A Tablespoon Of Apple Cider Vinegar A Day Keeps The Doctor Away.

(part two in a series of Old Wives Tales)

You know that old wives tale of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, right? But apple cider vinegar?!?!

I can remember always seeing my mother or father take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a glass of water every time they felt a cold coming on.  They’d tell me about the wonders of it all the time, and how they avoid going to the doctor when feeling sick. My mom would have us take it if we had canker sores in our mouth, or a cold sore. So they related it to fending off cold viruses. Sometimes my dad would take it to help with his digestion. I have never tried this in my adult life, so I researched it and found that this old wives tale is a pretty good one, and true.

Why It’s Good For You

Apple cider vinegar is a powerful detoxifying and purifying agent. This home health remedy can help boost your immune system. It breaks down the fatty, mucous and phlegm deposits within the body. By breaking down these substances, it improved the health and function of the vital organs of the body, such as the kidneys, bladder and liver, by preventing excessively alkaline urine. It helps in the prevention of high blood pressure by oxidizing and thinning the blood.

Summer Survival Tip

Apple cider vinegar also promotes digestion, assimilation and elimination, all the while neutralizing any toxic substances that enter the body. It has been found to neutralize any harmful bacteria that may be found in certain foods. When a mixture of cider vinegar and water is taken before a meal (particularly food served in restaurants or at picnics where the preparation or duration of food left uncovered and not refrigerated is questionable), it seems to prevent diarrhea or digestive upsets.  Who knew?!  That’s a handy tip for all the pool parties, bar-b-ques and picnics you attend this summer.

The Best Kind of Apple Cider Vinegar

The key though, is to purchase raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. The ones you buy on your grocery store shelf are pasteurized, distilled and filtered, which robs them of all the good stuff.  Be sure it’s organic too, since it’s made from apples, they need to be pesticide free.

Recommendations on how much an adult should take vary from 1 -2 tsp. diluted in water three times a day, to 1-2 tbsp. 3 times a day. Personally, it really depends on what remedy you are seeking. Weight loss, lowering cholesterol, immune boosting benefits all recommend 1 -2 tsp mixed in water 3 times a day. The less you dilute it, the greater the benefits will be seen. Most dilute it with 8 oz. of water, but you can go as low as you find tolerable, like 4 oz.

Treats Candida?

Apple cider vinegar is rich in vital nutrients, and natural enzymes which aid in digestion. They also restore the natural balance of healthy bacteria in the gut by creating a perfect environment for those healthy bacteria to grow, all the while keeping yeast like candida in check.  So this explains why some parents of children with autism choose this alternative method for treating their child’s overgrowth of yeast in the gut.  One exception for this is that it’s high in phenols. So if you or your child has trouble processing phenols, this may not be the best approach.

My next shopping trip to Whole Foods will include an organic, raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized bottle of apple cider vinegar.  Anything to “keep the doctor away” is worth a try.  Thanks mom (and dad)!

Read the third post in the series of “Old Wives Tales” here: https://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/my-mother-made-me-take-cod-liver-oil-and-i-lived-to-tell-about-it/