Apple Cider Vinegar Remedies - Are they the Modern Day Snake Oil?
Posted: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
by vitalgirl
http://www.vitaminstohealth.com
I was reviewing an ebook on vinegar remedies and uses recently, and came across some surprising assertions. Despite the ebook author claiming that vinegar was not a cure all, the list of complaints vinegar supposedly fixed was astounding. Almost as astounding as the rationale behind using vinegar to fix said complaints.
Apart from the evils of satisfying one's 'debased' taste buds over nourishing the body - which is apparently the cause of all of modern man's ills. The author suggest we start looking to 'natural resources' that have been used in the days before Christ. Apparently that was a bit of a turning point nutritionally.
It would be lovely if we could explain away the plethora of chronic and acute illnesses that affect so many people. There is no doubt that in some cases nutritional choice has played a causative or aggravating factor in a person's ill health. But people who follow very healthy, natural diets also get sick. People who exercise still have heart attacks. The answer is not always simple, nor is it always to be found by glorifying folk remedies or taking complex Oriental classification systems and treatments out of context. Which is not to say there is not some value, for certain things, in either traditional medicine, or folk remedies.
But giving herbal treatments, or folk remedies, the veneer of pseudo science, does not help anyone.
The author of this ebook stated that 'a number of outstanding authorities' have proven the 'therapeutic' value of using apple cider vinegar for complaints ranging from obesity to arthritis - without naming said authorities. And the chief rationale behind apple cider vinegar's supposed wide ranging value is that, like apples, it contains Phosphorous, Chlorine, Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Calcium, Sulfur, Iron, Fluorine, Silicon, plus many trace elements. And, Potassium.
Now, apple cider vinegar may in fact contain all of these things. It certainly does contain potassium, but only very small amounts - about 15mg per tablespoon as compared to 159mg per apple, or 288mg for 10 rings of dried apple. Cider vinegar has no sodium, no magnesium, and about 1mg of calcium and phosphorus. Hardly noteworthy. But that doesn't stop the book promoting apple cider vinegar as encouraging the health of veins and capillaries, and therefore heart health and blood pressure. And whilst we're at it, it helps the blood clot better, though there is no explanation as to this mechanism. By this rationale, tomorrow it will help colonize mars. Presumably in the same mysterious way as it stores the fiber this ebook attributes cider vinegar as having.
But just as apple cider vinegar in fact has no fiber - unlike apples - so cider vinegar is not nearly as miraculous or mysterious as the ebook's logic. Vinegar may in fact have promise in cleaning without having to resort to harsh chemicals. And in may also be beneficial for some health purposes. But it does not do nearly as much as is claimed. And by creatively linking it to every ailment imaginable, it serves to turn herbal remedies into a bad joke. Mars anyone?
Rebecca Prescott presents practical herbal remedies and naturopathic approaches to health at her website, www.vitaminstohealth.com. Examples include this article presenting popular home remedies for a toothache: www.vitaminstohealth.com/home-remedy-for-a-toothache.html
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More commentscontinued...I think herbal traditions have important clues, and I am in no way discrediting the data from use both individually, and throughout history - per se. What I am saying is, use it as a starting point for further knowledge, deepen the understanding, look at the parameters, the psychological effects, the interactions, the nature of what has been improved/treated (apple cider vinegar is supposed to treat all sorts of things, according to these claims).
continued...Qualify the material. What works for one person, in one situation, may not work for another. The traditions I most respect (Chinese herbal, ayurvedic) have a complex system for diagnosing a person that takes into account a whole range of things BEFORE a remedy is prescribed. And modern herbalists such as Rudolf Weiss have a similar deep and complex approach to health. I am all for that, but I didn't see it in this book, and I don't see it in a lot of things on the internet.
continued...But I am glad that apple cider vinegar works for you. And for whatever reason it is working (it is not supplying anything of significant nutritional value, but may or may not have another mode of action), the main thing for you is that it is working.
continued...But we have to be careful about extrapolating one person's result across the board, and across all manner of conditions, even under the broad banner of 'weight loss', with which it is often associated, without a deeper understanding of all the things that I have just mentioned.
Apple Cider Vinegar really works. I had 6 warts on my fingers. My doctor tried freezing them off twice...that didn't work! He prescribed me a really expensive medicine...I applied for 6 weeks...and that didn't work!! Then, a friend suggested I try apple cider vinegar and within two weeks my warts were completely gone!!!
The body is a wonderfull system designed by no less than the Creator himself and I believe that RAW apple cider vinegar has a positive action in some areas that free up the body to "pick up the ball"" and correct other malfunctions in other areas. Modern medicine treats symptoms and cures nothing.I would far rather put my faith in the natural order of things combined with an intellegently created system. The PH correcting was my reason for trying the remedy since most disease favors an acid environment.Modern day processed food which my body has not established a genetic memory for, is all but ravaging my body, it is pure garbage and I can't even count on a fruit or vegetable that man has not genetically altered .I have taken insane amounts of antibiotics due to constant bladder infections and surely would have died younger without them but that has left my system out of whack due to killing all bacteria. So, yes my life expectancy may have improved but my body is usually at about 5.5 on the PH scale unless I consume fermented apple cider vinager and that has brought it to around 6.3 over a two week period. I think it is a positive move in the right direction. I am no scientist but I have strong intuitive abilities and rely on that frequently when my Doctor can't figure it out and prescribes some useless drug that makes me feel out of it, and God knows what side affect may ensue sooner or later. I am smart enough to know that some claims may or may not work with my specific and unique body. I don't need a scientist who needs the data (approved by whom?) to believe. I have faith in natural avenues and I will use the doctor as well if needed, but I am often shocked at how easily they prescribe chemicals that they know nothing about. I am the guinea pig...
i have found the best cure to rid warts is apple cider vinegar...better than duct tape and any other thing i've tried. duct tape works but takes longer. with the vinegar i have it down to a science..simply pin-prick (yes it's a word) the wart and place a vinegar soaked cotton ball over it for at least half hour..the wart will be but a scab the next day. leave it alone and the scab will fall off leaving just a small hole where the wart was. no trip to the dr.'s office needed. I know warts are gross but some people get them and nobody knows what a pain they are until you get one.
Reviewing an ebook about a product and commenting on it by saying that the product does not do what it is claiming to do is pure ignorance. If you had done some research (scientific and statistical) on the product itself and left a comment then there is some value. Our ancestors were not fools for following natural diets and remedies. The miracle of modern science is amazing in curing some of the deadly diseases that had been life threatening to our ancestors. But there is almost always an adverse side effect to any modern day medicine that you take, even for the most common ailments like cold and cough. When such common ailments can be cured with a natural remedy with no side effects, then why not embrace it (and thank your ancestors for discovering it)!
Seems like an unsupported view of the lack of benefits of apple cider. There is at least anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
I've been doing a little research lately. Acetic acid (ie vinegar) has the following properties1. It is a solvent2. It is an antibacterial/anti fungal agent3. It is a preservative4. Apple cider helps with type II diabetesThese are proven scientific properties, there is no doubt and no myth involved. Based upon these facts, I can see perhaps how it might help get rid of warts effectively.So I don't understand why supposedly scientific people claim that it has no medicinal properties?On the other hand I also can't understand how from these properties it can cure all kinds of disease. I'm not saying it's not true, but I for one cannot make these properties stretch this far without more scientific study.
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