I took a shot of raw apple cider vinegar this morning as an alleged remedy for the mucous build-up that resulted from my head cold over the weekend. Rosey swears by the stuff and has been using it for over a year as a home remedy for her asthma and various other ailments. I was a little skeptical about how drinking rotten apple juice could have any positive health benefits so I decided to do a little internet research this morning.
I found one set of websites that championed apple cider vinegar as a panacea and claimed that it could cure anything from arthritis to asthmas to high blood pressure to cancer. There were even claims that apple cider vinegar could assist in weight loss. I found just as many websites that claimed that the claims on the first set of websites were made by a bunch of quacks and that there were no scientific reasons to believe the claims. Although both sets of sites referred to medical studies that backed up their claims neither of them provided detailed information about the studies or references to look up the studies for yourself.
Here is what I am skeptical about... the proponents of apple cider vinegar claim that it's effects are the result of all of the nutrients that it contains. In particular they list potassium and calcium among a number of other minerals, trace elements, proteins, etc. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is the thought that apple cider vinegar could actually contain more nutrients than contained in the original apple that the vinegar was made from. Wouldn't it be better and much more palatable to just eat the apple? Maybe there is some truth behind the saying, "An apple a day...".
The other thing that I found curious was the claims that the potassium content of apple cider vinegar was responsible for many of benefits. Many of the sites that I visited went on to cite medical studies about the effects of potassium deficiency. It seems to be well established that potassium deficiency can cause a number of health problems. But a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (the recommended dosage) only contains about 5 mg of potassium. A medium banana contains over 300 mg of potassium. Why not just eat a banana to get your potassium?
The one aspect of apple cider vinegar that does 'make sense' to me is it's acidity. I could be convinced that raising the pH of your digestive system could have some positive benefits and may help clean out your digestive tract. I have not seen enough evidence one way or the other though to establish that apple cider vinegar is the only or best way to do this. Would eating foods (fruits) with an elevated acidic content (citric acid) have a similar effect? I don't know.
And yet for all my skepticism, there are hundreds or thousands of testimonials from people who have taken apple cider vinegar and claimed that it worked for them. Could they all be wrong? I'm not sure, but I doubt it. I guess this will remain an unsolved mystery.
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5 comments:
A-a-ah! You've hit right on my field of expertise! :) But I'll spare you - I'll be brief. 1 - ask your #4 sister, who has used ACV for a myriad of things. We both have the Bragg ACV book (not that that's a very scientific publication, but you can purchase an on-line copy) 2 - Yes, eating a fresh apple or banana would be beneficial, but the ACV, I believe has other benefits, too - it's not simply a question of getting more potassium. It's not an either/or issue. 3 - FACT: fruits with 'an elevated acidic content' have an ALKALINE effect on your body! It has to do with the ash that's left in the body, after the food is metabolized. I know this sounds strange, but you can look it up & will find it's true. (I've actually written a lot about this for the TMIC site.) 4 - You can check out more about it, I think, in the Anderson's "Cleanse & Purify Thyself" I sent you - AVC is a recommended component of his cleanse.
TK, I figured that you would throw your two cents in on this. I didn't realize that you had personal experience with ACV. I don't remember reading anything about it in Cleanse & Purify, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention. I have yet to find any literature describing the proposed mechanism behind how it works. Have you seen any such documentation?
Couldn't help but comment also.
After living around Rosey for 28 years and watching her struggle with Asthma and immune system problems, nothing has made as much difference as the vinegar. And not having the complication of drug side effects was a new experience for her. The result was dramatic! As to whether it works for everyone, no prediction here, but simple to try, inexpensive, and probably harmless:)
I'm not sure the cleanse book says anything about it, but it is a part of the recommended cleanse diet, so I thought he might. Unfortunately, his index isn't too good. Considering that it's the ONLY acidic thing allowed on the diet, he must consider it important!
I took a look in Bragg's AVC book, but even though there's an index, it's organized by page #, not alphabetically. Most articles tell what to use it for rather than how it works. A list of 'healthful qualities' - which you've probably already seen - are enzymes, malic and tartaric acids 'which are important in fighting body toxins and inhibiting unfriendly bacteria' - in addition to all the vitas & minerals. It also talks about NATURAL organic sodium, which Dr. Anderson says most people are deficient in, even though many people eat TOO MUCH NACL, which is not really the same thing.
Check out www.bragg.com, although I'm not sure if they have anything scientific, but maybe they'll list a scientific study that you can look up.
I also asked your sister to read your blog and respond. She's even used it as an EYE WASH! And it worked better than the meds they gave her!!
PS: Have you been practising your piano? :)
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