Apple cider vinegar - also commonly referred to as ACV in natural health circles - is often touted to have many health benefits, from digestive support to blood pressure modulation, weight loss aid, and more. Whether or not all this is true, the fact is that apple cider vinegar can be a very useful ingredient to have around the house for cooking, cleaning, pickling, and more.

It is also useful as a natural health support for chickens (ours get a tablespoon in their water once or twice a week during cooler weather) - they love it, and it is supposed to help keep them healthy and improve their digestion.

While it's not all that expensive, if you use a lot of it, it can definitely be more cost-effective (and fun!) to make your own apple cider vinegar at home. Plus, you'll be amazed at how easy it is - and it's a great way to put those peelings and other apple scraps to good use! (Now that I know apple trimmings tend to give our chickens the runs, I'll be using them in this recipe instead after making our annual batch of apple cider this fall...) See below for a super simple and easy recipe that anyone can make at home - no special equipment required.

When I look at what's going on in health and wellness these days, it seems that the conversation around food in recent years has become more and more polarized - with the extremes of Keto and "Carnivore" dieters on the one side, and veganism on the other.

Unfortunately, this isn't the way that humans were made to eat. We are omnivores, and our true "sweet spot" when it comes to healthy eating lies much more in the middle of these polar opposites.

As our modern world struggles to find our food identity, all of these extreme fad diets are not really doing our health any favors. It's true that different people's bodies respond differently to different eating styles, so perhaps it is up to each of us to find what works best for us.

My mom, for example, has adopted a loosely vegan diet in recent years (after following a number of various diets earlier in life - some of them quite extreme), and she says she has never felt better. That said, she isn't always strictly vegan (which is nice during family dinners), but us kids still worry about her bone health and her lack of muscle mass as she moves into her senior years.

However, while some people may find they do well on a vegan diet, there are many foods that many people would consider "plant-based," which are definitely NOT healthy for us. In fact, if you look at most processed junk foods out there, most of them are mostly if not entirely made of plants (mostly corn and corn and soy byproducts).

French fries are plant-based (since almost all restaurants now use vegetable oils instead of animal fats for frying). So are potato chips, tortilla chips, sugary condiments, and beer! In fact, so are most carb-heavy foods like bread, pasta, and rice. Obviously, just because something is "plant-based" doesn't make it healthy.

And the same definitely goes for fake meats, which are all kinds of sketchy in my book...

Side Note: This is something that I really don't understand personally. If you don't want to eat meat, then don't! Trying to make something that's not meat taste like meat seems so pointless to to me. If you only want to eat plants, then just eat food that tastes like plants! Anyway, that's my really quick rant for today. :-)

This podcast episode is extremely interesting, and it goes into the many problems with fake meats - which are bad for not only your health, but also the environment as well. Listen below to  learn more...

Did you know that overall good health often starts in the mouth?

And I'm not just talking about the food you eat - although that is certainly very important too! More and more studies have found links between oral health and other health concerns, from gut health to cardiovascular health, and more.

Keeping your mouth as healthy as possible can help you avoid not only future dental problems, but also other health problems. But just going to the dentist every 6 months may not always do the trick... In fact, while there are many good dentists out there, the fact is that dentistry hasn't evolved all that much, and there are some dental practices that may even be harming your oral health. This month's Dental-Health Connection Summit examines some of these practices, and explores alternative and natural solutions to maintaining good oral health.

In conjunction with that even, this month, we're giving away a FREE DIY oral health guide, so you can quickly learn and implement some simple practices you can do at home to support your oral health. Learn more below, or go download your free guide here.