Product Reviews Due to Changes or Supply Issues

First, let's talk about Fitbit... No, I won't replace it since I have years of history in the app, but it's something I want everyone to understand about Fitbit, especially if you have POTS too. 

Earlier I opened my app to look at my heart rate, and I saw the bpm in real time. I can also see this on my Fitbit screen, but I cannot read my screen outdoors because I have an Inspire 2... and it's impossible to read outside. 

When I went to see my heart rate through the day, however, it doesn't show the 157 bpm. This is because Fitbit only shows an average of every 5 minutes, so it misses my peaks. 

There's an app called Cardiogram that will show you every single BPM reading the Fitbit took. I used to use it when it was free, and it was really enlightening to see how often my heart rate spikes high. Then they started to charge a yearly subscription that was over my budget, so I stopped using it. I feel a little blind by only relying on Fitbit now, but thankfully I've been monitoring for enough years to have learned how my heart is. 

And now let's talk about products I've recommended that have changed or are no longer available... 

1. Starting with Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer, my favorite part of every morning, and the reason my nails have been surviving thyroid issues! 

I have heavily recommended this product for years, but Vital Proteins decided to change the ingredients BEFORE changing the product description on any store front. Their own website, Amazon, Vitacost, and other stores all show the old ingredients, but they're shipping the "new and improved" product instead, which has different ingredients. They removed the silica, but also added stevia (it was good without the stevia, why add it?) Unfortunately, the new product contains Maltodextrin now, which is often made from corn (I'm allergic to corn.) I wrote Vital Proteins to ask if it's made from corn, and they said:

Thank you for reaching out to us!  Our Collagen Creamers have indeed undergone a recent reformulation- this change was made to improve the mixing experience. As this is our new formulation for this product, we will no longer continue to offer the previous version. Our team is working to update the product page to reflect the new formulation. The Maltodextrin used in our product is a combination of corn and tapioca. Based on the information you shared with us we recommend to not consume the product. 

Yes, corn. Thankfully I didn't consume it without looking at the ingredients for changes! Allergies aren't the only problem with this situation. Even if I was not allergic to corn I would never willingly buy and consume something with maltodextrin in it due to how it spikes blood sugar in the body (click the sentence for a link.) I'm too sensitive to blood sugar changes and I can't handle ingredients like this.

At the bottom of that email I noticed something:

In Health,
Team Vital

Customer Care Team
Nestlé Health Science U.S. - VITAL PROTEINS

How long as Nestle owned them? Here's the thing about Nestle: I think they do very evil things and I will not support them until they change their terrible habits, but when they bought Garden of Life they didn't change anything about the quality of the product as far as I could tell. I've read that they do tend to take a hands-off approach to companies they buy. So is this terrible business with their collagen creamer a problem of Nestle? Not sure.. but for the sake of having a scapegoat, I will happily blame Nestle! 

So I switched to Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel. I don't like it as well, but it's good enough. No bad ingredients, but it also doesn't say grass-fed cows... normally I'd keep looking for something grass-fed, but all the other brands that make collagen creamers add ingredients like maltodextrin to help it mix better in coffee. This is the only option on the market right now without maltodextrin. By the way, Primal Kitchen was bought by Kraft Heinz in 2018. It is what it is. It's hard to avoid these megacorporations in this world unless I live completely on food I grow myself and farmer's markets. It's more possible to do that here in South Carolina than anywhere else I've lived... but I want my collagen!

2. Dickinson's Witch Hazel Wipes, individually wrapped. These have been "out of stock" for a very long time, and they have introduced a new package with multiple sheets per package instead. I'm all for less packaging, but that defeats the purpose. These were a perfect fragrance-free option for cleaning up while traveling. I used them on my hands, face, and body. They were small and fit into my purse or pocket, so I could keep them with me. I have not yet found an alternative that's fragrance-free at a reasonable price point. I bought out the last of the other TN Dickinon's witch hazel brand individual wipes for now, so I'll look for an alternative later when I need to buy something. 

3. Biokleen laundry powder... Now this one has me the most upset of all. I can't link to it because it no longer exists. I prefer powder because it significantly reduces plastic waste, it's pure soap and not mostly water, and it's easier to work with. The problem with powder is they normally require warm to hot water to work. At first, they made their laundry powder with hydrogen peroxide and enzymes, which meant it cleaned and dissolved in cold water really well. I also liked it because it contained zeolite, which binds to mold spores. It helped me decontaminate my clothes. Then they changed their formula and removed the hydrogen peroxide and enzymes. They switched to using citrus as the cleaning agent. I wasn't happy, but it's been working well enough for me. They also offered a fragrance-free version, which normally I would prefer, but I wanted the grapefruit seed oil to help break down biofilms on my clothes and that was only in the citrus version. Now they no longer make it at all. 

Instead, Biokleen started to make laundry sheets. 🚩🚩🚩 Red flag alert!! Let me make something very clear: Laundry sheets are TERRIBLE in every possible way. They claim to be better for the environment because they don't use plastic packaging, but what they don't tell you is that every sheet contains plastic: polyvinyl alcohol. You're literally washing your clothes in plastic if you use these, and no, the plastic does not "magically dissolve." Read this study about how 75% of it ends up in water ways. But it's worse than that: these sheets don't work well. They don't dissolve in cold water, but most natural fibers require cold water. They end up clogging up pipes because they don't dissolve. Look... there's nothing good about laundry sheets. Fine idea for reducing plastic, but wrong execution. I'm really upset that Biokleen went this direction instead of continuing to make their enzyme-based laundry powder. I would have paid more for it if I need to, because it worked... 

So I switched to Dirty Labs. It's liquid, it uses enzymes, it's fragrance-free, works great in cold water, and contains no plastic at all. Honestly, it's a great product. I really like how well it cleans. I like that it's super concentrated, so I'm not buying water. My complaint, unfortunately, is how messy it is. It's very thick and goopy, so it's slow to pour. It's hard to measure the right amount because not all of it will pour out. They made a dispenser bottle, but based on the reviews it's problematic and needs to get perfected before I spend money on it. 

4. ....Oh!! It's back in stock!! I don't have to lament about how my favorite product is out of stock anymore! Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques pressed powder foundation. Yay!!!!!!! This product is very clean, and it works brilliantly. It gives my skin life and a glow, but it doesn't look heavy like foundation. It's breathable and stays in place when I sweat. It's amazing. I frequently wear it without any other make up just because it makes me look normal and healthy.  

Aurora - The Seed