Apple Cider Vinegar

What is apple cider vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar properties, remedies / cures

How to use apple cider vinegar

Warnings

References

What is apple cider vinegar?

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is one of Grow Youthful's most popular remedies - one of those traditional home remedies that have been used for centuries. ACV cures numerous ailments, has no negative side-effects other than being corrosive on your teeth, and gives you a great-looking skin with a healthy rosy glow, more energy, and improved digestion. It is one of those treasured remedies and sources of great health that I take almost every day.

Apple cider vinegar is made from the must of apples. Apples are crushed and squeezed, and the liquid that comes out is called must. Bacteria and yeasts are added to the must to start fermentation, and the sugars are converted into alcohol. Then in a second fermentation process the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria known as acetobacter. ACV gets its sour taste from the acetic and malic acids it contains.

ACV is a pale to medium amber colour. If it is alive and unpasteurised, it should contain a "mother" - a fine cobweb-like structure built up by probiotic yeasts and bacteria.

Apple cider vinegar properties, remedies / cures

Apple cider vinegar breaks down calcium deposition and some other toxins and deposits. The acid assists with stomach acidity and good digestion, and is quite amazing at curing acid reflux within days. I speak from personal experience there!

Apple cider vinegar has potent anti-glycemic actions. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) It reduces the glycemic index of most starchy and sugary foods by between a quarter and a half. This makes it very useful for the treatment of diabetes and a good tool for those who simply want to maintain health and enjoy a long life. It does this by helping keep blood insulin at a low and steady level all day, a key goal in the Grow Youthful approach to food and eating.

Many people have commented that ACV cures:

• Acid reflux.
• Acne.
• Allergies (including pollen, food, pet and environmental).
• Arthritis.
• Asthma.
• Atherosclerosis prevention and remedy. (6)
• Blood sugar too high on waking up in the morning. (2, 4)
• BPH and prostate problems.
• Candida.
• Cholesterol: poor cholesterol profile and high blood triglyceride level. (6)
• Chronic fatigue.
• Depression.
• Dermatitis.
• Diabetes.
• Energy. After drinking a glass of apple cider vinegar, it instantly increases your energy. The acetic acid in ACV is itself a source of energy, in addition it converts to, and provides ketones, the same as those that provide energy in a ketogenic diet. (7)
• Eczema.
• Fungal infections like Athlete's foot, Jock itch and Nail fungus.
• Gout.
• Hay fever. ACV is the go-to cure for hay fever.
• Herpes.
• Hypertension (high blood pressure). (6)
• Influenza.
• Insulin resistance, lowering chronically high levels of insulin. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Oxalate. Many foods such as almonds, buckwheat, miso, rhubarb, rice bran and spinach contain oxalate. Apple cider vinegar protects against the effects of oxalates by reacting and dissolving them, then removing them from the body. (8)
• Sinus infection.
• Sore throat.

ACV is also great for pets and farm animals, including cats, dogs and horses. It helps them with arthritis and aches and pains, controls fleas and flies, and gives a beautiful shine to their coats.

How to use apple cider vinegar

• Use unpasteurised ACV with the cloudy "mother". When it is raw (unpasteurised) it contains valuable enzymes. However, these enzymes are destroyed by pasteurisation (heating).
  
  I no longer recommend Braggs ACV because it is diluted with water and Braggs is now a very big mega-supplier. The best ACVs come from smaller, family run, boutique producers, which may also be organic. This is the same rule of thumb to use when buying any food - buy direct from the farmer who produces the food.
• Drinking ACV. Always dilute ACV with water or juice before drinking it. I add 1-2 teaspoons of ACV to a cup of water. Start with a weaker solution and see how you go.
• ACV on your skin. You can apply it to your skin neat (undiluted).

Warnings

• If taking apple cider vinegar or other stomach acidifiers causes pain, then you probably have an inflamed stomach or digestive tract. In this case you will first need to treat the inflammation, by improving your diet and avoiding inflammatory foods. Treating stomach inflammation can take months.
• ACV has a high level of free fructose. This is because apples are one of the highest-fructose fruits, and the glucose in the cider tends to be converted to vinegar in preference to the fructose.
  
  If you suffer from fructose malabsorption and are taking large quantities of ACV every day, then try one of the alternative healthy acidic products suggested in Grow Youthful. They include freshly-squeezed lemon and lime juice, clear liquid whey, Swedish bitters, EM (effective microorganisms) or betaine hydrochloride.
• Strong acidity can damage your tooth enamel. For some reason ACV seems to be quite harsh on the teeth, even more corrosive than lemon juice of the same pH. To avoid the acid on my teeth, I drink ACV through a straw, holding the straw towards the back of my mouth. If I can feel it on my teeth, I rinse with a mouthful of water.
  
  Another option to protect your teeth is to reduce the acidity of the ACV with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Simply keep adding small pinches of baking soda until your ACV drink just about stops fizzing. If you test it with litmus paper it should have a pH of 6-7. Also do this if you have a stomach ulcer, as drinking ACV may otherwise burn.

References

1. Ostman E, Granfeldt Y, Persson L, Bjorck I. Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Sep;59(9):983-8. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602197. PMID: 16015276.

2. Johnston CS, Steplewska I, Long CA, Harris LN, Ryals RH. Examination of the antiglycemic properties of vinegar in healthy adults. Ann Nutr Metab. 2010;56(1):74-9. doi: 10.1159/000272133. PMID: 20068289.

3. Leeman M, Ostman E, Bjorck I. Vinegar dressing and cold storage of potatoes lowers postprandial glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Nov;59(11):1266-71. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602238. PMID: 16034360.

4. White AM, Johnston CS. Vinegar ingestion at bedtime moderates waking glucose concentrations in adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2007 Nov;30(11):2814-5. doi: 10.2337/dc07-1062. Epub 2007 Aug 21. PMID: 17712024.

5. M Sugiyama, A C Tang, Y Wakaki and W Koyama. Glycemic index of single and mixed meal foods among common Japanese foods with white rice as a reference food. June 2003. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 57, Issue 6.

6. Setorki M, Asgary S, Eidi A, Rohani AH, Khazaei M. Acute effects of vinegar intake on some biochemical risk factors of atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Lipids Health Dis. 2010 Jan 28;9:10. doi: 10.1186/1476-511X-9-10. PMID: 20109192; PMCID: PMC2837006.

7. Marian E Swendseid, Richard H Barnes, Allan Hemingway, AO Nier. The Formation Of Acetone Bodies From Acetic Acid. Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 142, Issue 1, January 1942, Pages 47-52.

8. Shanshan An, Xiaoxia Li, Man Tang, Meng Xing, Ying Zhang, Jingli Peng, Li Xu, Qiuyun Liu. The Role of Acetate in the Antagonization of Oxalate: A Potential Causative Molecule for Heart Disease and Cancer Death. Natural Product Communications, 2020, Volume 15(3): 1-4.