Apple cider vinegar is a combination that many use when they’re trying to drop a few pounds. What you might not know, however, is that this sweet and sour combo is a remedy for many conditions of the body.
Dr. D.C. Jarvis and his ‘Folk Medicine’
Dr. D.C. Jarvis wrote in his book, Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health, that inhabitants of Vermont were known to use apple cider vinegar for various ailments of the body. Jarvis was among the first to strongly recommend a dosage of apple cider vinegar for relief of arthritis, to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Others believe it helps to destroy infections, assist in digestion, maintain memory, and protect the mind from aging.
The apple cider vinegar not only normalizes the body’s acid/alkaline balance, but it is also is rich in enzymes and mineral content, particularly potassium. Potassium serves to regulate growth, hydrate the cells, balance sodium and enable the proper performance of the nervous system. The pectin in apple cider vinegar promotes elimination and healthy bowels; the phosphorus prevents the formation of putrefactive bacteria. Not to be feared is the cloud of stringy material in raw vinegar, often called the “mother”. It is strands of enzymes and protein molecules. All of these are good things to have working for you on a daily basis.
The apple cider vinegar remedy is reported to help with arthritis, gout, acne, colds, sinus infections, sore throats, and laryngitis as well as in the prevention of bladder and kidney infections and stones. Drinking apple cider and honey in warm water before bed can help in cases of insomnia. Apple cider vinegar by itself, diluted in water can be gargled to soothe an irritated throat or taken with a meal to aid in digestion and take care of acid reflux. – Folk Wisdom and Apple Cider Vinegar – Written for The Daily Planet by Lynn Mayer, MA, CNC
An Abundance of Nutrients
The wide-range effects of apple cider vinegar can be attributed to its abundance of nutrients. Complete with many vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, it helps to attack those bothersome conditions with its acidic kick.
Making Apple Cider Vinegar at Home
You can make this magical remedy at home by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Sugar and yeast are then added to the liquid to start the fermentation process. The first stage turns it into alcohol, but resist the temptation and continue the fermentation until the acetic acid-forming bacteria converts the alcohol into vinegar. An added advantage of homemade apple cider vinegar is that it will be available to you in its unpasteurized form because pasteurization and refining may reduce it’s ‘liveliness’ and goodness.
If that’s too much then just simply pick up apple cider vinegar at your local health food store. Be weary, however, of marketing companies that have mixed various other ingredients that they allege are “all natural” when in fact they’re mixed with a ton of unhealthy unnatural chemicals that lack any real influence on the effect of apple cider vinegar.
labgucc says
I’m really glad that more and more people are catching on to the home remedy mindset. NBC news did a GREAT segment on home remedies today, absolutely worth watching if you haven’t seen it already: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news-101/22398156%2322398156650