Welcome to Bare Life!

During my junior year of college, everything changed. I became overwhelmingly exhausted and lived with constant pain—from debilitating migraines to discomfort triggered by simply eating food. After landing in the emergency room, I was forced to take a medical leave from school. Overnight, my world became my bed, countless appointments, and visits to more than 30 different doctors, clinics, and nutritionists over the next decade.

Through that journey, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Hashimoto’s disease, Thyroid Cancer, PCOS, Lyme disease, and multiple co-infections, and a few other things.

What surprised me most during this time wasn’t just how many answers I was searching for—but how many people were on a similar journey. Everywhere I turned, I met people who were living with similar chronic conditions, or who loved someone who was. One theme kept coming up again and again: while recommended diets were often helpful, they were rarely convenient—or enjoyable.

The foods available didn’t taste good, didn’t feel inclusive, or only solved part of the problem. I could find gluten-free foods, but very few that were both gluten- and dairy-free. And when I searched for options that were gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free? I found nothing.

So I started asking questions. Was I alone in this?

I joined support groups, shared my story, and listened—and the answer was a resounding no. That’s when Bare Life was born.

• Today, around 133 million Americans—nearly 40% of the population—live with chronic illness¹.
• About 33 million Americans have food allergies².
• And 53% of Americans live with food sensitivities or intolerances or know someone who does³.

I created Bare Life to bring crave-worthiness (because better-for-you food should taste great, too) and convenience to allergen-friendly eating. Our foods and recipes are meant to be delicious, flavorful, and fun—without compromise.

My goal has always been simple: to make allergen-friendly foods easy to find and easy to love—whether you’re shopping online, stopping by your local coffee shop, in a hospital, or browsing the grocery store aisle.

Thank you for being here. I’m so glad you found us.

— Ali

Sources:

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Chronic Diseases in America

² Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), Food Allergy Facts & Statistics

³ International Food Information Council (IFIC), Food Sensitivities & Intolerances Survey