The benefits of raw apple cider vinegar





 

 

Regardless of what it’s made from, any alcoholic beverage will turn into vinegar over time as it becomes exposed to the bacteria in the air.

Most vinegars are made by mashing grain, apples or grapes, adding alcohol and then letting it ferment. The vinegar is then distilled.

Recorded history tells us that more than 5,000 years ago people of Babylon were using vinegar. Vinegar is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

In 400 B. C. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, prescribed vinegar mixed with honey for a variety of health conditions, including coughs and colds.

The Roman military used vinegar to make posca, a drink that was used as a strengthening and energizing agent.

It is said the Japanese samurai had a similar beverage. It may have worked because the sour vinegar would make them scrunch up their faces and scare off the enemy.

In France during the bubonic plague, convicts were given the task of burying the dead. Historical references state that four of the convicts survived exposure to the disease by drinking a mixture of garlic and vinegar.

In the United States vinegar was used to disinfect wounds in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. It was used as late as World War I as a wound disinfectant.

In folk medicine, raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar is used for its healing properties. The vinegar contains live probiotic bacteria and nutrients in the form of sediment, called “the mother,” in the bottom of the bottle. Shake the bottle before use to mix the nutrients with the rest of the vinegar.

Among the traditional uses of raw apple cider vinegar is treatment for the overgrowth of candida yeast in the body, especially the intestinal tract.

Though it starts off acidic when you first drink it, the vinegar later becomes an alkalizing agent that retards the growth of candida yeast in the body. If you stick your tongue out and it’s coated you may have candida overgrowth. Creating a more alkaline body helps reduce body odor.

Raw apple cider vinegar also has natural antihistamine properties that can help reduce allergic reactions: runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, nasal congestion and general hay fever symptoms.

The vinegar has also been used for weight loss through the years. Patricia Bragg of

Bragg’s apple cider vinegar recommends one to two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water before each meal. This is a very slow weight loss technique.

Raw apple cider vinegar is thought to help reduce hot flashes: Take one to two tablespoons diluted in water, fruit or vegetable juice daily.

Gout attacks are very uncomfortable, but drinking one to two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water and dabbing the affected area with the vinegar may shorten the attack. Generally cutting back on wheat, eggs, beef, bacon and beer will be necessary.

Obviously, if raw apple cider vinegar in water causes any stomach complaints, discontinue use, but people with acid reflux and bloating often find relief by taking raw apple cider vinegar. Be sure to rinse your mouth out with plain water because vinegar can be hard on tooth enamel.

Vinegar can be used as salad dressing, and the versatile liquid can also be mixed with dish soap or Epsom salts and used as a weed killer—it draws all the moisture out of the leaves, thus killing the weed.

Nature once more provides us with an inexpensive solution to health and other challenges with no side effects.

James Aylor is a doctor of chiropractic and alternative medicine from Camarillo who has been practicing in Ventura County for 33 years. He can be reached at http:// camarilloholistichealth.com.


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