A natural solution to urinary tract infections

If you suffer from frequent UTIs you'll love this.  Two weeks ago I started having pain on the right side of my stomach and in my back where the kidneys should be and sure enough it was a UTI, after starting on my antibiotics I started having horrible side effects like nausea and joint pain which are common when taking this type of medication.   I couldn't keep anything down so I stopped taking the medication and turned to a more natural approach.  I started taking D-mannose powder about every 2 hours and within 24 hours my pain had subsided and I took it for 2 more days to assure the infection had cleared up.




D-mannose is a simple sugar and it prevents bacteria from attaching to the walls of the urinary tract.  This is a great alternative to antibiotics but if your symptoms are severe like blood in urine go to the doctor since UTIs can become serious if left untreated.

Zevia- Nature's answer to diet soda

If you think that diet coke you drink is a healthier alternative think again,  diet beverages are packed with deadly sugar alternatives like sucralose, aspartame, and acelfame-k.  Studies prove that these artificial sweeteners cause health problems like depression, anxiety, headaches,  chest pains, gastrointestinal problems, still births and decreased red blood cell count just to name a few, so say good bye to all of that artificial junk and let me introduce stevia.  Stevia is a an herb which has leaves that are used as a sweetener, unlike everything else I've just mentioned it doesn't have any harmful side effects and can be up to 30 times sweeter than sugar.  I came across Zevia a natural diet drink which is actually sweetened with stevia and I had to try it out for my self.




Im not exactly to fond of the way diet sodas taste but I know many people who are and this is a wonderful alternative if you don't want the calories but still want something sweet to drink.
I tried 5 flavors courtesy of Zevia and I liked the Dr. Zevia flavor the best. Since Zevia contains no sugar it's great for diabetics and people with sugar restricted diets.  Here is the link to the Zevia site if you'd like to learn more about it.  www.zevia.com

The endless benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil is one of those things that just can't run out in my house and I always have to have at least 2 jars of it. Not only is coconut oil a wonderful butter substitute but it has amazing health benefits as well. I was first introduced to it from a friend who suffered from eczema and said that the oil soothed her red inflamed skin better than any conventional steroid the doctor gave her, without the harmful side effects. I don't have eczema but I have dry sensitive skin and even the the most gentle lotions irritate me. I thought I would give coconut oil a try after much frustration with lotions and creams and I love it, a little goes a long way. Coconut oil isn't only a great lotion, when taken internally it can regulate blood sugar levels so its very useful to diabetics.


Coconut oil also contains lauric acid
a microbial which means it can treat things like fungal infections, ringworm, herpes, candida, and the list just goes on and on. The health benefits of this oil are astonishing. If your going to try some out you should always make sure to pick out the best so go for organic cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil.


I hope you all love it as much as I do.

I love being cheesy!!

The hardest thing for me since trying to become strict vegan is letting go of cheese, I put it in everything.  I love it on sandwiches, salads, baked potatoes, enchiladas, but due to health reasons I made the decision to cut back.
The alternatives to cheese haven't made it any easier.  If your vegan you have a choice of rice, and, tofu cheeses,  I tried both and if those are my choices I'd rather not eat cheese at all.  It wasn't until recently that I discovered something awesome, a vegan cheese that isn't made out of harmful soy and that actually tastes good.


I'm talking about Daiya vegan cheese.  This stuff is so close to the real thing I even fooled my dad and believe me he can usually tell if its a fake.  So far I've used it to make pizza, enchiladas, nachos, mushroom burgers, and I even sprinkle some on my salad for a little extra kick.  Its so close to the real thing it even melts.


Daiya cheese comes in mozzarella style shreds and cheddar style shreds


Also something really great about Daiya vegan cheese is that it doesn't contain common allergens like :
Gluten, soy, dairy, egg, peanuts, and tree nuts (excluding coconut)




If you want more info about this products or where to get some go to their site:


http://www.daiyafoods.com/index.html

Who knew veganism could be so sweet

So my husband and I were at the store Friday night looking for something to snack on, we were both craving ice cream but due to our severe allergies we don't handle dairy too well because it produces a lot of mucus.    My husband Michael pointed out they had dairy free ice cream and sorbettos,  I picked out the Purely Decadent ice cream made out of coconut milk in mint chip and Michael chose Talenti sorbetto in roman raspberry.  I usually don't expect much out of vegan ice creams because well to be honest they don't come close to the real thing,  but boy was I wrong.  Everything about the coconut ice cream was absolutely delicious, no weird texture you usually get with rice or soy ice cream, no strange aftertaste, just plain delicous, and my husband loved his too.  If you like fruity flavors sorbettos are the way to go.


Purely decadent is a line of dairy free ice cream made from Turtle mountain, a company that makes natural foods
and
Talenti makes gelatos and sorbettos but not everything is vegan from them so be sure to check ingredients.


I just thought I'd share this with all of the vegetarians that are trying to make the transition into veganism.
Saying good bye to dairy isn't so hard after all.

Everyone needs a lustrous smile!

I'm ecstatic after trying out the LUSTER 1 Hour White kit!   It seems like I tried everything from disgusting whitening strips to uncomfortable mouth trays that would leave my jaw hurting and my gums raw and sore days after.  This is nothing like that,  I have to admit when I read the instructions it seemed like a bit of a hassle but it was a lot easier than I thought and time flew by like nothing.

  

Its just three steps which are :

1. Rinsing with the accelerator mouth rinse

2. Brushing on the super whitener

and 

3. Holding the whitening light in front of your teeth

Everything was so convenient.  The light even has a timer and turns off after 2 minutes so that you know exactly when its time to repeat the steps again.

The instructions say you can do it up to 20 times but I got pretty good results in just 10.

As for sensitivity I  didn't experience any except for accidentally getting a little on my lip which tingled a bit but after rinsing off was no big deal.

I'm very satisfied and now my husband is getting his own kit online.

This is a product that I would definitely  recommend.

My holy grail toner and lotion

I waited 3 whole weeks to make this review on these products because I really wanted to make sure I liked them.  So far all I can say is that I LOVE them.  I have really sensitive skin, and on top of that I'm oily and acne prone so its always been a huge challenge finding a good toner and moisturizer.  If I would buy something for normal or sensitive skin it would always make me break out, and if I would buy something for oil or acne prone skin it would burn my face and over dry it.  When I first tired Humphrey's the first thing I noticed was that it was amazing at controlling oil, the moisturizer did really well under my makeup and best of all after a couple of days I actually noticed my skin was looking really clear and I didn't have any redness or dry patches like I usually get with acne toners and lotions.  I'm so happy with these two products especially since they're natural and the toner is alcohol free.  I can't wait to try the rest of their products.


If you want to know exactly what I used here are the product names:
Humphreys Organic botanicals Oil-controlling daily moisturizer


Humphreys Citrus witch hazel  Oil-controlling facial toner