Apple Cider Vinegar

Today I'm writing to you about why Apple Cider Vinegar is a must have in your kitchen and will provide you with tips to use it effectively. Sometime shortly hereafter I will do a follow up to this post where I will discuss how to use ACV around your home in your self care routines. This post will focus on internal supplementation.

So, why in the world would you wish to drink Apple Cider Vinegar? Well there are a host of excellent reasons for doing so which I will get to shortly. First, please take caution when following this advice. My dad, knowing that ACV was beneficial consumed it without diluting and caused his tongue to develop are large ulceration. Always dilute prior to consumption. This helps you obtain your fluid goal for the day as well! Currently I am drinking three 8 ounce servings of water each day that contain two tablespoons of ACV sweetened with honey, one before each meal. Additionally you should be aware that supplementation with ACV will act as a liver cleanse and therefore you may experience what is known as a herxheimer reaction when you first begin a regime. I did. In my case, I just experienced rash and headache as my body cleared toxins. The headache resolved itself within a couple days while the rash took a bit longer to disappear. Apple Cider Vinegar will boost stomach acid and therefore can be taken prior to meals to promote better digestion and reduce heartburn. However, if you have an ulcer you will not want to follow a protocol using ACV as the acidity will aggravate your situation. And last, if you have type two diabetes please use ACV only under the supervision of a medical doctor. The vinegar will lower blood sugar and is a great way to manage healthy blood sugar control, but in this disease state it can cause dangerous dips in blood sugar.

Now lets talk about this vinegar: what is it exactly and how it can benefit your holistic health goals. Apple Cider vinegar is the result of a double fermentation of apple cider which itself comes apples but unlike apple juice where the pulp is removed from the drink, apple cider includes the pulp. This first step on processing results in sweet apple cider, like what you will find in the fall at almost any cider mill. Apple cider can be fermented to produce hard apple cider, and in fact in all parts of the world except the United States, hard apple cider is assumed when apple cider is mentioned. When hard apple cider undergoes a second fermentation process the resulting liquid is what we know as Apple Cider Vinegar. The mother of vinegar, Mycoderma Aceti, results from acetic acid bacteria creating a type of cellulose during the fermentation process. This Mother of vinegar is harmless and protects the vinegar from growth of other microorganisms. You know your vinegar contains the mother of vinegar if it is cloudy; pasteurization kills the mother and results in a clear apple cider vinegar devoid of the numerous health benefits of the raw version.

So what are the health benefits exactly? I guess first we have to take a look at the impressive list of vitamins, minerals and trace elements offered by the mother of vinegar.

So first, the minerals
potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium, chlorine, copper, fluorine, phosphorus, and sodium.

Then Vitamins
A, B1, B2, b6, C, E, and P

And finally, trace elements
Enzymes, Pectin (insoluble fiber), Ash (an alkalizing agent), and silicon (boosts collagen which improves flexibility)

This is an impressive list right? Next we'll discuss ways that internal supplementation can help support your overall wellness. ACV is a potent anti fungal, antibacterial and antiviral which makes it effective as a remedy for many conditions. Incidentally essential oils are similar in this regard and can be used alongside ACV. How wonderful to have the knowledge on proper processing so that we can harness the healing power of nature.

So now the ways that this powerhouse drink can benefit your life by protecting you from disease and also by helping you heal from disease.

To obtain any or all of the benefits listed below you simply need to remember the ratio mentioned above (2 TBSP ACV in 8 oz of water--preferably reverse osmosis) and use it to prepare 24-40 ounces of this drink and then consume it through your day and prior to meals. I make 24 ounces each morning and prior to all my meals I drink 8 ounces along with my digestive enzyme. If you choose to make additional you can drink it right away in the morning, before each meal, and before bed. I had a negative reaction to this so I cut my dose down, and simply drink prior to meals currently. This is working well for me. If you utilize this idea I would enjoy your feedback. :) It takes a little bit of forethought, but mindfulness of any sort really does. Please keep in mind the proverb pictured below.

There are many bone strengthening minerals and taken in the bio available supplementation they will work to support both your bone and joint health as well as support your musculature. Silicon is critical to the uptake of calcium and also causes a boost in collagen production which results in greater joint health and flexibility. Magnesium is a relaxing mineral and because it is present in raw ACV, consumption of this drink may reduce restless leg syndrome and as an added benefit will also improve your sleep quality. Potassium helps breakdown lactic acid, which is a natural byproduct of anaerobic respiration when our muscles work hard. Lactic acid that is not cleared results in muscle stiffness and we feel sore. You can take supplements--such as a polyphenol complex--to help clear this and lessen your muscle fatigue, and I suggest you do, but ACV on top of other supplements will certainly be to your benefit.

ACV acts as a natural blood thinner and helps to improve circulation. It also makes the heart stronger by normalizing blood pressure and cholesterol. Recent studies even indicate that ACV can act to reduce arterial plaques.

This beverage is anti-inflammatory, a direct result of its alkalizing impact. We talk a lot about inflammation being a cause of illness, but lets be clear that inflammation is a natural response to an environmental threat. You bang your finger your finger becomes inflamed as blood rushes to begin repair. The same concept is true within our GI lining, skin, brain and other organs, vasculature and pretty much any other place where you see inflammation. There is an environmental threat present and the body is trying to deal with the threat. This could be a protein molecule that is not properly broken down, it could be sugar that our body doesn't have the ability to digest, and it could be the result of an acidic cellular pH.

Let me briefly explain pH: our body has an ideal pH of 7.4. If our blood dips very far out of this range at all we will not survive for long, and so when we talk about pH we are NOT talking about blood pH, which is very stable at all times except in the most severe cases of respiratory illness. What we ARE talking about is cellular pH, because in order to allow our blood to remain a the desired pH of 7.4 our body will pull from our cellular hydrogen stores, which will result in decreased pH in our cellular structures. We can help our bodies maintain an alkaline environment by eating a lot of green leafy vegetables, cutting our refined foods and sugar, and limiting red meats, and drinking ACV prior to our meals. Please do not eliminate red meat, rather follow an 80/20 rule and consume 1 portion of high quality red meat for every 4 serving of vegetables, sprouted grains, and other dietary staples. Red meats are our only source of B12 vitamins, which are critical to proper nerve function among many other things.

Your daily consumption of ACV will help you control your sugar cravings. This is true too by the way! I love chocolate, and for the first time in my life, I can turn it down. I attribute this to having started this protocol personally. ACV will also lower your blood sugar, and can be used as a treatment for diabetes, but as mentioned earlier please use it as such only under the supervision of a medical doctor, as you do not want your blood sugar to dip down too low!

ACV will reduce heartburn. I know this is counter intuitive, but really if you study science much at all you will discover many counter intuitive facts. Here is one of them: 90% of the time heartburn is caused by too little stomach acid, not by too much. ACV stimulate stomach acid production, thus helping eliminate this painful problem. Proper levels of stomach acid help aid in the digestion of protein which results in improved mood and can even lift depression and anxiety. Stomach acid also helps the body assimilate fat soluble vitamins, inhibits bad bacteria in the stomach and can cause reduction or elimination of bloating that results from poor digestion. It is also important to be aware of proper food combining as that will also aid your digestive health and will definitely eliminate bloating. I will talk about food combining a food preparation in another post though. For now, just drinking your ACV tonic before meals will act as your first step to improving your digestive health and many other aspects of your wellness.

Thats all for now. :) Merry Christmas everyone! Please like and follow. If you leave feedback I will definitely respond.

Until the new year--Tanya