4 Things My Painful Periods Taught Me

I hated my period until I turned thirty. Then I really hated my period. I was a few months off The Pill when I discovered what my menstrual cycle was really like. My uterus was a balloon filled with a gallon of hot lava trying to flow out of a pin prick for the first three days of each period. I had various debilitating aches for two weeks out of my three week long cycle. (Yes, just 21 days!) My mood swung wildly throughout the month. The cherry on top of this shiitake sundae was acne.

Fast forward five years and now I love my period. This year I began working with Nicole Weigl, a naturopathic doctor, to heal my hormones with improved nutrition, herbs, and self-care. Within a few months of closely following her recommendations I saw results.

The experience of having wacked out hormones for several years then being healed in months taught me four things that I know can help anyone who is suffering from a chronic health condition.

How I Overcame An Eating Disorder

We probably haven’t met in "real life" yet but ask anyone who has met me and they’ll tell you I’m the girl who’s always smiling and giving out hugs like free kittens. They might also tell you I’m a little silly and playful: I wear puppets for mittens. I dance in the aisles of Whole Foods. I drink coffee while doing roller disco. I play ping pong with strangers.

I'm full of confidence and truly enjoy life, but I didn’t always feel this way. I once struggled with anxiety, depression, insecurity, and low self esteem. I used food to manage these feelings. I’m not sure when it all began but when I was three, my whole world changed.

After a fun family night out, we came home to discover our apartment was destroyed in a fire and we became homeless. My parents separated. My older sister was sent to live with her grandmother. My mom and I lived in a shelter. Though soon we found a new home, the experience left me scarred.

Sustain Vegan, Natural, Eco-friendly Lubricant Review + Giveaway

If you're seeking vegan, nontoxic lube to use with your equally vegan eco-friendly and chemical-free vegan condoms look no further than Sustain's new organic lubricant.

Sustain, the first sustainable, non-toxic, Fair Trade Certified brand of condoms in the U.S. just launched a line of organic personal lubricant. Sustain’s lubricant consists of a long-lasting, premium, mess-free formula, free of harsh and potentially harmful ingredients such as parabens, glycerin, petroleum and propylene glycol.

Sustain water-based lubricant is certified 95% organic and 100% vegan, gluten-free, latex and polyisoprene (i.e., non-latex) compatible, free of silicone and dyes and not tested on animals. Yay!

I was delighted to find a box containing both lavender and unscented Sustain lubricant in my mailbox last week. I was even more delighted to give it a try. :-)

(Keep reading to see what I think of it and to enter my giveaway.)

3 Reasons Why I'm Not Vegetarian Anymore

I'm not vegetarian anymore. After 13 years of being vegetarian, including 8 years of being an outspoken hardcore ethical vegan, I ate meat in March.

What was it like? Since I'd been contemplating breaking veg for over a year, I imagined it would feel like a milestone. Perhaps ominous thunder would roar in the background as a fork piled with meat neared my mouth. Maybe there'd be tears-- of joy, overwhelm, or regret-- from myself or my husband. No such thing. I just enjoyed some delicious free range turkey stewed with lima beans and greens.

Well, actually, I experienced something unexpected: I felt like a character in a video game whose life bar went from 40% to 100% within a few bites. I felt instantly energized and deeply nourished.

The next day my poop smelled horrible. But my skin also started looking really good, glowing even.

I've been eating meat as little as once a month and as much as three times a week in the last four months. It's been rather uneventful since that first omnivorous meal. Aside from not feeling insatiable hunger and fatigue after exercising, I haven't noticed a dramatic improvement or decline in my health as a result.

Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread with Walnuts Recipe

This is perhaps the best thing I've ever baked. I present to you: Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread with Walnuts.

It is the perfect special treat to make when you have nothing special on hand. For real. I used 2/3 of a bag of blueberries from our winter CSA that were hiding out in my freezer since God-knows-when and a bunch of truly skanky bananas.

This recipe is inspired by, and adapted from, the banana bread recipe in How It All Vegan, my go-to cookbook for making basic dishes that taste outstanding.

Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread with Walnuts Recipe

Celebrating Earth Day with Sustain: Vegan, Non-toxic, Fair Trade Condoms [Review]

Sustain is the first sustainable, non-toxic, Fair Trade certified brand of condoms marketed to women. They're also vegan. Oh, and the company was co-founded by the founder of Seventh Generation and his daughter! 

I'm always excited to share cool new things with you guys so I was psyched when Sustain asked me to review their condoms. It's been a few years since my husband and I have used condoms but Sustain Ultra Thin didn't look or feel any different from the ones I remembered. Aside from not having that weird condom smell (you know what I'm talking about, right?) these are basically the same as every other ultra thin condom I've tried, which isn't bad. 

What I most appreciated about Sustain condoms is they don't have weird toxic chemicals in them. Hooray for getting my swerve on now without having to worry about getting my chemo on later! 

I also love Sustain's hip eco-feminist mission. To celebrate Earth Day, Sustain, has created a photo series and educational infographic illustrating the connection between safe sex, overpopulation and climate change. 

Co-founders Jeffrey Hollender, who revolutionized the eco-friendly household product industry with Seventh Generation, and his daughter Meika Hollender believe that safe sex and climate change go hand in hand, but many women lack access to the tools they need to practice safe sex and plan their families. Sustain created the below infographic to help connect the dots between these two critical issues. 

Who Wants Bleach in Her Vajayjay?!

What you put in your hooha is your business. It doesn't have anything to do with the government, the Church, or your parents. It's your prerogative whether you're choosing a lover, birth control, or feminine hygiene products.

Still, some choices available to us modern women confuse me. Case in point: chlorine bleach whitened tampons.

Most tampons are bleached with chlorine. The chlorine breaks down into dioxin, which remains in the bleached product. Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.

Check out this video to learn more about dioxins and feminine hygiene products.

I love that I can walk into a store and choose between a dozen brands of tampons. However, women have the right to make informed choices. It angers me when corporations that make products for us aren't forthcoming with information about what's in their products, how they're produced, and how this impacts things we care about, like, you know, not getting cancer.

As members of post WWII society, we're all born with hundreds of toxic chemicals swimming around in our bodies but it'd be nice if we could start to have more of a choice in the matter. Hopefully one day we'll live in a world where dioxin and vajayjays never cross paths. Until then we must educate ourselves and seek out alternative products.

One alternative is Maxim Hygiene. They're a Father-Daughter owned and operated company that makes all natural and organic cotton tampons and other cotton personal hygiene products that are produced without chlorine. Yay! (I'm super proud to be a new ambassador for this great company.)

If you wanna support a family company that isn't sneaking chemicals into your cha-cha, look for Maxim tampons in your local health food store or buy them online. Use my coupon code "AF112" to get 10% off your online purchase of any Maxim Hygiene product.

To learn more about other choices you have to keep chemicals out of your body, attend my Spring Detox Workshop at Sustainable NYC on Sunday March 29, 2015 at 3pm.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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