Apple Cider Vinegar-miracle cure-all?

[mistry]

I tried to start a daily regime of drinking apple cider vinegar, being sure to brush my teeth after so that it would not dissolve tooth enamel, but found it hard to keep up.

According to this link, there is nothing it can't do! Does it figure in the macrobiotic diet?

http://www.lacetoleather.com/wondrugpag3.html

"Food has certainly been the down-fall of man's health. With all the rubbish he stuffs into his delicate, yet adaptable organism, it is no wonder that there is so much unnatural disease rampant today. From the day he ate his first meal man has forever abused his system with the wrong types of food. He has not been rational in his eating habits, but has merely satisfied his banal desire for stimulating, refined and processed fare. The day will come, however, when he suddenly realizes that his food habits effect his physical as well as mental wellbeing. He will then realise that he had been satisfying his debased taste buds, rather than sustaining the body. The wise, however, look toward nature for their answer; with patience and perseverance they have re-discovered the answer to man's dilemma. The answers although simple are extremely effective as they do not entail unnatural chemical compounds - it is the utilization of these wonderful gifts from nature which are so efficacious and free for all! There have been many natural curative formulae discovered throughout the centuries, which have proved themselves safe and yet effective. Natural resources have been used since the days before Christ viz: Sunshine, Water, Air - herbs and homebrews have been used for generations too by our ancestors. Honey is also a natural wonder, together with many other folk preparations which have been handed down through the ages. Amongst these APPLE CIDER VINEGAR has been widely used as a successful remedy for a number of ailments. We find that, with the abuse of the body, inordinate amounts of waste matter have accumulated within the system. In the early stages these are not so apparent as the body is still vital enough to deal with this extra burden. However, if an attempt is not made to eradicate these toxic accumulations, the body has to deal with more and more pressure, resulting in aches and pains. Later in life these efforts to eliminate these encumberances result in influenza, bronchitis etc; and, if these healing efforts are suppressed by continued wrong living and drugs, the acute symptoms become chronic and insidious. Rheumatism, arthritis, cancer, heart ailments, high blood pressure etc, are all signs that the body has been neglected by the suppression of natural heating crisises. There are certain preparations, however, which assist the body in eliminating these toxic substances and this is where these natural curative methods have found a valuable place in the healing arts. To abstain from those foods and drinks which add to this unnecessary accumulation, is a great assistance to the body i.e. those refined and denatured food items such as bread, starch, white sugar, and their products; together with the unnecessary food items which cause excessive mucous and toxic waste in the system e.g. meat, eggs, dairy produce, legumes, cereals. However, one may now ask what should one eat if these are to be eliminated from the diet. Where one cannot completely abstain from these products, moderation is the key word in this instance, together with certain herbal and folk preparations which assist in the breakdown of the acids and mucous waste."

It is at this point that the benefits of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR will be discussed:

(see article in link)
~Mistry

[fiona marshall]

You should be careful brushing your teeth after eating something acidic, as that will damage your tooth enamel more, ingraining the acid into it.

Better to rinse thoroughly to remove all traces, and eat something else neautral afterwards to get your saliva going to naturally cleanse away the vinegar.

I'm never too happy taking supplements myself. You should be able to get everything you need from a balanced diet, but that's just my opinion.

Take care,

Fiona.

[mike chen]

in order to determine the possible health benefits, we can put it this way: what are the culinary uses of vinegar? why is vinegar used in the kitchen? what is vinegar used for?

[mistry]

Originally posted by mike chen
in order to determine the possible health benefits, we can put it this way: what are the culinary uses of vinegar? why is vinegar used in the kitchen? what is vinegar used for?

this is an interesting way of thinking about it? why does the cooking use relate?

[Roy Collins]

Hi Mistry. From a macrobiotic viewpoint both apple cider vinegar and honey are EXTREME YIN foods and should be used infrequently because of this. Honey is more concentrated than white sugar and as you said the acids in the vinegar can damage tooth enamel.

Heavy meat eating and dairy consumption creates fat and calcium accumulation in the body which over time leads to a variety of disorders and burdens the heart. For people who consume these products regularly they may find that the yin from apple cider vinegar and honey to help in the balancing process, as all these food products tend to counter each other on the yin/yang scale, but this time the scale is being balanced from the extreme poles, rather than the more neutral center. Macrobiotic foods when selected and prepared correctly bring the body to the point of central balance. What foods make central balance? Whole grains, beans, vegetables, seeds, are main foods of balance.

Animal foods and concentrated sugars, alcohol, vinegar, drugs, dairy, fermented foods, yeasts, bacteria, etc. are all considered EXTREME. In macrobiotics it is important to avoid extremes so that body/mind is functioning at an even energy flow.

In peace, Roy

[mike chen]

. . . asks, "this is an interesting way of thinking about it? why does the cooking use relate?" and it's really very simple, fundamental to facial diagnosis, for instance: in order to understand the inside, look at the outside! and in mb thinking,
what is more 'outside' than cuisine!

[mike chen]

. . . so, the question remains for you: "what are the culinary uses of vinegar? why is vinegar used in the kitchen? what is vinegar used for?"

[pete]

It has been my experience that eating too many sour foods can agravate the tendons. My achilies tendons used to give me trouble till I gave up the excess citrus and vinegars in my diet.
I do not think a tablespoon in a cup of water will do too much harm. As you said "everything in moderation". I just wanted to make you awareof anohter side affect though. Too much acidic things can also destroy the acidic lining of the stomach. Without stomach acid it is hard to diggest and absorb your nutrients. I know several peaple who went on vinegary diets where they took a tablespoon of vinegar in the morning witha tablespoon of honey. it weekend thier stomachs. One doctor told one guy to discontinue it for this reason. Some old wives practices should be done with caution or even avoided entirely.

[mistry]

Originally posted by mike chen
. . . so, the question remains for you: "what are the culinary uses of vinegar? why is vinegar used in the kitchen? what is vinegar used for?"

Mike
I have been thinking about this and can't really answer. I guess that vinegar is mainly used for salad dressing or pickling. So, for sour taste and preserving would be my best guesses.

I know that pickles are used in MB diet. One thing I do love is pickled herring.

But I assume drinking apple cider vinegar is going overboard.
Thanks,
Mistry (Brenda)

[mike chen]

what a wonderful reply! both maria and i see the thoughtfulness you put into it!

ohsawa once said, theory without practice is useless. practice without theory is dangerous.

from this regard, your answer indicates that your still require an intellectual conceptualization to begin with vinegar. we can tell you from our side that we use vinegar for its anti-parasitical effect. we will wash and soak our vegetables in a vinegar solution. (similarly, we will use vitamin c powder in the grain soaking water for mold.) thus, a vinegar salad dressing makes terrific sense - for its anti-worm effect! - but we generally don't use it.

why? since vinegar has such a strong effect on parasites in the external world, we can correlate this same effect in our internal world! thus, we are very careful about administering vinegar internally. our favorite salad dressing is lemon, dill, and olive oil. for pickles, we like salt sauerkraut and japanese nuka and tsukemono. and for herring . . . well, we like to put the filets straight into the sauerkraut!

For years I suffered with stomach and back pain. Just a constant, not excruciating pain that was annoying. Food was not digesting the way it use to and I was suffering with bouts of diarreah. The doctor put me on acid blockers and proton pump inhibitors. They semmed to help some but I was still not getting relief. After sometime I decided I need to do something different. I tried using "Natural Apple Cider Vinegar" before meals. It was nothing less than a miracle. Before this I was losing weight and was concerned about my general health. I can now eat what I like and no bad bowel movements anymore, It ttok some time but was well worth it. If you are defecient in stomach acid your body cannot properly break down protiens, which are vital to repair the body day in and day out. If you then begin taking drugs to further limit stomach acid you are playing with fire. Acid does many things in your body to make you and keep you haelthy!

Bob