).

2. They occupy space on the intestinal wall that could be populated by pathogenic organisms. When Bifidobacteria increase in numbers, they crowd out invasive toxin-generating microorganisms.

3. They slow down the production of damaging protein breakdown products, such as ammonia. This lowers blood ammonia levels that can be toxic to the human body (Bezkoravainy et al., 1989).

4. They produce B vitamins and folic acid (Nishizawa 1960, Liescher 1961).

5. They produce digestive enzymes, like phosphatases and lysozymes (Kawase 1982, Minagawa 1970).

6. They stimulate the immune system and promote immune attack against cancer cells (Mitsuoka 1980, Sekine et al., 1985).

7. They increase the absorption of essential minerals magnesium and calcium. As we age, magnesium levels in the body decline, contributing to high blood pressure and diabetes. 

Technically a fiber rather than a sugar, FOS is totally unlike conventional sugars because it feeds the beneficial bifidobacteria while selectively starving the parasitical yeast, fungi, and bacteria that contribute to disease. Most toxin-producing microorganisms in the intestines are unable to use FOS as food. Conventional sugars, like sucrose and lactose on the other hand, work in just the opposite fashion: they tend to feed harmful bacteria more readily than it feeds beneficial bacteria.

lncrease in Mineral Absorption

Besides building up the beneficial bacteria in the body, FOS has also been shown to improve blood sugar control, liver function, and calcium and magnesium absorption.

A 1997 animal study conducted at the Nutritional Research Center in Japan found that a 5 percent FOS diet increased magnesium and calcium absorption substantially. A 1998 Showa University study, obtained similar results (Ohta et al., 1998, 1997, 1995; Morohashi et al., 1998).

Magnesium is one of the most important nutrients we obtain from our diet, being involved in over 300 enzyme reactions in the body. As we age, our magnesium levels drop markedly, which creates a deficiency that increases the risk of angina, atherosclerosis, cardiac arrhythmias, depression, and diabetes (Schauss, 1998; Jansson, 1981). 

A study conducted by National Research Council of Canada showed that long-term marginal magnesium deficiency can reduce the life span of laboratory animals by almost 40 percent (Heroux et al., 1977).

Liver Health

FOS also improves liver health. A 1999 Louvain Catholic University study found that a 10 percent diet of FOS can protect against fat accumulating in the liver and lower both blood glucose and insulin levels.

Virtually No Effect on Blood Sugar Levels

FOS may be the ideal nutrient for diabetics. Because FOS is an indigestible sugar, it triggers no spikes in blood sugar levels the way sucrose and glucose do. About 40 to 60 percent as sweet as sugar, FOS is found in low quantities in many types of foods. However, to obtain just a quarter teaspoon of FOS from foods in your diet, you would have to consume 13 bananas, 16 tomatoes, or 16 onions. Chicory roots have one of the highest amounts of FOS of any plant, and most natural FOS supplements are commercially derived from water-extraction of the roots.

Acidophilus cultures have also been shown to combat fungus overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract. Young Living's Life 5 probiotic provides five of the most clinically proven and advanced probiotics, including three super-strains that represent the most health promoting and visible strains ever prepared in a supplement., and Stevia Extract is a superior source of plant-derived FOS.

Recommended Dosages

To obtain the best results from FOS, daily intake should range between 5 and 10 grams a day. Dosages above 15 grams may cause gas or intestinal cramping from excess bifidobacteria populations.

Excerpted from: the Essential Oils Desk Reference