Remember that many popular cake mix brands contain trans-fats (partially hydrogenated oils). The FDA has determined trans-fats to be unhealthful and has banned their use in food products. There's a 3 year phase out. The below linked article notes that it's expected the ban will reduce deaths from heart disease by thousands of people each year. That's significant. Maybe not in regular grocery stores, but there are mixes available with less dangerous ingredients. Trans-fat ban article

Quartz countertops are, for example, very easy to clean and maintain, but everything actually depends on how do you use your kitchen (how often, do you clean right after preparing a meal, etc.). Also, new kitchens are easier and faster to clean than old ones. Hiring a cleaning company once every two weeks is ideal if you regularly clean your kitchen. Once a week is best if you don't like to clean up often. Practicing this routine will make any kitchen as clean as possible.

Jean, 1-Make sure you defragment your hard drive. This is the #1 problem I find with slow computers. This will make it easy: download smart defrag. When you install it, be sure to uncheck on any screen extras it wants to install, and at the end of the installation check "give up my gift". Open Smart Defrag, click the automatically box to defragment your C drive. Tell it to Analyze the hard drive. You can then click the X in the corner and that will minimize it to the bottom right corner of your computer and you can ignore it. It will take a while the first time; after that it runs in the background when the computer is on and you aren't doing anything on it. http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/iobit_smartdefrag.html 2-Download and install CCleaner. It gets rid of tons of fragments that clog your computer. When it is installed, open it and click Analyze. The first time you use it it may take 15 minutes or more to run. It will want you to close your internet browser. When it is done searching, it will give to an option to delete all the junk. Do that.Run it every couple of months. Between these 2 programs you should see a big difference. There are other things that could be done, but I can't really explain them to you this way. http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/ccleaner_slim.html Brad

No one has been rude and I am truly sorry you feel that way, Lynn. Presenting different information and letting readers see different facets is helpful in developing an understanding, especially when it relates to health issues. We appreciate your help. Surely that does not mean than we cannot bring up other information that might be of value even if it differs from information you have presented?? It seems to me that participatory health, where people have conversations with their health professionals and are encouraged to learn about themselves and whatever medical conditions they may have is a more positive environment than the olden days when the doctor's word was gospel and no one disagreed or asked questions. Teamwork in no way decreases the value of medical professionals, on the contrary, I suspect it may save lives. Doctors make mistakes. Patients mis-comprehend. Without a healthy exchange of information, either of those can result in needless loss of life/good health.