For a long time, milk has been marketed as a health food. Over time, milk infiltrated every American home and we found it extremely valuable. Without much thought, we accepted what the dairy industry and the government told us about milk. But what if they were wrong? Here’s the truth about milk. Read more

For the past day and a half, my son has been bothering my husband and me for oatmeal. Now, he’s only three and from my knowledge doesn’t even like oatmeal. Nevertheless, my husband ate the last of the oatmeal we had and now this little human is adamant about getting some more!

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Everything my husband and I eat is vegan. That’s why when he came home with a different oatmeal brand than usual, my eyes directly went to the back of the box. “Um, this oatmeal has milk,” I expressed. “Well, yeah I just got the cheapest one to see if he actually likes it,” he responded.

My son was so happy! “Oatmeal! Oatmeal!” he screamed while hopping in place. I prepared some oatmeal for him and gave him a bowl.

However, those ‘blueberries’ did not look like blueberries at all. “Let me check out that label again,” I thought. Sure enough, they weren’t even close to real blueberries. Look at this ingredient list. Read more

Chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of many illness and diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, gouty arthritis, and even some cancers. The good news is there are many foods out there that can reduce chronic inflammation. That’s why I created an anti-inflammatory foods list to help you get started.

But first, let’s go over some foods that cause inflammation that you should avoid:

• Trans fat
• Refined grains
• Processed foods, drinks, and snacks
• Processed meats
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Too much alcohol
• Fried foods
• Excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids

If you want to change your current state of chronic inflammation, you definitely want to cut out these foods. However, I know exactly what you’re thinking. “What the heck am I supposed to eat if I can’t eat those foods?” Well, I got you covered!

Read more

What Is Inflammation?

Your immune system is incredibly smart. It’s constantly keeping guard and watching for anything abnormal. Whenever something goes wrong, your body sends substances found in your white blood cells to the infected region. This may cause redness or a warm sensation.

However, whenever the body cannot rid itself of the harmful triggers found in the body it stays in ‘chronic inflammation mode’. The body can remain inflamed for years. After so long, the body starts attacking the inflammation or itself. This causes wearing down of cartilage, irritation, and swelling of the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis are all by-products of chronic inflammation.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the foods that enter our mouth have a huge impact on inflammation. You see, when we eat things our body cannot use for nutrients it identifies it as an intruder. And who could blame it? Chemicals and other substances that are made in a lab are far from food. Constantly eating a diet high in processed foods with no nutritional value is a sure way to trigger chronic inflammation.

Luckily, by switching our diet to one high in nutrition and whole foods we can give the body what it’s been craving: health!

But first, let’s cover foods that can cause chronic inflammation as well as some solutions for eliminating these foods. Read more

After going vegan, I had a really hard time finding pancakes that were free of dairy. They all had egg whites or buttermilk. Even the healthier alternatives had dairy! I found one by Aunt Jemima without dairy products, but the label said, “May contain traces of egg and dairy”.

Ugh! I know there are many recipes to make your own pancakes, but I didn’t have one ready and I was with my whole family.

Later that day, we were at a Burlington store. We were just browsing and I saw a package that said “organic pancake mix.” I immediately walked down the aisle and picked it up. I couldn’t believe it! Dairy free pancake mix!

Since I’ve never heard of this brand, I wanted to do a review on it. Plus, you can purchase this product online without leaving your home! Read more