The apple cider vinegar miracle.

Introduction About Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) falls right in line with garlic as being one of the most talked-about natural remedies in folk medicine. Perhaps you remember it as your grandmother’s favorite “go-to” in times of need, whether it was for an upset stomach, a cough or to ease dry and chapped skin. Introduced to the United States in the 1950′s by D.C. Jarvis, author of Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health, ACV is finally being embraced as a dietary supplement worthy of attention. Traditional uses of ACV are vast.

To name just a few, it has been used to ease digestion, aid in flu prevention, reduce inflammation, regulate pH balance, alleviate allergy symptoms, ease nausea and heartburn, as a staple in detox regimens, and for a number of skin conditions, including reducing acne and smoothing wrinkles. Known in some circles as “Mother Nature’s Perfect Miracle Food,” unpasteurized and organic ACV truly has much to offer, despite the fact that it has survived a litany of malicious sneers by those who only consider a natural substance to be a credible remedy if it has been studied over and over again, and produced “viable” scientific evidence to earn its merit. It’s just not like that with ACV.

Ask anyone why it works for them and they may tell you: “Not sure, it just does.” Now, that is not to say that there isn’t evidence for its potency and far-reaching applicability to a plethora of conditions - that exists as well, it just doesn’t ‘stick out’. Much of what you read on the Internet and in other books does little to substantiate the use of ACV, but only begs one to try. Don’t let this fool you, there is actually a great deal of science behind just how and why ACV seems to be a “cure-all” for so many things. Yes, there is also hype and confusion around what works and what doesn’t work, but all one has to do is look just a little below the surface to uncover the amazing attributes of apples allowed to slowly ferment.

This article is a marriage of what exists both scientifically and anecdotally, an attempt to satisfy you, the ever-curious seeker of alternative practices. It is designed to shed light on effective and economical options to rid your body and home of toxins, to let you know that safer options exist for you and your family, and to reaffirm that sometimes, what seems too simple to be true may be just what we need. Remember, we are conditioned to believe that natural cures don’t work, and we must put our faith in dangerous pharmaceuticals if we wish to find relief.

Breaking out of this mold is necessary if we’re to move in a direction of improving our overall health and well-being – putting our trust in what has now become “out of the box” remedies, but which are in fact just good old simple natural solutions that don’t make money for big pharma. Keep in mind that in many instances, with natural remedies, the proof is in use. Big research dollars for natural remedies just don’t exist, and this is one of the reasons why you don’t see a boatload of research on ACV. What does exist, however, makes a very strong case for its effectiveness. We hope that you gain as much pleasure and insight into the bounties that nature has to offer by reading this article as we did researching and writing it.

What Do We Know About Raw, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar?

Raw, organic ACV is made from sweet, fall varieties of organic apples. These apple undergo a double fermentation process, which produces enzymes and creates many of the vinegar’s health-promoting characteristics. As the sugar in the apples is broken down, the first ferment yields what we know as “hard” cider or alcoholic cider. The second fermentation brings forth ACV. Organic ACV is unpasteurized and contains what is known as the mother of vinegar, which makes the vinegar appear somewhat cloudy. Also known as Mycoderma acetic, the Mother of vinegar is created when acetic acid bacteria and a type of cellulose develop during the fermentation process.

The mother of vinegar is harmless, contains health-promoting characteristics such as living nutrients and friendly bacteria, and lets you know that the vinegar is unpasteurized. Most vinegar manufacturers nowadays pasteurize the vinegar before it hits the shelves, to get rid of the mother of vinegar, and in turn, a lot of the nutrients that the vinegar offers. When choosing an ACV, make sure to select one that is raw, organic, and unpasteurized, as the pasteurization process can destroy many of the health benefits. Organic, unpasteurized ACV has a cobweb-looking solid floating inside; this is known as the mother of vinegar and is a natural cellulose produced by the vinegar bacteria.

Beneficial Properties

Some of the beneficial properties contained within the mother of vinegar include:

Potassium: essential for a healthy metabolism, as well as water and chemical balance in the body

Iron: important for blood health

Magnesium: vital to heart health

Enzymes: boost chemical reactions in the body

Malic acid: protects vinegar from viruses, bacteria, and fungus

Acetic acid: slows the digestion of starch and inhibits bacterial growth

Calcium: builds strong bones and teeth

Pectin: helps regulate blood pressure and cholesterol

Ash: maintains a healthy alkaline state in the body.

Jessi