Are You 1 Of The 13 Million Americans Who Are Currently Suffering From Gout Problems?

Please Be 100% Honest – Check All The Questions Where Your Answer Is A “YES”

⇒ Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night with sudden pain in your joint or toe?

⇒ Have your doctor ever told you that you might potentially be a gout suffer?

⇒ Are you on any dietary restrictions to avoid your next gout flare?

⇒ Are you currently prescribed with Allopurniol to control your gout issues?

If you’ve answered “YES” to any of the questions above, we got good news for you. In fact, this may drastically change your life and become your lifesavers, so read every word on this page.

4 Shocking Myths That Gout Suffers Are Clueless About Which Led The The Biggest Health Breakthrough To Seize Gout Flares

“Gout Is Incurable!”

Then, you start to put on a restrict diet and ditched your favorite drinks and food just to avoid the gout flare from happening again.

In fact, you might also be prescribed with Allopurniol by your doctor which now your life depends on it to ensure you eliminate your gout pain and flare.

However, ’till this day, rarely anyone have challenged if these are the RIGHT approaches for gout suffers…

…and if we take a deeper dive into the common beliefs about gout with Sherlock Holmes detective style, we’ve discovered 4 shocking myths that gout suffers are blind-folded about. It even led us to finding a breakthrough to eliminate the struggle for anyone who has gout.

But first, let’s start with myth busters first:

Myth Buster #1

Hyperuricemia & Gout Only Affect Men Over 50 Years Old

According to Egyptian records, compared to other medical conditions, hyperuricemia and gout specifically were discovered AND documented more than 4,000 years ago.

However, an advanced analysis of it, its symptoms, and its causes started ONLY in the 5th century BC when Hippocrates referred to it as the “unwalkable disease.”

And it was the physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia who captured the essence of gout two thousand years ago:

“Pain seizes the great toe, then the forepart of the heel on which we rest; next it comes into the arch of the foot…the ankle joint swells last of all…no other pain is more severe than this, not iron screws, nor cords, not the wound of a dagger, nor burning fire….”

A painful description that’s still true to this day.

So, if gout was discovered and intensively analyzed for almost 2,500 years, why does the myth of it affecting only men after 50 still exist?

Well, to be honest, if you look at history, you’ll see that our ancestors had lower life expectancies. And while that is true, most reports take out the fact that many children died at birth or within their first five years of life.

So, if we were to take that demographic out…

Myth Buster #2

Gout Is The Rich Man’s Disease!

Well, now, historically speaking, this might have been the case for centuries, even millennia.

But during the past 200 years, and especially in the 21st century (a.k.a. now), this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because honestly, it’s not the rich getting affected by gout anymore. It’s the middle and lower-class population that has the highest gout prevalence.

However, I want you to understand a few connections between the fast food we love so much and an increase in gout prevalence.

• Meat has become available and often cheap. Everyone has easy access to it, and almost everyone can afford it, especially burgers and nuggets.
• Most foods contain cornstarch or high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener alternative to glucose.
• Almost every single fast food meal comes with a drink.

So, let’s put these together:

• Red meat is a high-purine food — a direct cause of hyperuricemia and gout.
• Fructose is the no. 1 non-purine element directly linked to an increase in gout attacks.

Every time you have a drink that’s not water, your body cancels its natural thirst reaction. So the direct consequence is you not drinking enough water to help your kidneys break down and eliminate urates. The second level consequence of that… you guessed it: they crystalize in your joints.

So, should you quit eating fast food?

The answer is no. Not at all.

But… Is it making sense why gout is no longer a rich man’s disease?

I reasonably believe it does… Because rich people don’t eat that much fast food. They can afford clean diets with organic ingredients! … and also a chef to cook it all…

Still… if you think that I’m going to say to you, “stop eating fast food,”… You’d be wrong. People all over the world are eating fast food, and they have absolutely ZERO problems from hyperuricemia or gout.

And that’s because the third myth I’m going to bust for you is…

Myth Buster #3

Gout Is Caused By Foods High in Purines

No, as an average human, you don’t get access to everything in their database. But with our Registered Nurse in our team, we were able to find more than we could have ever dreamed of.

However…

This breakdown article is available, and there’s a link at the bottom of the page that you can access yourself.

But before you do…

Here’s what they have to say about it.

Three leading pathophysiologic causes lead to hyperuricemia:

• Uric Acid Underexcretion
• Ulric Acid Overproduction
• Combined Causes

Now… this might not be news to you, but there’s more.

Each of these three categories includes different culprits:

For underexcretion, you have 13 different causes that lead to hyperuricemia, some involving genetics, some the metabolic syndrome that we already know is not a condition in itself, but a cumulus of different diseases and prevalent factors influencing your metabolism.

For overproduction, Medscape mentions eight different causes, from Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome to exposure to organochlorine pesticides.

And for combined causes, there are an extra five different triggers listed.

And this breakdown of theirs is JUST a summary of the most common causes in each of the three categories that lead to hyperuricemia and gout.

There are 26 different causes listed in total.

Only ONE of them is a high-purine diet. And it’s linked to the overproduction of uric acid crystals.

So… should we keep going?

We don’t think so because this, right here, is proof enough that foods high in purines are not always to blame for hyperuricemia and gout.

Now, let’s bust the 4th and final myth about gout… probably the most important of them all…

Myth Buster #4

If You Have Gout, You Need To Take Allopurinol Your ENTIRE Life! And It’s Safe For Your Body!

If it were us… we’d run away from allopurniol and start eating lettuce, just to make sure I never get a gout attack.

We WOULD take that deal.

And we’d be doing a great job at keeping our promise… Until we’d see the first juicy steak.

We’re human! We’re not a robot!

And you’re not one either!

So we know there’s no way you can go off allopurniol or refuse to get it when you’re flaring up, feeling the worst pain in your life!

However, there are constant side effects to all artificially created treatments.

Many of these are seen only years after their development and FDA approval.

Because yes, it takes years and even decades to analyze the long-term effect of any drug.

And that’s related to our bodies’ inability to metabolize artificial substances. Your body was not created for synthetic substances!

It was, however, perfectly crafted to metabolize natural substances and receive the support it needs from your diet to function correctly.

And that… that is the ONLY reason why countries like Japan are known for:

• The longest life-span in the world (Check the region of Okinawa, currently holding the world record for people over 100 years old)
• ​​The lowest rate of death for almost all causes (getting beaten only by France in cardiovascular diseases – because we all know the French have those magic polyphenols in their natural wines, so they hold the upper hand)
• The lowest rate of obesity in the world

And finally, the LOWEST RATE of Gout and Hyperuricemia prevalence in the world!
So…

How do they do it?

How Is Japan Avoiding a High-Gout Incidence While Consuming High-Purine Foods?

And this dietary style has been analyzed for centuries by their natural healers first, doctors secondly, and scientists in the past century until now.

Their findings sometimes might look “miraculous.”

There’s no such thing!

It’s just pure historical and scientific evidence that when we turn to the resources Mother Earth provides us with, we can maintain our health, youth, and vibrancy…

All while living life FREE OF PAIN!

Luckily, some of these studies have crossed Japan’s borders and sparked doctors’ interest worldwide.

And I’m talking about specialists here who dedicate their lives to learning the ins and outs of a single condition to find a way to beat it, beat its symptoms, and improve the lives of those affected by it.

We’re not talking about General Practitioners who are forced to know a bit about everything.

Their role is to redirect a patient to specialists.

Unfortunately, most of them suffer from an “ego” complex and think they can solve it all.

The truth: no, they cannot!

So, with the help of a few renowned doctors, the truth about Japan’s low gout rate is finally getting released to the world.

All thanks to a few plants…

You already know some of them, and they play a massive role in reducing the body’s risk of developing hyperuricemia and gout!

But some of them… you probably never heard of!

Until today!

So let’s review them and how they can help you break free from the pain brought by gout!

However… to do that, we need to look at gout from three perspectives:

• Symptoms
• ​Treatment
• ​Prevention

Because each of the plants listed below plays a vital role in each of these phases, allowing you to make the most of them all, no matter where you are in your gout struggles!

The first ones address what matters most to you: eliminating the causes of gout pain during a flare. And doing that fast, because there’s nothing worse than the crippling sensation you get…

Which, to be honest…

It puts your life on hold!

So, here they are:

14 Plant-Based, All-Natural Antioxidants That Are Proven To Fight Against Gout That Rarely Anyone Knows

#1 – Corydalis Turtschaninovii

This means…that while the inflammation triggered by uric acid crystals still exists, the sensation of pain is almost completely gone.

However, it doesn’t stop here. Because getting rid of the pain as fast as possible is only the first step in managing gout flares.

And reducing inflammation is still required to recover from a flare.

And Corydalis Turtschaninovii helps again, along with the other plants listed below.

Another active compound extracted from it, dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB), actively works on inflammation, helping the body reduce it naturally, causing swelling, redness, and pain to decrease as well.

And while the rood of Corydalis has been used for thousands of years, it was only in 2014 that DHCB was identified, after a study that joined teams of scientists from China and the US. The study analyzed over 500 derivatives from plants that might help with pain, but only Corydalis’ DHCB showed an effect that could be replicated over and over again!

The best part? It does not trigger any addiction!

“A compound derived from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been found effective at alleviating pain, pointing the way to a new nonaddictive analgesic for acute inflammatory and nerve pain, according to UC Irvine pharmacology researchers.” [1]

One study analyzing analgesic effects even on spinal injury patients has proven its efficacy over other naturally-derived remedies and even some NSAIDs. [2]

To top it all, it has been clinically proven that an extract of DL-THP and CHBC could reduce pain and pain bothersomeness after only one oral administration of a pill containing it in a controlled clinical trial. [3]

The conclusion of these three studies listed here, and every other research out there is that these two substances, both of them extracted from Corydalis Turtschaninovii, can significantly reduce pain after only one dose, improving the overall tonus and life of the sufferer, in less than 2-3 hours after administration.

However, getting instant pain relief is not enough to escape the shackles of gout.

And the following three plants that act similarly to the famous colchicine support the instant effects of Corydalis.

Personal Capital Review and User’s Guide (Update for 2021)

Personal Capital is a financial tool that enables you to manage 100% of your finances from a single dashboard. I’ve used the app for years. In this Personal Capital review and user’s guide, I’ll walk through all of its features and how to leverage them to help you make the most of your money.

Getting Started with Personal Capital

The first step is to sign up for a free account. Then you want to connect all of your financial accounts. While Personal Capital is perhaps best known for analyzing and tracking investments, I also connect all of my bank accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgage, and even my home. You can add your home and Personal Capital will pull in the value from Zillow.

Get Personal Capital for Free

Linking Your Accounts

Over the years I’ve linked may of the following types of accounts to Personal Capital:

• Bank Accounts (checking, savings, CDs, money market accounts)
• Retirement Accounts (401k, 403b, TSP, IRA, among others)
• Non-Retirement Investment Accounts
• HSA
• Credit Cards
• Mortgage
• Student Loans
• Personal Loans

You can link just about any financial account for which you have online access. You’ll need your username and password for each account. To link an account, you’ll search for the name of your financial institution in the “Link Your Account” dialog box on Personal Capital (you get to it by clicking the “+” icon near the top left of the Dashboard):

Tip: You can search by the name of your financial institution or by its website address (url). In the unlikely event you have a financial account that can’t be linked to Personal Capital, you can enter it manually.

So why bother to connect all of your accounts? As you’ll see below, Personal Capital does a lot more than keep an eye on your investments. By connecting all of your financial accounts, you can track your net worth, budget, cash flow and even your bills. And all of this information is pulled together in a Dashboard.

Settings & Profile

Once you’ve linked your accounts, it’s critical that you complete your Settings and Profile. Both can be found by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the screen.

With Settings, you have control over email subscriptions (you can get daily or weekly updates of all your income, spending and investments), whether to include investment income and dividends in cash flow (I do), and any accounts to exclude from the advice Personal Capital offers (I don’t exclude any).

Settings also include important security features. It’s here that you can configure multi-factor authentication (highly recommended) and an alert anytime a login is attempted from a foreign country (also highly recommended).

Personal Capital also shows you a list of the devices you’ve authorized to access your account and when the last sign-on from that device occurred. I’ll often delete old devices I no longer use from this list.

The Profile is where you can set information about you and your spouse, your savings, income sources, and investment objectives. These are important settings that Personal Capital uses in its planning tools, such as its free Retirement Planner.

Dashboard

Once you’ve linked all of your accounts, Personal Capital aggregates it in the Dashboard. The Dashboard gives you a snapshot of your entire financial picture. Here’s what the dashboard looks like:

As you can see, it gives you a snapshot of your net worth, your monthly budget, your cash flow, your investments, and even where you are on your retirement and emergency savings goals.

Net Worth

There’s nothing more important to your financial freedom than racking your net worth. While I’m a big believer in keeping tabs on it in a spreadsheet (which I’ve done for years), I also track it in Personal Capital. If you connect all of your financial accounts, it’s tracked automatically.

Here’s what the Net Worth screen looks like in Personal Capital:

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Personal Capital Banking

I’m surprised at how much I use the banking features of Personal Capital. The primary features that I rely on are the Cash Flow and Budgeting functions. Specifically, the tool shows me how much investment income we generate each month (interest and dividends). The budget tool shows me how much we spent and on what by category.

Cash Flow

Cash flow shows both your income and expenses at a transaction level. Expenses are automatically categorized. You can easily drill down into income or expenses to look at the details.

You can also select which accounts to include in the report. I use this account selection feature to look at just my business expenses (I’ve connected by business checking and credit card accounts). I also use it to look at income just from my investment accounts. This allows me to quickly see all dividends and interest earned in my portfolio.

Budgeting

The budgeting feature is not a traditional budgeting app. You can set an overall monthly spending goal, but you can’t set goals by category. If that’s what you need, I highly recommend YNAB (You Need a Budget).

What Personal Capital does well is give you visibility into how you’ve spent your money by category. It automatically imports all spending from each linked account and categorizes the spending. You can customize the categories. I’ve found Personal Capital to do a reasonably good job of getting the categories right, although I do spend about 5 minutes a month correcting some transactions.

Tip: In addition to categories, you can tag transactions, too. I use a limited number of categories, and than tag transactions as needed. For example, we have a home maintenance category. For work on our pool, I tag those transactions as “pool” so I can see how much we spend on the pool without need to create a separate categori.

Bills

The bills feature is another reason to link your credit cards, mortgage, and other loans. Personal Capital keeps track of when bills are due with your linked accounts. This helps you avoid missed or late payments, and it helps with planning throughout the month.

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Personal Capital Investing

Here’s where Personal Capital really shines. Once you’ve connected your retirement and non-retirement accounts, it tracks your investments automatically. It updates prices throughout the trading day and keeps tabs on mutual fund expenses. It also shows you your asset allocation and offers a number of tools to help you evaluate your portfolio

Holdings

You get an overview of each of your holdings. The tool shows the following for each investment you own:

• The name of each investment
• Its ticker
• How many shares you own
• The current price
• The days change (in both dollars and as a percentage)
• The total value

It also gives you an overview of your performance. Here’s mine in the middle of the 2020 bear market (Yikes!):

Allocation

Personal Capital also shows you your asset allocation. It automatically evaluates your investments and reports on your stock/bond allocation. For each it breaks down asset classes further, showing U.S. and International stocks and bonds, as well as alternatives.

The tool also provides a useful interactive graphic representation of your portfolio allocation. With the click of a mouse, you can explore what investments make up each of these asset classes. One interesting item is cash. The asset allocation tool not only shows you the cash in say money market accounts, but it also sees the cash held by stock mutual funds.

Tracking Bitcoin & Crypto

In big news for those who invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies, Personal Capital can now track these investments. Best of all, investors do not need to grant access to their crypto wallets or turn over passwords.

Instead, investors can add a manual account in Personal Capital. For each token owned, you simply indicate the symbol, exchange and amount. Personal Capital is now able to track thousands of tokens across hundreds of exchanges.

Personal Capital Planning

So far the dashboard has simply shown you your accounts and investments from various perspectives. It’s the planning tools that really take the tool to the next level.

Retirement Planner

Personal Capital’s retirement planner is both robust and easy to use. Because you’ve connected all of your investment accounts, Personal Capital can use this data to determine your retirement readiness. The screenshot below shows you want the calculator looks like once you’ve linked your accounts.

There’s a lot going on here, so let’s break it down:

• Profile: In the bottom right of the above screenshot is the “Edit Profile” button. It’s here that you can set your marital status, tax filing status, you and your spouse’s name and dates of birth, how much you each earn per year, and any children you have.
• Assumptions: The “Edit Assumptions” button enables you to set an estimate of your effective tax rate, inflation rate, and your life expectancy.
• Income Events: You can add ongoing or one-time income events. These may include your yearly savings, a planned sale of a business or other asset, pension income you’ll receive in retirement, and even an estimate of your social security.
• Spending Goals: Spending goals can include an estimate of your yearly spending in retirement as well as one-time expenses. For example, you could include the cost of a planned vacation in retirement or the cost of a future wedding for your children.
• Retirement Score: Your retirement score shows a percentage representing the likelihood that your money will last through retirement. According to Personal Capital, a score of 50% to 80% “suggests you are on track, but it is important to understand and acknowledge that the portfolio does deplete in a meaningful amount of the projected scenarios.” A score above 90% means “there is relatively little to worry about and, most likely, you could afford greater spending now or it will be possible to increase spending over time.”
• Graph Views: The graph above shows the portfolio based on an analysis of thousands of potential market returns. You can also view your accounts by asset location (i.e., Taxable, Tax Deferred and Tax Free.

The Retirement Planner also enables you to create multiple scenarios and then compare them. For example, one scenario may have you retiring at a traditional age, while another one has you retiring early. In one, you may include an estimate of social security, while in another one you exclude it. You could also change the assumptions on one scenario related to your effective tax rate, future inflation, or your life expectancy.

Once you’ve created a new scenario, you can then compare them side-by-side.

Savings Planner

The Savings Planner is three tools in one: Retirement Savings, Emergency Fund Savings, and Debt Paydown. Each enables you to set and track goals.

Retirement Savings Planner

Here you can set an annual retirement savings goal. The planner tracks your actual savings throughout the year, including your contributions to retirement accounts like 401k and IRAs. It will also track any savings you have in taxable accounts.

Keep in mind that this planner and your Retirement Planner are connected. If you change your savings goal in one, it automatically updates the other.

Emergency Fund Savings Planner

For the Emergency Fund, Personal Capital totals the value of all of your linked bank accounts. It then recommends an Emergency Fund of 3 to 6 months worth of expenses based on the budget amount that you set. As with the retirement planner, any changes in your monthly budgeted amount here automatically updates your Budget in the Banking section of Personal Capital.

Debt Paydown Planner

Any debts, including car loans, mortgages and personal loans, will show up in the Debt Paydown planner. Note that credit card debt will also show up in the planner if there have been at least two interest transactions within the last 90 days. In other words, your credit cards will not show up here if you pay them off in full each month, thereby avoiding interest charges.

The planner will show each debt, along with its interest rate (APR), change in balance year to date, and current balance. It also displays a graph of the changing in debt balances in the current year.

Retirement Fee Analyzer

The retirement fee analyzer is, I must confess, my favorite part of Personal Capital. It’s easy to dismiss relatively “small” investment fees as unimportant. The problem, of course, is the effect fees have on your wealth over decades of time. A 1% advisor or mutual fund fee may seem small, but over time it can literally cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Personal Capital calculates a weighted average expense ratio for all of your linked accounts. Mine comes in at just 6 basis points–0.06%. That’s well below the average, and yet it will still cost me $17,865 over the next seven years according to the Fee Analyzer!

Fees matter–a lot. This tool by itself makes Personal Capital a must.

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Investment Fee Checkup

The investment checkup evaluates your asset allocation and compares it to what Personal Capital recommends. Based on your investment profile, Personal Capital recommends an asset allocation. Here’s what it recommends for me, given my age, years to retirement and risk tolerance:

My actual allocation has about 5% more bonds than what the above graphic shows. What’s interesting about this tool is that Personal Capital also shows you the historical performance of its recommended portfolio, future projections, risk & return and a comparison with your actual allocation.

If you want to follow the recommendation, Personal Capital provides a listing of those asset classes that need to increased, decreased and by how much.

Personal Capital FAQs

Is Personal Capital safe?
Yes. Personal Capital encrypts data with AES-256 with multi-layer key management, including rotating user-specific keys and salts. Further, no individual at Personal Capital has access to your credentials.
In addition, you must authenticate each device that accesses your account. You’ll receive an automated phone call, email or text message to confirm your identity. You can learn more about Personal Capital’s security here.

Is Personal Capital really free?
Yep. Its investment services are not, but its financial tools are completely free.

Will Personal Capital call me?
Yes. They use the financial dashboard as a marketing tool. I’ve spoken with their advisors in the past, although I’ve never used the investment services. If you don’t want them to call you, just tell them. They honored my request.

Do I have to invest with Personal Capital to use the dashboard?
No.

How much does Personal Capital cost?
The financial dashboard is free. If you do want to use their investment advisory services, the fees start at 0.89% for the first $1 million and go down to 0.49% for amounts over $10 million.

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7 Best Mint Alternatives in 2021 (#1 is Free)

Mint was one of the first free online budgeting apps when it launched in 2007. Intuit purchased Mint in 2009, and today many users are looking to replace Mint with a different personal finance app. Here are the 7 best Mint alternatives worth considering.

Top Mint.com Alternative Picks

Of all the options out there to replace Mint, three stand out among the rest:

• Personal Capital–I’ve used Personal Capital for years. It offers the most robust budgeting, cash flow, investment tracking, and financial tools of any app out there. And it’s free.

• Tiller–For those focused on budgeting (but not investing), Tiller is my favorite budgeting app. It connects your financial accounts (banks, credit cards, and even investments) with Google Sheets. It offers a wealth of tools to analyze everything from your monthly budget to even business expenses.  You can try it free for 30 days, then it’s $79 a year.
• YNAB–This is the Mint replacement of choice if you want a powerful budgeting tool but don’t like spreadsheets. I’ve known the founder for about a decade and used the tool for years.

Best Alternatives to Mint Budget Tracker

1. Personal Capital–Best Overall Alternative to Mint.com

Personal Capital can easily replace Mint. Like Mint it’s free, and it offers far more tools to keep track of your finances and analyze your investments. You can link just about any financial account to Personal Capital’s app. Once linked, the dashboard gives you a complete snapshot of your money.

Beyond a high level view, Personal Capital offers a number of useful features:

• Track spending by category or account
• Plan your retirement with the Retirement Planner
• Understand how investment fees erode your wealth
• Monitor your portfolio’s asset allocation
• Track your net worth
• Get alerts when bills are due
• Save for emergencies
• New: Track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and thousands of other tokens without giving access to your crypto wallet

I’ve written a detailed review and guide of Personal Capital that you can check out.

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2. Tiller Money–Best for those who love spreadsheets

For those focused primarily on budgeting, Tiller Money is the best Mint alternative on our list. Along with Personal Capital, I use Tiller every single day. There is, however, a bit of a learning curve. But once you understand how it works, it’s a breeze to use.

In short, Tiller enables you to connect your bank accounts, credit cards and even investment accounts to a Google Sheet (or Excel). It then gives you templates and tools to do everything from create a budget to track your spending to save for retirement.

The more I use Tiller the more I appreciate the simplicity and ease of use. If you like spreadsheets, you’ll like Tiller. To get an idea of how it works, check out this video I created.

Some of Tiller’s features include:

• Track all your accounts in one place
• Make a budget, track spending
• Track your net worth with flexible, automated dashboards
• Create your own category rules so every expense is automatically categorized accurately
• Use flexible templates for budgeting and retirement planning
• Works with 2FA (2-Factor Authentication)

You get a 30-day free trial. After that Tiller costs $79 a year.

3. CountAbout–Best for converting data from Mint

If you have a lot of data in Mint, CountAbout may be the budgeting tool for you. It has a feature enabling you to import data from Mint. In fact, you can import your entire Mint history into CountAbout.

Unlike Mint, CountAbout doesn’t pummel you with advertisements. It does enable you to download transactions from your bank and customize both income and expense categories. You can save receipt images and attach them to the appropriate expense if record keeping is important.

Key features of CountAbout include:

• Import from Quicken or Mint.com
• Automate Transaction Downloads
• Fully customizable income and spending categories and tags
• Invoicing for small businesses
• Attachment capability for receipts and images
• Recurring transactions
• Graphical and text-based “widgets” provide quick view of financial activity
• Easy to use on web and iOS/Android apps

For the features you get, the cost is very reasonable. The basic plan costs just $9.99 a year (not a month). If you want automatic downloading of bank transactions, the cost is $39.99 a year.

4. Simplifi–Best budgeting app for smartphones

Simplifi is Quicken’s version of a mobile budgeting app. It’s not a mobile app for Quicken. It’s a new app built from the ground up. It uses automation to help you better manage your money.

For example, Simplifi can create a spending plan for you by analyzing your income and expenses. You can identify recurring expenses and subscriptions, which Simplifi then incorporates into the plan. It also includes a calendar view showing you upcoming expenses.

Key features of Simplifi include:

• See your banking, credit card, loans and investments all in one place
• Have your transactions automatically categorized
• Find and track recurring bills and subscriptions so you can cancel what you no longer use
• View upcoming bills, income, transfers, and see how they affect your balances
• Set up custom watchlists and limits by category, payee, or tags to help stay on track
• Set up savings goals for every milestone you are trying to reach
• Track refunds on returned items

You can try Simplifi free for 30-days, then the cost is as low as $2.99 a month.

5. You Need a Budget (YNAB)–Best for budgeting

YNAB is ideal for those looking just for a budgeting tool. YNAB’s interface is similar to a spreadsheet. The tool makes it easy to budget by category based on the money you actually have in the bank. It’s not useful as an investment tracking app, however.

YNAB’s key features include:

• Access to real-time information, from any device, anytime
• Track goals
• Excellent charts and graphs

It’s not free, however. You can try it free for 34 days. After that it costs $11.99 a month or $84 a year for the annual plan. The cost is the biggest downside to YNAB.

6. PocketSmith

PocketSmith started out as a calendar to plan upcoming income and expenses. Today, it’s a full-fledged budgeting app. You can sync your accounts with PocketSmith. Once synced, you can track your budget and you’re net worth. You can also see your income and spending in a handy calendar view.

Key features of Pocketsmith include:

• Manage multiple income streams
• Forecast your cashflow, including tools to help you reach FIRE (financial independence, retire early)
• Track Airbnb earnings
• Create and track savings goals
• Integrates with Xero
• Multi-currency

7. Fidelity Full View

Fidelity’s Full View is powered by eMoneyAdvisor, a tool used by financial planners. While Fidelity’s Full View doesn’t come with all of eMoneyAdvisor’s features, it’s still a robust tool, free, and available even if you don’t have an account at Fidelity.

Fidelity Full View includes the following features:

• Consolidate accounts in one place
• Track your net worth over time
• Create and manage a budget
• View transactions
• Integrates with Fidelity’s planning tools

Other Mint Replacement Options

I’m regularly evaluating new financial tools. As I do, I’ll add them to this list to help those looking to leave Mint. Here are some of the options I’m evaluating:

• Every Dollar: The Dave Ramsey budgeting solution. While Dave is popular with those paying off debt, this solution is one of the most expensive and it doesn’t have near the features that a tool like Personal Capital offers.
• Banktivity: One of the few budgeting apps designed for the Mac, Banktivity is another option. One question to consider though is whether an iOS specific software is necessary today. Everything is online or in an app.
• Unifimoney: This app is designed for high earning professionals. It combines money management tools with saving, spending and investing services.

Why Switch from Mint?

Mint continues to offer a free, solid budgeting app. There are, however, several reasons to consider an alternative.

The first is its limited investing tools. While you can track your investments in Mint, the many of the options here offer far better investing tools. Personal Capital, for example, shows a portfolio’s asset allocation, investment fees, and retirement readiness.

Second, Mint uses an advertising revenue model. The result is a user experience plastered with ads.

Mythodology

My first step in evaluating Mint alternatives was to use dozens of budgeting and investment tracking apps. I’ve used each of the tools in our list extensively, with the exception of Pocketsmith and CountAbout (I’m working on those two now). I’ve also undertaken indepth research into these and more than 25 other options.

In evaluating these apps, I focused on the following key criteria:

• Cost
• Ease of use
• Mobile app availability
• Ability to consolidate all accounts in one place
• Budgeting tools
• Investment tracking tools

Mint Alternatives FAQs

What is the best free alternative to Mint?
Personal Capital is the best free Mint replacement. It comes with nearly every feature Mint offers, and many additional tools. It’s particularly well suited for those who want to manage all of their money in one place, including investments.

What is the best option to migrate Mint data to new app?
If you want to migrate Mint data to a new budgeting app, CountAbout is a solid option. It has features enabling users to migrate data from Mint.

What is the best Mint replacement for calendar budgeting?
PocketSmith is a good choice as it offers a calendar view of your budget.

Which Mint alternatives allow you to schedule bill payments?
With both Tiller Money and YNAB, you can plan future bill payments. Tiller offers a Bill Payment Tracker template and YNAB enables you to allocate funds to bills you plan to pay in the future.

Should I switch from Mint.com?
Mint continues to offer a solid budgeting and investment tracking app. Some, however, have complained about issues connecting Mint to banks and other financial institutions. It also uses an advertising revenue model, so users are inundated with ads.

Whatever tool you choose, the key is to pick one that works for you. For me, that’s Personal Capital. One or more of the above Mint alternatives, however, should suit the needs of most looking to better manage their money.

Try Personal Capital

11 Best Quicken Alternatives in 2021(#1 is Free)

Quicken was once the go-to budgeting tool. I used it when it was first released in the 1980s. Today, it’s been eclipsed by apps that enable you to manage every aspect of your finances, often for free. Here are the best Quicken alternatives to consider in 2021.

Editor’s Top Picks

Of all the options out there to replace Quicken (and Mint for that matter), three stand out among the rest:

1. Personal Capital–It’s both free and comes with the a robust set of features unmatched by other alternatives. It easily handles budgeting, net worth, cash flow, retirement investments and taxable investments. It also comes with excellent tools, including a retirement calculator, investment fee analyzer and investment portfolio analyzer. Personal Capital can now even track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and thousands of other tokens. It’s the tool I use every day.
2. Tiller–If you are a diehard spreadsheet fanatic, Tiller is the answer. It integrates with Google Sheets and can connect your bank accounts and credit cards. It also offers daily email updates to track your spending. You can try it free for 30 days, then it’s $79 a year.
3. YNAB (You Need a Budget): For those who want to focus exclusively on budgeting (no investments), then YNAB is an ideal choice. It does budgeting as well as any app available today, and its community is second to none.

Top Quicken Alternatives

1. Personal Capital–Editor’s Choice

Personal Capital is the clear winner when it comes to finding a substitute for Quicken. It’s free and it offers tools to manage every aspect of your finances. With Personal Capital, you can link just about every financial account you have–checking, savings, credit cards, retirement accounts, investments accounts, HSAs, and even your home (via Zillow).

Once linked, Personal Capital’s financial dashboard offers valuable insights into your finances. As an example, the tool enables you to–

• Track your spending by category
• Estimate when you can retire
• Calculate the cost of your investments
• Display the asset allocation of your portfolio
• Generate a net worth statement
• Get alerts when bills are due
• Evaluate your investment portfolio
• Save for emergencies
• New: Track Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and thousands of other tokens without giving access to your crypto wallet.

I’ve used Personal Capital for years. It’s the only option that in my opinion can handle every aspect of my finances, from budgeting to investing to retirement planning.

Try Personal Capital

I’ve written a detailed review and guide of Personal Capital that you can check out.

2. Tiller Money–Best Spreadsheet Budget

I don’t know how they do it, but Tiller Money has figured out how to turn a Google Sheet into a dynamic budgeting tool. You link your bank accounts and credit cards to Tiller’s Google Sheet tool, and it automatically downloads all of your transactions. From there you can create budgets, categorize spending and generate reports.

I’ve been using Tiller for several months for both my personal budget and my small business budget. It’s clear that Tiller is ideal for those who love working with spreadsheets. I will caution you that setting up Tiller can be a bit intimidating. The good news is that they have videos to walk you through each step. If I can do it, you can do it.

One thing to keep in mind is that you must manually categorize each transaction. For some, this is a show-stopper. They want the convenience of tools like Personal Capital that automate this process. For others, they would prefer to categorize transactions themselves. It forces them to look at each entry, understand how they spent money, and then properly categorize the expense.

There is no right or wrong here. It comes down to preference. You get a 30-day free trial. After that Tiller costs $79 a year.

3. You Need a Budget (YNAB)–Best for Budgeting

YNAB is ideal for those looking just for a budgeting tool. In my view, there is no better app when it comes to creating a budget. YNAB’s interface is similar to a spreadsheet. The tool makes it easy to budget by category based on the money you actually have in the bank.

One of YNAB’s core principles is to give every dollar a job. You do that by deciding how you’ll spend every dollar that enters your checking account. As with other tools, you can connect your bank accounts and credit cards to YNAB. This allows for real-time updates so that you can track your spending throughout the month.

YNAB doesn’t have the rich feature set offered by Personal Capital. That’s particularly clear when it comes to investing. For those who don’t want to track investments, however, YNAB is a good option.

It’s not free, however. You can try it free for 34 days. After that it costs $11.99 a month or $84 a year for the annual plan. The cost is the biggest downside to YNAB.

4. PocketSmith–Best for Calendar Budgeting

PocketSmith started out as a calendar to plan upcoming income and expenses. Today, it’s a full-fledged budgeting app. You can synch your accounts with PocketSmith. Once synced, you can track your budget and you’re net worth. You can also see your income and spending in a handy calendar view.

One stand-out feature is PocketSmith’s auto-budget tool. It can create a budget for you based on past spending. It also has a cash flow feature that maps income and spending by date range.

While there is a free version of PocketSmith, it requires manual data entry. To get automatic bank fees, you’ll need to pay at least $9.95 a month, or $7.50 a month when paid annually.

5. CountAbout–Imports from Quicken or Mint

If you have a lot of data in Quicken (or Mint), CountAbout may be the budgeting tool for you. It has a feature enabling you to import data from Quicken or Mint.

CountAbout enables you to download transactions from your bank and customize both income and expense categories. You can even attach receipt images to expense transactions. You can set up recurring transactions and generate financial reports.

For the features you get, the cost is very reasonable. The basic plan costs just $9.99 a year (not a month). If you want automatic downloading of bank transactions, the cost is $39.99 a year.

6. Moneydance–Traditional Budgeting Software

With so many apps going online, Moneydance takes a different approach. You download Moneydance software rather than use it online. Once downloaded, the software works much like you would expect.

You can download banking transactions into the software and initiate bill pay. The software automatically categorizes expenses based on how you categorize them. In other words, it learns from your use of the program.

It offers a dashboard (shown above) that summarizes your finances all in one place. It can also generate reports and graphs to give you a visual perspective of your money. It comes with a mobile app, can track your finances, and can alert you when bills are due.

It costs $49.99 and is available for both Mac and Windows.

7. EveryDollar (now Ramsey+)–Best for Dave Ramsey Fans

For those Dave Ramsey founds out there, EveryDollar may be a good substitute for Intuit’s Quicken. Now the first thing to point out is that EveryDollar ain’t cheap. After a 14-day trial, you’ll pay $129.99 a year. If you want to try it for just 3 months, it will cost $59.99. For this reason, it’s not high on my list. Still, I know that some folks are passionate about Financial Peace University.

You can sync your bank accounts with the tool, set up budgets, and track spending. The budgeting app works on both computers, smartphones and tablets. It also comes with Dave’s educational materials, enabling you to take online course and join virtual groups.

8. Banktivity–Designed for Macs Only

Banktivity is the budgeting app specifically designed for Macs. It offers features that enable you to organize and track all of your finances. You can group accounts and reports, and organize the dashboard in a way that works best for you.

Banktivity enables you to follow an envelope budget. This can be ideal for those living paycheck-to-paycheck.

You can import transactions from your bank and sync data across all of your Mac devices. Banktivity also tracks investments and offers account-level reporting. You can try Banktivity for free for 30 days. After that they offer three plans ranging in price from $4.16 to $8.33 a month (billed annually).

9. GnuCash–Best for Small Businesses

For those who tracked business income and expenses with Quicken and a reluctant to move up to Quickbooks, GnuCash may be the answer. It uses double-entry accounting, ideal for businesses and accounting nerds, like me. It tracks investments, schedules transactions, and generates reports and graphs.

10. Mint–Best Mobile App

I used Mint when it first came out more than a decade ago. Today, many are looking for Mint alternatives, including several of the apps listed here. Still, Mint is a worth consideration if you are replacing Intuit’s Quicken. It’s free, for starters. It’s easy to link your accounts and track your spending. It includes a budget planner and credit score tracker. Of course, there are great Mint alternatives as well.

11. GoodBudget–Best for Envelope Budgeting

I’m old enough to remember the envelope method of budgeting. My mom used it. When the money in the grocery envelope ran out, we stopped going to the grocery story until payday (seriously). Today, the envelope budget is still a smart way to manage money for those living paycheck-to-paycheck. If you want a digital version of the time-tested budgeting system, give GoodBudget a try.

Goodudget is an app based on the envelope system. You can sync and share your budget, and set goals to save for big purchases. It also has tools that let you track and payoff your debt.

Quicken Alternatives FAQs

What is the best free alternative to Quicken?
Personal Capital is the best free Quicken replacement. It comes with nearly every feature Quicken offers, and money additional tools. It’s particularly well suited for those who want to manage all of their money in one place, including investments.

Is Quicken available without a subscription?
Sadly, no. Like so many other software packages and apps, Quicken is now only available as a subscription.

What is the best option to migrate Quicken data to new app?
If you want to migrate Quicken data to a new budgeting app, CountAbout is a solid option. It has features enabling users to migrate data from Quicken or Mint.

What is the best Quicken replacement for calendar budgeting?
PocketSmith is a good choice as it offers a calendar view of your budget.

Which Quicken alternatives allow you to schedule bill payments?
With both Tiller Money and YNAB, you can plan future bill payments. Tiller offers a Bill Payment Tracker template and YNAB enables you to allocate funds to bills you plan to pay in the future.

Whatever tool you choose, the key is to pick one that works for you. For me, that’s Personal Capital. One or more of the above Quicken alternatives, however, should suit the needs of most looking to better manage their money.

Try Personal Capital

You may be wondering if an AutoFull chair is right for you. If so, read on!

If you are a gaming chairs hunter on a mission to find the chairs best suited for your needs, our review can help you determine if your next (or first) gaming chair should be an AutoFull. We review chairs to find all of the details that are important to you as a gamer and verify that each of the chairs measures up.

There is more than one AutoFull chair – including a pink gaming chair with bunny ears – so it’s important to review several of their offerings to determine if the company delivers the kind of quality, comfort, and performance that you are looking for.

Whether you are playing PC games, games on Xbox One, or on some other platform, we encourage you to read at least one gaming chair review from us to find the best gaming chair for you. Let’s see what AutoFull has for us!

About AutoFull

If you follow professional gaming, you have probably heard of AutoFull chairs. They are considered by many to be some of the best gaming chairs.

The company’s Master Gaming Chair is used by many entry-level professionals, which is not surprising considering the fact that AutoFull is the sponsor of several probe leagues, including LDL, MDI, and WCA.

Fortunately, AutoFull makes a range of gaming chairs, including some that are more affordable than it’s pro models (although the company’s chairs are still pretty top-end compared to the cheaper options out there.)

If you need a specific seat size, a certain seat height, a lumbar pillow, a high back, or even a pink gaming chair, chances are one of these AutoFull gaming chairs has what you need.

So, if you are researching chairs for gaming, you will find the info you need about some of the best gaming chairs from AutoFull in our review.

#1

No review for AutoFull gaming chairs would be complete without a review of the AutoFull Pink Bunny Chair.

There are plenty of gaming chairs out there, but not many as cute as this one. It goes all out with the cuteness, including bunny ears on top, a bunny tail, and furry armrests. If you like pink, you will probably love this chair.

Cuteness isn’t everything, though. You still want a comfortable gaming chair that you can use for hours on end – one that is just as good for Call of Duty as it is for MapleStory 2.

The AutoFull Pink Bunny Chair is made for serious gamers – from the smallest to those that fall into the big and tall category. It has the weight capacity to handle any gamer and high-density foam padding to keep them comfortable.

Get This Autofull Gaming Chair

#2

The AutoFull Computer Gaming Chair really sets the standard for a video game chair. After our chair review for this AutoFull chair, we can see that AutoFull knows what it’s doing when it comes to chairs for gaming.

The company is known for its high-quality gaming chairs, which comes across in this relatively affordable pro chair. This AutoFull chair is both ergonomic and stylish, so you get lumbar support without looking like you are sitting in an office chair.

The best gaming chairs – at least the good ones – improve your gaming experience by supporting you in all the right places, and these pro chairs AutoFull makes are no exception.

The gaming chair comes with 4D adjustable back support and 3D adjustable armrests as well as a seat height adjustment mechanism that allows you to fit it to your body – whether you are big and tall, average, or on the smaller side.

Get This Autofull Gaming Chair

#3

The AutoFull Pro Gaming Chair is one of those gaming chairs that is likely to please most gamers. The chair ticks off all of the boxes that the best gaming chairs do, including high-quality PU leather, lumbar support, fully adjustable features, and more.

Pro gaming chairs are supposed to improve gaming response, and this professional gaming chair is likely to meet that requirement due to its superior design and customization options.

Not only does the AutoFull Pro Gaming chair perform well, but it also comes with a lifetime warranty and a 24-month warranty on parts. That means you can use the AutoFull gaming chair as hard as you need to without worrying about what happens if it breaks.

It is one of those PU leather chairs like the pros use – in fact, some pros really do use it!

Get This Autofull Gaming Chair

#4

The AutoFull Mechanical Master gaming chair sits at the top end of the company’s lineup – it’s the AutoFull chair that not all people would appreciate but that serious gamers can’t help but want.

Instead of trying to create the most comfortable gaming chair, AutoFull went full out to achieve optimal performance. The chair’s best features are not related to comfort – instead, they are designed to shave milliseconds off of your gaming performance to help you win.

Probably the most interesting thing about the AutoFull Mechanical Master chair is the newly-designed armrests for gaming. The advanced mechanical arm provides superior support as you move, sliding forward and backward and rotating 360 degrees.

This gaming chair comes with specially-designed upholstery as well. It’s a PU+C-fiber leather chair which resists moisture damage.

Get This Autofull Gaming Chair

In Closing

Trying to determine the best chair for gaming is no easy task because the answer can vary from person to person and therefore from review to review.

If you are a gaming chair review hunter, you may find one AutoFull gaming chair review differs drastically from another AutoFull gaming chair review – all for the same gaming chair.

With that being said, we believe our chair reviews reflect the opinions of true gamers and we have to say that an AutoFull gaming chair, whichever chair you choose, is likely to be one you enjoy.

Whether you are looking for a pink gaming chair, a relatively affordable entry-level gaming chair, or a chair that pro gamers would be happy with, the chairs from AutoFull are likely to suit you.

Just remember, if you have to have one gaming chair, we encourage you to choose the one that will fit your preferences. You don’t have to have the most high-end chair just to play Xbox One.

Trust your instincts – and our gaming chair review!

From that data, you can discover food intolerances and food sensitivities that could be compromising your health.

In this discussion, we’re going to review the top food sensitivity tests online and consider the pros and cons of each one. By the end, you might know which test feels right for you.

Best Food Sensitivity Tests

• Most affordable – 5 Strands
• Most accurate results – Everlywell 
• Biggest Network of Labs – HealthLabs.com
• Biggest Variety – PersonaLabs
• Fastest Results – WalkInLab
• Food Allergy Tests – Allergy Test

#2 Everlywell Best Overall

Test materials arrive by mail after your order. You enter the provided kit ID and then complete and return a finger prick sample of blood. Shipping is prepaid and when your test sample goes through, a doctor (board-certified and independent from the company) reviews your results. Within days you get your results.
PROS

• Independent physicians that ensure accuracy
• Skip the lab visit and take a test without leaving the house
• All work is done at CLIA-certified labs

CONS

• Only food sensitivity testing, no food allergies

Visit Everlywell

#3 HealthLabs.com Biggest Network of Labs

HealthLabs has a wide variety of health tests, but one of the most helpful options is that of a digestive health test.

Gastrointestinal tests help determine food sensitivities and their causes and might include individual screenings for Celiac disease, Helicobacter pylori, Immunoglobulin A IgA Test, lactose intolerance, fecal occult blood, as well as a comprehensive health panel, and a group of food allergy tests.

The company offers affordable prices, CLIA-certified lab locations, and offers confidential testing without the need for insurance. HealthLabs also delivers results within 24-72 hours after you deposit the sample at a lab. Labs are opened seven days a week and no appointments are needed.
PROS

• Over 4,500 labs to visit, no appointment needed
• FSA/HSA payment accepted
• Allergy and sensitivity screening

CONS

• Not as many connected labs as other competitors

Visit Healthlabs

#4 PersonaLabs Biggest Variety

PersonaLabs has over 400 kinds of blood tests, as well as an entire catalog of health tests, vitamin tests, health tests, digestive disorder tests, and screening for disease.

PersonaLabs not only offers food allergy and digestive disorder testing, but can help identify problems happening in your colon, liver, pancreas, and intestines. Their indigestion panel of tests focuses on finding the cause of indigestion as well as autoimmune disorders that could be caused by food sensitivity.

In addition to ordering a test online (and delivering a sample to any one of 2,300 lab sites) you can get the test results online as well as a prescription medication. You can speak to a board-certified physician after testing, whether by tablet, phone, or desktop.
PROS

• Over 400 blood tests
• Virtually speak to a doctor immediately after getting your results
• Fast service, sometimes with a wait of just two days after a lab visit

CONS

• No price matching

Visit Personalabs

#5 WalkInLab Fastest Results

WalkInLab offers home test kits and a confidential and secure delivery of your test results, with a low price guarantee. The company offers vitamin tests, health and immune system testing, food allergy testing, as well as gastrointestinal system texting.

Digestive system screening can help determine if your body is working properly or needs help through food elimination or imbalance. You can screen for intestinal problems, or that of the liver and pancreas. Blood and stool tests are offered with online ordering, walk-in lab visits, and the delivering of results online.

You don’t have to see a doctor to get a screening done, and you can find the closest lab using the website locator. The company has some of the lowest-prices in the industry, up to 85 percent off the listed price for competing products.
Results are delivered quickly, within two days. From there you can send results to your physician for further help with medications or other treatment.
PROS

• While some tests require lab visits, others have home kits available
• Results within 1-2 days of lab visit
• Use site’s lab locator to make your visit easy

CONS

• Some states do not allow certain lab tests to be sold

Visit Walkinlab

#6 Allergy Test No-Risk Test for Food Allergies

AllergyTest.co has been helping to improve people’s lives since 2008 and is one of the few companies offering a money-back guarantee on some of its products. It has offices in the UK as well as Florida in the U.S.

In addition, using Class 11a medical scanning devices, the company provides a CE-approved testing kit that’s industry standard, the same used by doctors and their labs. Results can be used by a doctor to help form a diagnosis.

Allergy Test also offers allergy and intolerance testing with a blood test, bioresonance screening with hair samples, and DNA food sensitivity testing with a urine test. They offer easy sample collection, 24-7 support, and results in 10 days from arriving at the testing center (or 14 days for DNA).

Best of all, the company offers a 100% money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with certain tests, most notably the hair testing package, that compares data to 800 food or non-food items.
PROS

• Money-back guarantee
• 24/7 customer service
• Well established company dating back to 2008

CONS

• Fairy long wait compared to other companies

Visit AllergyTest

FAQs About Food Testing

What’s the difference when testing food sensitivity vs. food intolerance vs. food allergy?

You might be confused by multiple references (or even a lack of any references) to three specific types of food testing: sensitivity, intolerance, and allergies. Each test is different and the methods of analyzing data are different as well.

Food Allergy

Food allergies tend to be more serious and some even life-threatening. On the other hand, some allergic reactions are somewhat mild, such as dizziness, hives and itching. However, some food allergies can cause anaphylaxis, which is potentially fatal unless the person received medical attention. Food allergies involve a strong reaction from your immune system.

When you’re allergic to something, your body identifies a harmful protein and produces antibodies in defense. In some cases, even touching the allergen can cause major symptoms.

Food Intolerance

A food intolerance reaction, however, comes from the digestive system. Symptoms are usually not critical but still very uncomfortable, such as bloating, gas, diarrea, and constipation. According to Healthline, most doctors agree food intolerances are not life-threatening, since they don’t involve the immune system.
It’s easy to see what people get these terms confused, since symptoms can be the same in some cases. However, the allergic reaction is so strong it causes a reaction, and that in turns affects multiple organs in your body.

A food intolerance may still let you eat small amounts of the food in question, but you may have difficulty breaking it down and digesting it, which is why symptoms appear. The reasons for intolerance may involve:

• Lacking the right enzyme for proper digestion
• Reactions to food additives
• Intolerance of chemicals or certain natural stimulants
• Problems digestion natural sugar

Food Sensitivities

Food sensitivities may seem like the same thing as intolerances at first glance, but they are not as eventful as intolerances, which are based on digestive problems. Food sensitivities seem to involve less severe pain and symptoms like:

• Joint pain
• Stomach ache
• Fatigue
• Brain Fog
• Rashes

According to a Harvard Medical School article, not as much is known about food sensitivities, but they appear to be less predictable than intolerances. Your body may change over time and so food sensitivities might also change, along with the “gut microbiome” (gut microbiota that live in humans) that determines your reaction to food.

What types of food sensitivity tests exist?

Antibody Blood Testing

Food sensitivity tests may involve several methods of testing, such as blood testing, which involves immunoglobulin G (IgG). IgG reactivity is measured by a blood test and you receive data on immune system response to approximately 100-200 different foods.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, IgG antibodies are produced after a person eats, and may not be as reliable for diagnosing medical issues.
In contrast, in an allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) test, IgE antibodies are analyzed for an overactive immune response, with IgE antibodies appearing in the blood.

Hair Testing

Hair testing is also called bioresonance technology and involves testing hair strands in order to create a profile of energies that radiate from a subject. This energetic blueprint is then compared to food items, for understanding harmony or in many cases, imbalance and distortion.

In theory, all matter has its own unique wavelength and frequency. If a cell is healthy, it resonates with other cells. But distortions in the energy field can eventually cause imbalance and eventually physical symptoms. Cellular energy of tissue might be affected and analyzed well before the blood chemistry changes and appears in a blood test.

Cell-Based Tests

MRT and ALCAT testing also involve testing blood samples. These samples, however, are not believed to be as reliable as traditional blood tests.

The Mediator Release Test requires a blood sample, which can show if white blood cells shrink when exposed to a food antigen because of changes in the solids-to-liquid ratio.

The Antigen Leukocyte Cellular Antibody Test measures changes in the size of white blood cells, independent of solids to liquid ratio.

Muscle Response Test

The Applied Kinesiology test involves a subject holding a vial of food antigen while extending the other hand. A doctor pushes down on your second arm to determine if there is observable weakness, which implies food sensitivity. Not enough studies have been completed to determine the accuracy of muscle response as affected by food sensitivity.

Provocation/Neutralization

Injecting your skin with food and studying the reactions may seem like a radical idea but it has its supporters. After extracts are injected, the doctor checks to see if a red swollen mark or raised swelling develops. You are then giving a weaker and diluted injection to neutralize the response.

Electrodermal Screening

Electrodermal screening involves observing changes in the skin’s electrical activity that happens when food antigens come into contact with acupuncture points. The subject holds an electrode in one hand, which connects to a computer that scans the frequencies of suspected food antigens.

The Elimination Diet

The elimination diet tests your symptoms in response to consuming suspected antigens according to schedule. In theory, the elimination diet could be performed on your own, without a doctor or food testing company’s involvement. However, it might be easier to use their system so that you can more easily keep track of eliminated foods.

Under supervision, the elimination diet method doesn’t tell you which foods you’re avoiding specifically, but simply studies your body’s response to various meals. Elimination diets take about two weeks before withdrawal symptoms clear up.

How much does food sensitivity testing cost?

Price can range between $100 and $500, though many of the tests we reviewed came in closer $100 to $200 for a single test.

Are food sensitivity tests reliable?

As we reviewed, some doctors doubt the accuracy and validity of some of these tests, particularly sensitivity and intolerance testing methods. Known allergies are easier to test for because of the severity of immune system response. With less aggressive symptoms observed, the process leaves itself open for debate.

However, many customers have reported feeling better after eliminating foods that were observed to have a reaction following a sensitivity/intolerance test. No test is completely perfect and fortunately, some companies offer money back guarantees or free trials/discounts for their test products.

Conclusion

After our review, 5Strands came in at number one, due to a large number of tests, affordable pricing, and the convenience of not having to visit a lab to get tested.

Technology has come a long way for food testing in recent years and it’s easier than ever before to follow through on your intuition and get accurate test results. Using the process of elimination, as well as scientific evidence of immune or digestive response, you can change the way you eat and experience better health benefits – just in time to finish 2020, a year of change.

Try 5strands

Byte Reviews 2021

Overview of Byte

Byte uses a unique teledentistry platform to make it easier, faster, and more affordable for people to get the orthodontic work and better smile they’ve been wanting. The company, created in 2017 and launched in 2019, is based in Los Angeles. Byte works with over 2000 licensed doctors, orthodontists, and dentists across the US who prescribe and oversee every treatment plan with Byte clear aligners.

Byte treats people aged 12 and up who have all of their adult teeth along with a Byte orthodontist’s approval to safely receive teledentistry. Using invisible, plastic, custom-fit aligner devices, Byte is designed to align teeth in a minor to moderate way. This includes spacing, crowding, and rotation corrections. Gradually over time, your teeth shift to become straighter and improve your smile.

The next portion of this Byte review will look at how Byte works:

1.  Byte home impressions are shipped to you and will indicate whether you’re a good candidate for Byte. The process takes about 15 minutes and there are easy to follow instructions, including how to return the impressions with free shipping.
2. Once received, your impressions are used by Byte orthodontists to create your personalized treatment plan. This includes using several photos for their “Smile Science” to observe your face proportions, features, and symmetry to design the best smile for you.
3. Using remote monitoring throughout treatment, your doctor tracks your progress with Byte.

ORDER HOME IMPRESSIONS

Now that you know what Byte is about, this Byte review will delve into the pros and cons of what they have to offer.

Pros

• Doctor directed care
• No in-office visits necessary, which can be considered a hassle for some customers
• Free HyperByte dental movement acceleration device included
• Shorter treatment time than traditional orthodontics
• Lifetime guarantee
• Straightforward, easy treatment process

Cons

• Customers cannot engage with orthodontists and be treated in person
• Higher prices compared to similar aligner treatments
• Complicated insurance reimbursement process

A Byte teeth straightening kit, or an impression kit, gets you started along with two types of aligners for your teeth. You can choose whether to use them day or night; pending your orthodontist’s approval, you wear the aligners in the way most comfortable for you.

Next up, this Byte review showcases these products, along with the signature Byte dental movement acceleration device, whitening kit, all-in-one foam cleanser, whitener, and breath freshener.

This Byte review not only dives deep into these products but answers the important question, how much does ByteMe cost? Since the treatment occurs over time, we’ll also address how much is Byte monthly? Read on for details.

Byte All-Day Aligners Review

Byte All-Day Aligners

Byte All-Day Aligners are custom invisible aligners that gradually and safely move your teeth to where they should be. You wear each aligner for one week, then move on to the next set for the duration of your program. To improve comfort and speed up results, you also wear HyperByte for 5 minutes each day (HyperByte is included for free, see details below).

Byte All-Day Aligners help you straighten teeth at home. These are to be worn for at least 22 hours each day and only removed when eating or drinking. The highly transparent aligners are made from BPA-free, medical-grade, tear-resistant polymer film. They’re smoother and 88% more stain-resistant than others, which has been scientifically proven.

When the instructions for use are followed correctly, it takes just 3-4 months to see results, which happens to be the fastest turnaround time in the industry! Byte All Day Aligners will cost you $83/month for 29 months ($2,407 total), with a $349 deposit.

TRY BYTE ALL DAY ALIGNERS

Byte All-Night Aligners Review

Byte All-Night Aligners

If the thought of wearing your aligners during the day leaves you cringing (fair!), check out Byte All-Night Aligners. These work while you sleep to straighten your teeth. The night version of Byte aligners are made with a thicker medical-grade polymer, BPA-free, grind-resistant material—so if you grind your chompers at night, you’re killing two birds with one stone.

The aligners require a minimum continuous 10 hours of wear along with HyperByte for 10 minutes a day. Once you have doctor approval, you’ll see results and feel less discomfort in about 5-6 months. Byte All-Night Aligners will cost you $99/month for 29 months, with a $449 deposit.

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Byte Impression Kit Review

The Byte Impression Kit includes trays, molding putty, putty gloves, and a smile stretcher. You use this kit by following the instructions to send back your teeth impressions (at no shipping cost). Then, Byte orthodontists examine the molds to create a treatment plan for you, which includes an interactive 3D model. Cool!

Your custom aligners and treatment plan gets delivered to you after that. The Byte Impression Kit is on sale for $30 (originally $95).

ORDER YOUR IMPRESSION KIT

Byte HyperByte Review

Byte HyperByte

HyperByte is Byte’s safe and proven dental movement acceleration device. Using micropulses from vibration-based therapy (High Frequency Vibrations), commonly used by orthodontists, HyperByte is included for free with each treatment plan.

HyperByte gets through the roots of your teeth to the bone around them and positions your aligners to move your teeth and increase cellular activity. This process increases comfort, helps better position aligners around your teeth, speeds up teeth movement, and reduces treatment times (by about half!).

The HyperByte device is to be used with your aligners in, once a day for 5-10 minutes. HyperByte is included and only available while participating in Byte’s treatment but, should you ever need a replacement, you can buy it for $699.

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Byte Snow At-Home Whitening Kit Review

Byte Snow At-Home Whitening Kit

Byte offers a professional-grade whitening kit, the Snow At-Home Teeth Whitening All-In-One Kit, which safely removes stains using cold light technology that won’t erode enamel. By spending 10 minutes a day, your teeth will be whiter in as little as three days.

Results are guaranteed and Byte offers a 5-year warranty. Bonus for anyone with dietary restrictions or ethical considerations: the gel is vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free.

The Snow At-Home Whitening Kit includes a mouthpiece with patent-pending LED accelerating technology, 3 whitening wands for the serum, an extra strength whitening serum wand (with double the power), and a teeth whitening progress tracker.

You can get your hands on the Snow At-Home Whitening Kit for $149, marked down from $199. Read our full review on Snow Teeth Whitening here.

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Byte BrightByte Review

Byte BrightByte

Included in the treatment plan is BrightByte, a 3-in-1 foam cleanser, whitener and breath freshener (plus bacteria destroyer!). With this system, you don’t need to soak or rinse your aligners and your teeth get whitened without sensitivity.

The process is simple: brush your teeth and, once clean, pump BrightByte foam once into your aligner or retainer trays, and spread it evenly throughout your mouth. This 3-in-1 teeth cleaner can be yours for $30.

This Byte review continues below with a look at real customer reviews for Byte products and treatment.

GET BRIGHTER TEETH

Byte Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

On to the biggest question in this Byte review: does Byte really work? Byte reviews indicate that the treatment is highly rated by customers. Consumer Affairs shows a 5/5 star rating based on 1,887 reviews from the past year, Best Company gives Byte 4.8/5 stars based on 2,788 reviews, and 321 BBB reviews give Byte a 4.47/5 stars. Very impressive!

People liked the simple and easy process, short treatment time, the Byte All-Night option, and that HyperByte is included for free. However, Byte’s somewhat higher prices compared to alternatives was a noted downside.

One Byte reviewer indicated that they had not been reimbursed by insurance due to a systematic issue between the insurer and orthodontist. So, if you’re using health insurance, it’s prudent to confirm your coverage specifically for Byte before purchasing.

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Are Byte Aligners Worth It?

This Byte review will provide our impression of Byte and whether or not its products and treatment plan are worthwhile. Based on the research we conducted, choosing Byte is a good move, provided you’re willing to pay more for faster results.

The simple and easy process, short treatment time, payment and payment plan options, and elements like HyperByte and Byte All-Night make Byte stand out from the competition and appear to be worth it.

Keep in mind that even the most reputable brands will have some negative reviews. If issues do come up, Byte has Aligner and Byte-for-Life guarantees (for more details, check the FAQ section of this Byte review).

ORDER YOUR IMPRESSION KIT

Byte Promotions & Discounts 

Byte is offering our readers a very exclusive offer which they were kind enough to share. The Impression Kit is normally $95, however, today you can get 70% off and try them for only $30. So if you’re considering trying Byte, now would be the best time to do so.

Byte is also offering free shipping and guarantees your smile for life (more on that in this Byte review, below).

CLAIM DISCOUNT

Where to Order Byte Aligners

You can buy Byte products directly from them by visiting ByteMe.com and navigating to the Shop page.

VISIT BYTE SITE

FAQ

This Byte review addresses the most commonly asked questions posed by customers.

Does Byte take insurance?

You may be wondering, how much is Byte with insurance?. Byte doesn’t take payment directly from insurance companies, but it’s possible to be reimbursed for Byte aligners directly by your insurance company if you get orthodontic benefits with your dental coverage. If needed, Byte can provide the required forms to file a claim.

How long do you wear Byte? 

Byte treatment plans vary in duration depending on the person, but the process typically takes 2-4 months. Because of HyperByte, this is much faster than the competition.

How long does Byte take to ship?

Byte ships to all states within the US and at no charge to you. It takes about 4 weeks from when you purchase your impression kit (assuming you return it right away) to receive your aligners and begin treatment. Conveniently, you can opt in to receive SMS messages with shipping updates.

How do I cancel Byte?

When you buy an impression kit, Byte’s dentists and orthodontists create an ideal treatment plan. If they determine you’re not a good fit to get great results from Byte, they’ll inform you and issue a refund for your impression kit.

Byte offers their Aligner Guarantee, which uses their “Smile Science” to straighten your teeth and complement your facial features. To achieve this, Byte needs you to follow certain guidelines:

1. Wear your aligners every single day for at least 20 hours a day, except when you are eating or drinking anything besides water.
2. If you are using HyperByte, this needs to happen for 5-10 minutes a day, every day.
3. At the indicated check-in times, upload separate photos to your account (taken when you’re not wearing your aligners) of both your upper and lower teeth.

After following these guidelines if you’re unhappy at the end of your plan, contact Byte within 15 days of your original prescribed treatment end date. Their team will re-evaluate your results and you could be eligible for additional aligners.

Byte also created the Byte-for-Life Guarantee. This means they will always guarantee your smile and offer additional lifetime treatment, at no extra charge, if your teeth ever move out of alignment. Including any unwanted movement away from your smile after treatment.

This can show your treatment plan and Byte retainers use were carried out as instructed. If your teeth happen to become misaligned, you will receive additional impression kits and treatment plans, with aligners. You should note that teeth covered in this guarantee are:

• Those originally involved in your Byte treatment plan,
• Not any that have been affected or changed by physical outside circumstances, trauma, or other health reasons, and
• Not missing, or affected by other dental or orthodontic treatment outside of Byte.

Byte does not take returns. They will only exchange damaged products you might receive, so be aware that exchanges are not accepted for any other reason. If your product is received damaged, just email [email protected] to get the process started.