Raw
Apple Cider Vinegar – Good for Just About Anything!
by
Margaret Durst
The Green House
Previously
by Margaret Durst: Kalium
– Have You Had Yours Today?
Raw apple cider
vinegar has been touted as a health tonic for many years. Its use
for health is documented back to the time of Hippocrates in 400
B.C.
Raw apple cider
vinegar is known particularly for helping with digestion and for
weight loss. The raw component is essential because
the vinegar needs to be alive with active enzymes and cultures.
This live component tends to make the vinegar cloudy which sometimes
results in strands of what is called the mother which
is the live culture starter, much like a sourdough starter.
The most common
practice is to drink a small amount of raw apple cider vinegar (from
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon) in water 20 to 30 minutes prior to a
meal. The famous digestive and weight loss tonic also includes raw
honey. The apple cider vinegar tonic acidifies the stomach making
digestion much more efficient since the average person does not
make enough stomach acid. The raw apple cider vinegar is approximately
the same pH as stomach acid so when taken, it helps digestion.
Note that if you have ulcers, the extra acid will actually hurt
rather than help.
What is important
about having enough acid for proper digestion is that the acid helps
us digest meat and other complex foods. Stomach acid is also anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal and anti-parasitic. Either having enough stomach acid
or drinking apple cider vinegar before meals helps bathe our food
in acid, killing parasites and bacteria that could be in improperly
prepared food. This makes raw apple cider vinegar effective for
preventing travelers diarrhea and food poisoning.
A proper level
of acid in the stomach triggers the pancreas to release digestive
enzymes and the liver to release bile, further aiding digestion.
Many of the healing claims of raw apple cider vinegar are due to
its regulation of the digestive tract in that it improves assimilation
of nutrients and elimination of waste. Over time, this can significantly
boost overall health.
In addition
to making digestion more effective, a raw apple cider vinegar tonic
will help detoxify the body. It contains lots of potassium, trace
mineral and enzymes. Potassium is very alkalizing to the tissues
of the body. Alkaline minerals are necessary for the body to effectively
detoxify. Plus, potassium is very good for cardiovascular health.
Raw apple
cider vinegar has been known to lower blood pressure and to clean
plaque from the arteries. Apple cider vinegar helps relieve arthritis
pain and dissolve bone spurs. Raw apple cider vinegar is also effective
for burns including sunburn.
Raw apple
cider vinegar is also good for animals, and they love it. It aids
in circulation, helps with arthritis and will help dissolve kidney
stones.
There are
many books on raw apple cider vinegar. There are so many recipes
and claims for the health benefits of raw apple cider vinegar including
relief from chronic conditions such as headaches, allergies, asthma,
eczema, warts, high blood pressure, constipation and so on. Check
it out. I am always surprised by how many people try it and love
it in spite of the vinegary taste.
June 26, 2012
Margaret
Durst owns The
Green House, a vitamin, herb and health food store in Mason,
Texas.
Copyright
© 2012 Margaret
Durst
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