​This year for gift guides I wanted to do something a little different. Over the past year I have become a lot more cognizant about where I am spending money - less “stuff”, more quality, and supporting certain brands or businesses. Over the years through blogging/Instagram I have had the chance to learn about, work with, and share some incredible brands that I may not have gotten to know otherwise. A lot of these businesses are small businesses founded by women (often moms!), which I admit makes me love them even more. For this year’s gift guide I wanted to highlight some of these brands I ..read more

​Over the summer I had the chance to get to know more about Curio Wellness and more specifically the GI by Curio™ line. I had been using the products for a while to help my GI symptoms so getting to hear more about the creation and science behind the products was enlightening. The podcast episode I did with Chief Revenue Officer, Rebecca Raphael, covered some FAQs about medical cannabis usage along with some specifics about the formulation of the GI line. You can listen to that full episode here. I also shared a post highlighting some of my favorite GI by Curio remedies.  Since the podca ..read more

Recently I had the chance to chat with the creators of FODZYME and founders of Kiwi Biosciences, Anjie and David. I met Anjie earlier this year at Digestive Disease Week where I was introduced to the digestive enzyme powder. I immediately loved how the mission of FODZYME was to make foods more accessible to those with digestive struggles. So often the recommendation is to limit foods. This can feel extremely isolating and be difficult to stick to. FODZYME’s approach is to treat the food instead of eliminating it.  ​In this week’s episode of the Crohnically Mom podcast Anjie and David sh ..read more

Antibiotic exposure is a risk factor that came up repeatedly during my time at Digestive Disease Week. I mentioned it in my recap of Pediatric IBD sessions, but there were many other sessions where it was a focus as well.  I surveyed my followers with IBD and about ⅓ of them said they think their onset of early IBD symptoms correlated with a time of heavy antibiotic usage. Of course, this isn’t a scientific study, but I thought it was interesting that this is a factor the IBD community can identify firsthand. The CDC has identified the overprescribing and improper use of antibiotics to ..read more

Yesterday my podcast episode with Rebecca Raphael from Curio Wellness dropped. We chatted about using cannabis to help with GI symptoms (you can listen to it here). When I first got my medical marijuana card and walked into a dispensary I had absolutely no clue what to look for or what to ask. Over time I had conversations with my doctors and professionals who are knowledgeable about medical marijuana and got a lot more comfortable with the topic.  I wanted to pass along some tips for those of you who may be interested in utilizing medical cannabis. As always, please remember that I am ..read more

​​Medical cannabis is a topic I’ve wanted to talk about for a while now, but never actually did because I was scared of the backlash. You’d think that someone who talks about their bowel movements on a public platform, sharing my experience with medical marijuana wouldn’t cause any pause, but that wasn’t the case. Judgment around this topic can be brutal, especially in the mom community. As in most situations, judgment stems from fear and lack of education. I believe that if people were properly educated on the benefits and usage of medical cannabis the narrative would change. I think we ar ..read more

Recently I had the chance to sit down with Tamara Duker Freuman, registered dietician and GI nutrition expert. I interviewed her for my podcast, Crohnically Mom, and she provided helpful insight into navigating nutrition and IBD. You can listen to the interview here. ​How I was introduced to Tamara was through her newest book “REGULAR”. It is one of the most helpful books about GI symptoms I have ever encountered. Many books focused on addressing GI symptoms focus on things you are doing wrong – the wrong diet, not getting enough sleep, eating “bad” foods, etc. This is demeaning for a reader ..read more

​Traveling is one of my greatest joys in life so when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, I refused to let my symptoms prevent me from doing what I love. Flying can be a big source of anxiety for those with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. There are many factors that can play into the feeling, but one of the most common ones is the concern about not being near a bathroom. Flying is also a necessity in some situations - work travel, family visits, etc. Your travel schedule and GI symptoms unfortunately don’t coordinate to make sure you have a comfortable experience. That being said, anything to r ..read more

 At the beginning of my IBD journey, I had the pleasure of working with Oshi Health in their early days. At the time, they were mainly a tracking app for GI symptoms. My mom and I attended a user research group in New York and met with some of the consulting physicians. This was the first time I was introduced to the concept of integrative care. It wasn’t something that was a reality yet for many patients, but the idea that providers could work together and treat the whole person was a positive one.  Almost 5 years later, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael ..read more

One of my favorite sessions at DDW focused on pediatric IBD. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart as members of my family have been diagnosed with IBD in childhood and I know my own children are at a greater risk. Nisha Thacker, an Accredited Practicing Dietician at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network in Australia, presented her team’s findings, which provided some very valuable insight into pediatric IBD risk factors, but also left me with some questions. I am going to share some slides with key takeaways I gained from the presentation and share my thoughts on the findings from t ..read more