Cold and flu season is here along with the cooler weather and shorter days, and it's time to make sure your immune system is in tip-top shape for the winter!

There are many things you can do to help give your immune system a boost and stay healthy during the winter months. Getting plenty of vitamins (especially C and D), sleep, and exercise, and drinking lots of healthy fluids like tea, chicken bone broth, and plain old water are your first and most important weapons against illness.

However, some studies have found that certain plant extracts such as essential oils can also be of great help in boosting your immune system and keeping you healthy. While there are hundreds of different essential oils out there, below are 7 of the best ones for immune health - plus some tips for using them.

I think often about the conundrum that is modern life...

We have more knowledge and more technology available to us than ever before in human history, yet we seem to continue to make the stupidest decisions - especially when it comes to our health! We live in a society of stress, confusion, and disease - all of which seem like they should be things of the past with all the resources we have access to in today's world...

Doesn’t it sometimes seem strange how we can be so technologically advanced yet so stressed out and unhealthy?

I often wonder how we can find our way back to a healthy balance. Or if it’s even possible?

And then this weekend, I got a sneak preview of something that finally put it all together for me...

Not just what’s wrong, but why, and what we can do in our daily lives as caring, conscious individuals to make real positive change - and I'm not just talking about diet and exercise...

I'm talking about ancient wisdom that shows us how we can all sustainably thrive in a toxic modern world.

If you're interested in becoming more self-sufficient and learning how to take control of your health and become more in touch with your body's health needs, I believe there is nothing more valuable that you can do then to learn to make your own natural medicines.

While the mainstream medical industry would have you believe they know everything there is to know about health, in fact, they have only been around for the past century or so, while humans have been making natural remedies and medicinal preparations at home for thousands of years! There certainly have been some valuable advances in medical technology over the past century, but that doesn't mean that our previous thousands of years of experience are no longer valid.

With a combined approach, you can learn to treat minor issues at home where appropriate, and rely on the more advanced technologies of our medical institutions when medically necessary for more serious illnesses and injuries. By taking this approach, not only will you save money, but you will also learn to be more self-sufficient, and develop a deeper connection with your own body and a better understanding of its needs - two things which are practically priceless.

Unfortunately, much of the knowledge of ancient medicinal remedies which used to be passed down to from generation to generation has been lost from memory over the past century, and few people in today's modern world know how to make home medicines or medicinal preparations. The good news is, for the information that has survived, the internet makes it easier than ever for people to re-learn these lost skills.

If you are interested in learning the art and science of making your own medicines using natural and effective ingredients, I would like to invite you to attend this inspiring 4-part video series that is coming up in the next few days, which will teach you how to confidently heal the 12 most common ailments using natural, homemade medicines.

Register Here for the FREE Video Series, or learn more below...

Happy Easter!

I wish it felt a bit more like spring, but I will take the sunshine at least!

For this month's "freebie," I'm sharing an awesome opportunity to take a free class from a leading herbalist and natural medicine expert. I thought this would be a great follow up to last week's post on holistic and herbal healing modalities - as well as a shout out to all my lovely soul sisters out there! :-) This class definitely takes a feminine perspective on healing, but of course men are also welcome to participate and regardless of what gender you consider yourself, you are sure to learn a lot.

During this free virtual class, Discovering the Feminine Way of Plant Medicine: Healing Through the Wisdom of Natural Remedies, Rhythms & Relationships, herbalist, gardener, and author Deb Soule will share some of the medicinal plants and tonic herbs most valued for healing qualities specific to women’s health – including remedies to help women heal and thrive during all of the different cycles of our lives.

The online class will be held next Saturday, April 7th, at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET so be sure to head on over and register now, while you're thinking of it. Or read more below to find out more about what will be covered in the free class...

It's week 2 in our series on achieving holistic health, and this week, we're talking about holistic healing with the use of natural remedies.

Does anyone else find it strange that that we supposedly need drugs that were created in a lab to keep us "healthy"?  How is this possible? Most of these substances are completely foreign to our bodies, so how are they essential for good health?

They aren't. In fact, some estimates say that adverse prescription drug reactions may be the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. - and that's just for drugs that were prescribed and used according to directions! (When you add in overdose and opioid abuse, the number is much, much higher.)

For centuries, humans relied on plants to keep us healthy - and we didn't always make such a great distinction between "food" and "medicine." Certainly there were doctors and healers who used tinctures and other preparations of herbal plant medicines, but there was also tribal knowledge about certain plants to eat when we were afflicted by certain illnesses or other health issues. We evolved with a symbiotic relationship to plants, and this factor is sadly lacking in today's modern world.

Remember that health is not a simple yes or no question. All health exists on a spectrum. Feeding your body natural, healthy foods is the first step to true health, as we discussed last week. Many forms of illness and disease stem from poor nutrition - feeding the body things that do not support it, and denying it the foods that do support it.

However, holistic healing is about more than just herbal remedies or eating certain plants; it is also about taking a look at the whole being in a holistic way, rather than just trying to "cure" a certain symptom. Below we will take a look at what holistic healing means, and how it can help you to live a healthier life on all levels.

'Tis the season - not just for jolly holiday fun and gifts -  but also for colds and flu. That's why this is a great time of year to brew up some natural home remedies to help keep you healthy all winter long!

This ancient recipe was said to be used to keep people healthy during the time of the plague - hence one of its common names - "Four Thieves Tonic." The legend is that a band of thieves used this recipe (or one like it) to avoid the plague when stealing from plague victims - understandably a rather infectious task.

There are many versions of this recipe, which is sometimes called by different names. But I love the name "Fire Cider" - it sounds so warm and invigorating! :-)

The tonic includes a number of health-boosting ingredients traditionally known to fight disease, kill bacteria, and strengthen the immune system. If you cannot find all of these in your area, you may be able to get them online - or omit any that are too difficult to find.

Below are two different versions of this immune-boosting home remedy - pick whichever sounds best to you:

Growing up on the farm, we had a huge elderberry bush in the front yard. My sisters and I would climb it in the late summer and pick giant purple bouquets of elderberries for my parents, who would somehow turn the tiny, bitter and unpalatable berries into quarts of delicious, dark purple sticky sweet syrup which was our favorite pancake topping year-round. 

This was long before elderberry syrup became one of the hottest natural health aids around. Touted for helping to prevent and fight off colds and influenza, reduce inflammation, and soothe coughs and respiratory illnesses, humble elderberry syrup has recently reached "superfood" status. 

Driving down the road the other day, I spied some big elderberry heads beginning to turn purple. It reminded me of the purple-handed late-summer task of my childhood, and it inspired me to share this recipe with you, so you can see just how easy it is to make your very own delicious and immune-boosting elderberry syrup - and you'll save a ton of money on those pricey commercial versions! 

Whew! Things have been pretty serious around here for the past couple of weeks (if you haven't checked out the last 2 posts, I highly encourage you to do so - it's a very important topic for everyone), so I thought we'd take a little break this week with a fun giveaway!

This free gift actually ties in quite nicely with the new model of health we've been discussing over the past two weeks, in which individuals will play a greater role in their own healthcare through learning about and using more natural and traditional means of healing.

You probably use garlic in the kitchen quite often (I know I do!), but did you know that garlic has many healing properties, including the ability to help boost your immune system and fight off infections like colds and the flu?

Learn more below, and grab your FREE copy of this awesome e-book today!

I thought I would mix things up a bit this week by sharing a really strange and fascinating technique for naturally improving your health and wellness, mental state, and well, just about any aspect of your life...

When I first heard this technique briefly mentioned on a webinar I was attending, I thought it sounded like the weirdest thing ever, but it sounded so intriguing, I just had to find out more!

And yes, it is strange indeed, but this simple method can help dramatically improve many aspects of your life in just a few minutes per day, and you can do it just about anywhere - even in bed, in the shower, or (my favorite) in the car on your way to work (as long as you don't care about receiving some strange looks from other drivers). :-)

Typically I personally use this technique to relieve stress and anxiety, or remove mental blocks, but many other  users have reported a number of other benefits, including pain relief, weight loss, improved relationships, and even increased wealth. It truly is a holistic method, which is why I wanted to share a bit more about it with you today.

I'm back from Minnesota! It was great seeing the family, but it's also great to be home. My garden is looking a bit weedy, but mostly I'm just amazed by how much everything has grown in a week! Squash and cucumbers are starting to pile up, so I'll be pickling tonight - the first batch of the season, though certainly not the last. :-)

Anyway, I'm super busy getting caught up with everything, so this won't take long, but I did want to share a bit of info today about a topic I don't cover very often: your teeth.

Dental health has recently been linked to several other areas of health, and some researchers now believe that poor oral health can even lead to heart disease and other inflammatory diseases.

Even if you go to the dentist regularly, you may still have issues with the health of your teeth, and this is one area where natural and holistic medicine are often lacking. Though there are "biological dentists," who tend to use fewer harmful substances in their practice, and look for safer alternatives to things like x-rays, there really haven't been a ton of advances in natural dentistry.

But I stumbled across this interesting resource last week, and wanted to share some information that may help you achieve healthier teeth naturally, all on your own...