We all know the old saying about apples and doctors, but to really keep unwanted conditions from cropping up, you could do worse than take apple cider vinegar every day. It is a time-honored wonder tonic that can maintain good health and treat an orchard-full of ailments.
Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits the Body Inside and Out
You may know apple cider vinegar (or ACV) was a fave of the father of medicine, Hippocrates, who plied his patients with the healing elixir back in 400 B.C. But the Babylonians had him beat, making use of ACV way back in 5,000 B.C. And the humble fermented drink found itself being used around the world to stave off illness and treat disease.
Apple cider vinegar has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiviral and antiseptic properties. ACV can help with a variety of health woes, ranging from the minor, such as bad
breath, to the more serious, such as diabetes. It is useful for treating fatigue, constipation, asthma, arthritis, ulcers, acid reflux, sinus trouble, high blood pressure, kidney stones and high cholesterol. It aids in digestion and weight loss, is an excellent detoxifier and purifier, and boosts the immune system. You derive these benefits and many others by taking apple cider vinegar internally.
Externally, ACV can help stop bruising, take the sting out of jellyfish and insect bites, soothe minor burns, relieve backaches, earaches and sore muscles, stamp out itchiness, fight fungus, combat shingles and cold sores, beautify hair and skin, and curtail dandruff. In a hair rinse, apple cider vinegar can help with hair loss and promote hair growth. It is also a great acne home remedy.
Using Apple Cider Vinegar
First of all, you have to get the right apple cider vinegar, because not all of them were created equally. You might have some in your pantry, but chances are it’s distilled or pasteurized. No good. The process makes the brown liquid nice and clear, but it destroys all the health-giving nutrients that make ACV a powerhouse. Look for unpasteurized, sometimes called raw, apple cider vinegar, organic preferably. This is a murky vinegar with cobweb-like stuff floating around inside. Now you’re in business.
As a general health tonic, you could take a teaspoon of ACV in a glass of water in the morning and in the evening. Apple cider vinegar remedies are similar to this, for the most part, varying only in amount of ACV to water, sometimes as much as several tablespoons a day. Whether drinking it or using it on your skin or hair, dilute it as it is quite harsh to use full-strength.
