Tips

I was first introduced to gelatin many years ago, as a new nutrition student trying desperately heal my gut issues. In my desperation, I ordered some off the internet, added it to my tea, got ready to chug…and ended up sipping a thick, gelatinous cup of green tea. ‘This has clearly gone bad.’ I thought. As it turns out, I had purchased gelatin instead of collagen. While gelatin and collagen are closely related and both very healthy, they’re not exactly the same. The most obvious difference is that gelatin causes foods to solidify – this is great if you’re making jello. It’s not so great for sipping tea. And while I love jello, I simply cannot consume enough. Collagen goes into my tea every day. Both collagen and gelatin are derived from the hides, hooves, and bones of animals. Our ancestors and traditional cultures around the world largely consumed collagen and gelatin. No part…

If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that earlier this year I went to my naturopath – who had very negative things to say about the brand of fish oil I was using. I won’t get into what was said or even the brand, because I was never able to substantiate those claims, and after all, she did formerly work for a competing company. So for a little bit, I switched the competing company she recommended. Again, I’m not diving into brands or detailing my specific issues. Both brands are decent and my intent with this article is not to bash other brands, but tell you about the fish oil I’ve settled on; the one I consider the highest quality, purest fish oil. Because my husband and I are planning on getting pregnant, I wanted the absolute best fish oil. And I literally spent months doing research to…

I was thirteen-years-old the first time I ever saw my mother crush up an Oxycontin and snort it on the dresser in front of me. It wasn’t the first time she had done it. It was just the first time she had done it in front of me. The first time she no longer cared that her daughter was in the room. Normally she just swallowed them. But like so many people who get addicted to prescription drugs, it escalated to snorting. Then eventually to heroin. I can’t place all the blame on the pharmaceutical industry. Truth be told, my family was pretty much ruined anyway. Some people are just inherently bad. Even without all the drugs, I know my family was never a very good one. But the drugs sure didn’t help, and they only made things for difficult for my siblings and me. My mother, who I affectionately refer…