Hi there! My name is Dana…welcome to the Gluten-free Vegan Goddess! I am a gluten-free and vegan girl living in Los Angeles with my teen actor son, my marketing guru husband, and my extremely spoiled dachshund. I am a Development Manager for a national non-profit organization, a jewelry designer, and an Independent Consultant for Arbonne.

I first adopted the gluten-free lifestyle in 2012. I was living in the Midwest alone…my husband, Mark, and son, Zach, were in Los Angeles while Zach shot a pilot. One night, I woke up feeling a bit odd, and the next thing I remember is being awakened by my dog’s wet tongue. I was laying in the floor, down the hall from my bed, and I had about 20 minutes of missing time. Turns out, I had experienced a small stroke. After nearly a week of tests in the hospital, and a month of wearing a heart monitor, doctors decided that my heart fluctuations were due to my problems with my immune system. My blood work showed signs of an auto-immune disease. My rheumatologist suggested that I remove gluten from my diet.

Almost immediately, the migraines I had suffered from for years stopped. My digestive issues calmed down as well. Eventually I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Due to the severe inflammation in my body, my rheumatologist suggested that I “eat as close to a vegan diet as possible.” I thought, “Now, what will I eat? Gluten-free AND vegan will be too restrictive.  I can’t do it!” But I rose to the challenge, and you know what? It’s not that hard! My entire family got healthier in the process. Now I can move more, I have more energy, and my skin looks so much better! I even went gluten-free and vegan with my skincare products, because the skin is your largest organ…you can absorb all kinds of bad stuff that way.

I hope you’ll check in with me and stay in touch! I will be sharing lots of gluten-free and vegan lifestyle tips, Los Angeles Restaurant tips and reviews, recipes, and probably a few pics of the spoiled dog. ( I can’t help it).

XOXOXO

Dana

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