Apple Cider Vinegar - is it a miracle cure-all? Can it help you?

These is not a lot of scientrific research around Apple Cider Vinegar - probably because it is considered a food and not a medicine.

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence though and that is the fodder of legends. 

What Apple Cider Vinegar does do is
* help your digestion,
* prevent food from decaying  in your digestive system,
* control and adjust calcium usage within the body,
* reduce the need to wee often and
* balance your menstrual cycle. 

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Apple Cider Vinegar is anti-bacterial so it can protect you from germs that cause you to get sick.

It makes a great alternative as a counter or surface cleaner for your home.

• Mix 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 cup of water into a spray bottle and use that as an alternative to counter cleaners like handy-andy.

You can also use it to wash your fruit and veges.

• Add 1/2 cup of ADV to a sink of water and tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda to wash your fruit and vegetables.

This is a practice that many of us do not follow.
It is essential now in this day and age to clean your fruit and veg of pesticides and bacteria before you eat them to prevent your body from toxic overload. ​

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Studies have shown that Apple Cider Vinegar can help to improve insulin sensitivity. 

When your body is sensitive to insulin this means that your body will respond to less insulin in your blood stream to take blood sugars out of circulation and direct them to your cells where it can be used for fuel.

• Try drinking 1 - 2 tablespooons in a large glass of water before meals. STart off with 1 tbsp and increase to 2.

ACV helps to improve and increase your satiety at a meal. This means that you'll feel fuller sooner. 

This is not to say that Apple Cider Vinegar is the answer to your weight loss. When you add it to your daily diet along with other healthy lifestyle options it can make an overall difference. 

In a study among rats it showed that adding ACV to the rats' diet helped to lower the harmful LDL and increase the beneficial HDL.

Cholesterol is a fat like substance. IIt can build up in your arteries which then puts strain on your entire vascular system as the artiers are narrowed. 

However,  cholesterol is very necessary for the production of various hormones so it isi important to keep the HDL:LDL ration balanced. 

And this can be done by not eating refined and processed foods, decreasing your sugar intake, including a variety of healthy fats, eating fish a few times a week and adding movement or exercise a few times a week. 

Acid refulx is not a result of too much stomach acid.

It is infact because you have too little! By drinking ACV before your meals you will be adding extra acid to your stomach which will help to improve digestioin. Eating fermented foods like kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut will also help to improve the state of acid reflux. 

ACV can help to alkalise your blood pH levels. I wrote about how important it is to keep your body in a more alkaline state a couple of weeks ago - click here to read more - 

When your body is more alkaline, bacteria and viruses are less likely to flourish which will mean that you will be less sick.

you can also use ACV as a skin toner! It has been found to help reduce scarring. You can use it as a toner after cleansing. 

Here is a recipe from Dr. Axe who is well known doctor and health guru - 

• 3-4 drops lemon essential oil
• 1/4 cup witch hazel extract
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/8 cup aloe vera juice (optional)
• 4 drops frankincense/ lavender/ tea tree oil

 

1. Combine all the ingredients and shake well. 
2. Store in a dark glass bottle or spray bottle
3. Begin by using hte toner every other day.

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It is importan that the Apple Cider Vinegar you buy has the "mother". 

This is the build up from the fermentation process that is considered to have the MOST beneficial enzymes and proteins. 

The mother makes the ACV look cloudy and may even show up as strainds of sediment at the bottom.

So when buying ACV look for raw, organic, unfiltered (otherwise the mother will have been removed), unpasteurised (the mother will have been killed off by the heat) and you can see the mother - the cloudy sediment.

The most popular brand in the USA is Braggs. 
Here in South Africa try using Faithful to Natures Organic Raw ACV
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Uses of ACV

You can drink it daily.
Add it to your salads as part of a dressing.
Use it as a hair conditioner.
Use it as a skin toner after cleansing.
Dilute and use it as a surface cleaner.
Wash your fruit and vegetables with it.

And the uses go on...

Have you used ACV? I'd love to know,leave a comment below and tell me how and when.