What is health anyway? Is health merely the absence of disease? Are you healthy just because you don't have symptoms? Or does real health go a little deeper than that?

According to our modern allopathic medical system, each symptom of disease exists in isolation - and each bodily system is treated as separate from the others. This is what doctors learn in medical school - to diagnose "disease" via symptoms, and prescribe medications to treat these specific symptoms.

If you have a skin rash, you are sent to a doctor (dermatologist) who deals specifically with skin rashes. If you have digestive or stomach problems, you see a gastroenterologist. If you have heart problems, you are sent to see a cardiologist.

But what if all these symptoms were actually related?

With the conventional approach, rather than finding the root problem and addressing it, you would instead think you suffered from three different maladies and would likely end up on (at least) three different drugs!

On the other hand, holistic approaches to health - such as Functional Medicine - actually address the patient as a whole. ALL of your symptoms are considered together, and treatment is tailored to each individual's unique needs - rather than standardized "treatments" being used to treat specific symptoms separately. Functional Medicine doctors are trained to "treat people, not diseases," according to author and Functional Medicine doctor, Mark Hyman.

Addressing the entire spectrum of health is understandably more involved and time-consuming than simply focusing on one particular symptom or disease, but if you want to achieve truly balanced health and wellness, there are 7 key areas that you will need to address - both on your own as an individual, and with your doctor.

It's the beginning of a new month, which means it's time for a new "freebie"! :-) Every month, we share a free resource to help you live a healthier, happier, and more holistically balanced life, and this month's resource is especially important for your family's health.

As you may know if you've explored this site, we have a whole section devoted to the health problems caused by toxins in your home and environment - and what you can do to minimize their impact on your family's health. That's why I was so excited to learn that one of my favorite health experts is running a special summit later this month on this exact topic!

Robyn Openshaw and Ryan Sternagel have both experienced the dangers of a toxic home environment and what it can do to your health, and they are bringing together a wonderful group of health experts to share numerous tips, strategies, and step-by-step guidance on how to make your home clean, healthy, and safe for your and your family.

The online event is 100% free, and you can register to attend and learn all of this valuable information from the comfort of your own home. Register here now, or read more below to learn more about what will be covered during the free summit.

It's a holiday weekend - yay! :-)  For me, that means extra time for blogging, catching up on website stuff, and of course, working in the garden. (Although, with temps in the 90's this weekend, I'm not getting as much done outside as I would have liked...)

It also means catching up on stuff around the house - such as processing all of our extra butternut squash for freezing for later use in soups and pies, and making a batch of red wine vinegar from some old Pinot Noir we had sitting around open from a couple of weeks ago.

As you may know if you've been reading this blog for a while, I love fermenting stuff! :-)  It's so much fun, plus it's simple, easy, and interesting - and the result is almost always very tasty.

I started off with fermented vegetables (kimchi, sauerkraut, etc.), then moved on to hard cider, hard ginger ale, and most recently, wine vinegars.

If you want to try making your own vinegar, there are lots of ways you can do it, but the easiest way to start is with wine, since that's already fermented so you've got a good head start. You COULD just leave some wine open and uncorked for a while and it would eventually turn into vinegar. However, the results could be unpredictable so it may not turn out as you had hoped or expected. But if you culture the wine with some raw, natural vinegar, it should develop into a lovely wine vinegar for you over the course of a few weeks - just follow the super easy steps below...

We have come to the final step in our "Achieving Holistic Health" series, and you may be a little surprised by this one... Can living more simply truly make you healthier?

In fact, being surrounded by clutter and an abundance of "stuff" can indeed have a negative impact on your health. Many people who have embraced "minimalist" living have discovered this for themselves. A messy and cluttered environment causes mental stress, and becoming very attached to the external trappings of life may keep you from fully appreciating and experiencing the simple pleasures in the world around you.

By letting go of the things you don't truly need and simplifying your living environment, you can find greater peace of mind, reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, and even sleep better!

Below are a few more reasons to simplify your life - and some tips for doing so.

Holistic health isn't really holistic unless it considers every aspect of your being - not just your physical health. In today's post, I will discuss the importance of finding a healthy and balanced mindset - an often neglected area, but perhaps the most important element of enjoying holistic health in all areas of your life.

Ask yourself - are you happy and content with your life? Are you mentally and emotionally happy as well as physically? And if the answer is no, what is holding you back?

Until you can answer in the affirmative, you have not achieved true holistic health.

It's the first weekend in May, which means...it's time for your monthly "freebie"!

This month I've got something a little different for you...

If you have ever wanted to lose weight - or just feel better about your body - this fun and inspiring 3-Day Challenge is designed to help you learn to love your body no matter what shape or size, and effortlessly achieve the weight you desire - without all the stress, anxiety, and frustration of following typical "diets" or grueling fitness programs and still not achieving the results you are looking for.

Don't worry - it has nothing to do with weird "cleanses," depriving yourself of all the food you love, or spending hours at the gym every day. Instead, this challenge is all about mindset - and helping you learn to see yourself in a way that makes achieving your ideal weight easy and fun, rather than difficult and unpleasant.

Sound good? Go here to take the challenge now - or read more below...

I'm back! Sorry for the long absence - it was longer than I had expected. We got back from vacation in Florida last weekend and I had intended to post on Sunday, but then my mother and little sister were arriving on Sunday afternoon for a short visit, and I ran out of time. My sister is moving to California this summer, so I probably won't see much of her for a while... But we had a lovely day or so together, and it was wonderful to see so much of my family within a week's time!

Spring Break was great - the Florida beaches were clean and beautiful, and we had so much fun with my sister, brother-in-law, and the adorable twin nieces. The guys kept us well-fed with lots of fresh fish, and the twins entertained us with their constant singing, chatter, and giggles.

Anyway,  I promise I'll be back with another health-related post soon, but thought I would take this week to catch up and give a quick update on homestead life and our plans for the homestead this year...

Step 3 on our journey to achieving holistic health is, of course, exercise! Movement is key to good health - in fact, it is one of the most essential factors for a healthy life.

For the most part, how you move isn't as important as how much you move, but there is some evidence that certain types of exercise are more conducive to good health and longevity. Hours of long-form exercise that stresses the joints and organs (think marathon running) may in fact shorten the lives of those who make that their main form of exercise. But in general, as long as you're moving, you're improving your health.

Unfortunately, for most of us in today's modern world, exercise seems to be thought of as more of an optional hobby than an essential need like food and sleep - even though it is equally as important for long-term health! You will not die of lack of exercise within a few days or weeks like you would without food, water, and sleep, but you WILL die of it eventually - far sooner than you would if you treated it as the essential need that it is.

As I explain below, in order to stay lively and healthy throughout your natural lifespan, you need to get moving!

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.