<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Vera Life]]></title><description><![CDATA[Vera Life]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:28:33 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.veralife.us/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Why Your Body Gets Mixed Signals — And What Happens When It Finally Doesn't]]></title><description><![CDATA[Every time you eat, your body receives a message. Not a metaphor. An actual biological message. The food you swallow triggers a cascade of signals — to your hormones, your gut, your brain, your metabolism — and your body responds to those signals the way it was designed to: it figures out what to do with what you gave it. Real food sends clear signals. Processed food sends mixed ones. And the difference between those two things explains a lot about how you feel on a daily basis. I don't mean...]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/why-your-body-gets-mixed-signals-and-what-happens-when-it-finally-doesn-t</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a03dd1d48aeb3fcb2416213</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 02:08:29 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Azodicarbonamide: Banned Everywhere Else. Still in Your Bread.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Did you know flour isn't naturally white? Bleaching agents strip the color out in minutes — and one of them is banned in dozens of countries. Here's what's really in your bread.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/why-is-your-bread-so-white-yoga-mat-chemical</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ffe37dc03ebd32a02914ba</guid><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2026 02:18:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_02b3bd25c4f64a19b52c67f2371e4bfa~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[MSG in Food: The Flavor Enhancer Nobody Wants to Talk About]]></title><description><![CDATA[MSG is in far more than you think — and it hides under names like yeast extract and hydrolyzed protein. Here's what it actually is, where it's hiding, and what to use instead.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/msg-in-food</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ff8add7e54dfff8b00127a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 19:46:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_23de62dbee6f46ff9c93a831dbfdbcd3~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_739,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Classic Homemade Meatballs]]></title><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/classic-homemade-meatballs-2</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69c92feaf8d5a811544e0227</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 18:49:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_6b9879c1ee9c4dfba6a206469362cff4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Whiter the Bread, the More Questions Worth Asking]]></title><description><![CDATA[Thirty years ago I had a phrase — the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead. I had no science behind it. Turns out I didn't need any. Here's what's actually in that bright white loaf and why most of the world has already banned it.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/the-whiter-the-bread-the-more-questions-worth-asking</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ed552304fc81dfe25d624f</guid><pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:10:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_76fa9109a03d40a9b7e0030aa7639d4e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_840,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Emulsifier Problem: How Processed Food is Reshaping Your Microbiome]]></title><description><![CDATA[Emulsifiers are in almost every processed food you eat — and some of the most common ones may be quietly disrupting your gut. Here's what they are, where they hide, and what the research actually says.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/emulsifiers-in-food-gut-health</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ed478d04fc81dfe25d4584</guid><pubDate>Sat, 25 Apr 2026 23:30:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_3334a4b7a6a64a25b4d1476416dbe7f8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_776,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Science Behind Folic Acid, Folate, and Why the Difference Matters]]></title><description><![CDATA[Folic acid is in almost every enriched grain product in the grocery store — and it's not the same as the folate your body actually needs. Here's why the difference matters, especially if you have an MTHFR gene variant]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/folic-acid-vs-folate-difference</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69eb499193ddc6c6134abe99</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:43:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_f09e64bba1e64ae4a19bd6db1f1d325b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_846,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Food Preservatives That Keep Food on the Shelf Way Too Long]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most people have heard of BHA, sodium benzoate, and nitrites. Almost nobody knows what they actually do — or what happens when they interact with each other.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/food-preservatives-health-effects</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e6cbac8e63193b95d4473e</guid><category><![CDATA[Cleaner Living]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 2026 01:42:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_e8ebdd5490fd49028cd7001caf4db871~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_780,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Thickeners: The Additive Category Nobody Talks About — But Everyone Eats]]></title><description><![CDATA[Thickeners are in almost every packaged food you buy — yogurt, dressing, soup, ice cream. Here's what they are, why they're there, and the simple swaps that get you out from under them.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/thickeners-the-additive-category-nobody-talks-about-but-everyone-eats</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e4208fa96d49e56ec12b80</guid><category><![CDATA[Cleaner Living]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:27:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_fce8582beb2b4ce4b105ce1f6e2937fd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_843,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Complete Guide to Real Whole Food: What It Does in Your Body and Why It Works]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your body has specific needs — and they haven't changed in thousands of years. Real whole food is what meets them. Here's what it's actually doing and why it works.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/the-complete-guide-to-real-whole-food-what-it-does-in-your-body-and-why-it-works</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e418e2a96d49e56ec11b56</guid><pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:01:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_701e9774b5a544f68d2eddfd1fcb5cae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_786,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Complete Guide to Ultra Processed Foods]]></title><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/the-complete-guide-to-ultra-processed-foods</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e416120c8d230c9e90efea</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 23:47:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_d9f0b0c653124c96934993d298c81ae1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_933,h_559,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Are Natural Flavors? The Two Words on Every Label Nobody Actually Explains]]></title><description><![CDATA[Natural flavors are on almost every label — but the FDA definition is so broad it tells you almost nothing. Here's what those two words are actually hiding and how to read past them.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/what-are-natural-flavors</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e3d5d443fd38a1bb72cafb</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 19:15:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_c52bfc5fca5b4bd49e17f1a84f459734~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_883,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Are Food Dyes Safe?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Synthetic food dyes are made from petroleum, linked to hyperactivity in children, and still in most American food — while Europe requires warning labels. Here's what you need to know.]]></description><link>https://www.veralife.us/post/are-food-dyes-safe</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69dee5271847596b2f525c7e</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:14:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fed963_2e47fabe2002453fa6c9890d5f2934af~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_797,h_456,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Cathy Weaver</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>