Apple Cider Vinegar’s Many Wonderful Uses
Article Summary:
- There has been surprisingly little research about using vinegar for therapeutic health purposes, there are numerous dramatic claims about it.
- These claims and studies suggest raw apple cider vinegar may help with: Diabetes and weight loss, reducing allergies and candida, detoxing, balancing ph in the body, as well as a host of other conditions.
- Raw apple cider vinegar also has many household uses, such as a cleaner, vegetable wash, shampoo and pet care.
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Apple Cider Vinegar’s Many Wonderful Uses
Raw, organic, unfiltered and unpasteurized, apple cider vinegar is so much more than a salad dressing- you can use it on your skin, your hair, your house, and even your pets can benefit from its qualities. Apple cider vinegar is a completely natural product. It is made from apple juice and is fermented to hard apple cider. It is then fermented a second time to apple cider vinegar. There are literally dozens of uses! When using natural apple cider vinegar for our personal health and cleaning uses, we also instantly decrease the consumption of unnatural chemicals in our homes and daily lives.
Diabetes and Weight Loss
Although there has been surprisingly little research about using vinegar for therapeutic health purposes, there are numerous dramatic claims about it. Perhaps the most researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar’s benefits are in the area of type 2 diabetes. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower blood glucose levels. In 2004, a study cited in the American Diabetes Foundation’s publication Diabetes Care found that taking vinegar before meals significantly increased insulin sensitivity and dramatically reduced the insulin and glucose spikes that occur after meals. Although the research to date looks favorable, more studies are needed to confirm the extent of vinegar’s insulin stabilization benefits.
Recent studies have also shown that apple cider vinegar can aid in weight loss. For daily weight management, add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to 16 ounces of water. This concoction can be sipped throughout the day. Data shows some limited, yet significant, weight loss benefits from sustained daily intake of acetic acid (which is a main ingredient in apple cider vinegar). In a 2009 study published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, it was found that subjects that consumed acetic acid for 12 weeks experienced significant declines in body weight, abdominal fat, waist circumference and triglycerides.
Reducing Allergies and Candida
This miracle vinegar helps to break up mucous throughout the body and cleanse the lymph nodes. Believe it or not, research suggests that apple cider vinegar can help with allergies because of its ability to reduce mucous and sinus congestion. When reducing the effects of allergies, it can also help stave off sinus infections and their related symptoms (sore throats and headaches). This vinegar is rich in natural enzymes that can help rid your body of candida -- yeasts that are attributed to thrush in humans. Candida also is blamed for creating symptoms of fatigue, poor memory, sugar cravings, and yeast infections.
For Glowing Hair and Skin
Apple cider vinegar can be used as a rinse for your hair after shampooing, and will aid in increased body and shine. I recommend recycling an old shampoo bottle, then filling it with 1/2 a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of cold water. Pour the solution through your hair after shampooing several times a week for dramatic results. Natural apple cider vinegar also regulates the pH of your skin. Dilute apple cider vinegar with two parts water, and spread the concoction over your face with a cotton ball to replace your current toner. You can do this at night after washing, and in the morning before you apply your moisturizer. A dab of apple cider vinegar can also be left on the skin overnight to fade age spots or acne scars. It is also a recommended agent for warts. For warts, soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, then fasten the cotton ball over the wart with a Band-Aid overnight. The skin may swell some as it reacts with the solution. However, the wart will fall off. Once it falls off, the treatment should be continued for a few more days, to make sure the wart doesn't return.
Detoxification
As part of balancing the body's pH, apple cider vinegar creates an overall detoxification of the body. Research shows that it can help stimulate cardiovascular circulation and help detoxify the liver. Apple cider Vinegar will balance your entire inner body system. The body constantly strives to achieve a state of equilibrium. Apple cider vinegar helps the body maintain a healthy alkaline pH level. Research shows that higher acid levels (lower pH level) leads to a lack of energy and higher incidences of infection.
Reduces Heartburn.
Though it might seem like an oxymoron to treat stomach acid with an acid-containing vinegar, there is research suggesting that apple cider vinegar works by correcting low acid, hence reducing heartburn. Natural remedy experts say you should begin to feel relief very shortly after taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar followed by a glass of water. Note that apple cider vinegar will not give relief if you have an ulcer.
For Your Pets
The use of apple cider vinegar is effective in repelling fleas and ticks on your pets. One part vinegar and one part water can be sprayed on your pet’s fur and rubbed in generously to the skin. Saturate the entire coat, and continue every day for a few days to a week. Any flea infestation will surely be gone.
Natural Home Cleaner
Apple cider vinegar will clean your toilets and have your bathroom smelling like apples! Just pour apple cider vinegar into the toilet, and allow it to sit overnight. It can also be used in dishwashers as a substitute for dish detergent. Mix 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup water, and you can use this solution to clean microwaves, kitchen surfaces, windows, glasses and mirrors, too.
For Your Produce
Vinegar is one of the best natural agents for removing certain pesticides and bacteria from your fresh produce. Use a solution of 10 percent vinegar to 90 percent water as a bath to briefly soak produce. Just place your veggies or fruit in the solution, swish it around, and rinse thoroughly. Just don’t use this process on fragile fruits (like berries), since they could be damaged in the process or soak up too much vinegar through their porous skins.
Possible Cancer Combatant
There is even some positive preliminary research suggesting apple cider vinegar can help prevent cancer. A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. However, epidemiological studies of people have yielded confusing results. It could be partially related to the fact that vinegar is a diluted acid, specifically acetic acid, which is responsible for its sour taste and pungent smell. The pH changes it induces may contribute to some of its actions. Some of the dramatic benefits may also be derived from yet-to-be-identified phytochemicals (beneficial compounds in plants) that scientists are now discovering in a number of different foods. In fact, many of your strongest weapons against cancer are the phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables.
And Finally - As a Healthy Condiment
Apple cider vinegar makes a delightful salad dressing. You can even make a vinegar-based coleslaw, rather than the usual creamy mayonnaise-based one. It is good on fish as well and serves as a great tenderizing marinade for meat, giving it a bit of zing. And it’s tasty drizzled over cooked greens. It is possible that drinking a mild tonic of vinegar and water just before meals might improve your body’s ability to absorb the essential minerals locked in foods. Apple cider vinegar might help you get more out of your vegetables and all your foods.
If you are considering taking it medicinally, remember that you should always dilute it with water or juice before swallowing, and if you plan on drinking it daily you should consider using a straw. Pure, straight apple cider vinegar can damage your tooth enamel or the tissues of your mouth and throat.
Sources
1. Johnston, CS, Kim, CM, Buller, AJ. 2004. Vinegar improves insulin sensitivity to a high-carbohydrate meal in subjects with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 27(January): 281-282 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/1/281
2. Fushimi T, Suruga K, Oshima Y, Fukiharu M, Tsukamoto Y, Goda T. 2006. Dietary acetic acid reduces serum cholesterol and triacylglycerols in rats fed a cholesterol-rich diet. British Journal of Nutrition (May)95(5):916-924
3. Kondo S, Tayama K, Tsukamoto Y, Ikeda K, Yamori Y. 2001. Antihypertensive effects of acetic acid and vinegar on spontaneously hypertensive rats. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 65(12) 2690-2694.
4. Vinegar History, http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-history.html