Well am sure you have heard a lot about raw apple cider vinegar. So what is the fuss all about? The one am using is by BRAGG Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. It is unfiltered, unpasteurized, kosher-certified and contains the 'mother' of vinegar. What does it made of? APPLES of course! Hihi.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is made from nutritious organically grown apples and retains many of the fruits' beneficial components because raw apple cider vinegar is not pasteurized [remember I mentioned this earlier?]. And in its two fermentation processes, it produces enzymes and life giving nutrients that make apple cider vinegar the powerhouse it is.
ACV has been used for thousands of years as natural health remedy. In 400BC Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used it as an antibiotic because he believed it had natural energizing and cleansing abilities. It was also used in Civil War and WWW I to help treat wounds and combat indigestion.
You might be thinking "Okay, so can you get the one in normal supermarket or where can I get the raw ACV?" , right? I got mine at the VitaCare Pharmacy in KLCC. You can try supermarket as I usually get my stash at the pharmacy plus their pharmacist are super duper friendly. We get free nagging and we loved it!
More stuff that you should know is that there is a difference between the clear vinegar and raw apple cider vinegar.
Clear vinegar (we call it cuka makan ---the white color plain usually used to make acar timun as condiment for beriyani) has none of the benefits of raw organic apple cider vinegar. Through its processing and distilling, it's been stripped of everything beneficial and can be detrimental to your health due to the fact that it is dead instead of alive.
Only raw ACV has the "mother of vinegar" that makes the vinegar so beneficial. The "mother" is made up of living nutrients and bacteria (the good ones). You can actually see it settled in the bottom of the bottle like sediment.
Just look at some of the salubrious ingredients in raw apple cider vinegar:
Potassium : Helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses.
Pectin : Helps to regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.
Malic Acid : Gives ACV the properties of being anti-viral, anti-bacterial & anti-fungal.
Calcium : Helps create strong bones and teeth.
Ash : Gives ACV its alkaline property which aids your body in maintaining proper PH levels for a healthy alkaline state.
Acetic Acid: It appears that this acid slows the digestion of starch which can help to lower the rise in glucose that commonly occurs after meals.
A few health benefits you may get from apple cider vinegar:
- 1tbsp of raw ACV mixed in 4 ounces of purified water after a meal has been used as natural remedy for heartburn and as a replacement for toxic heartburn medications.
- Raw ACV may help improve bowel irregularity, thereby removing toxins from the body at a faster rate.
- Helps clear up skin conditions and blemishes giving a smoother texture and complexion.
- Raw ACV may also help with joint pain and stiffness.
- Helps to breakdown fats so that your body can use them rather than store them. For this reason, many diets include ACV in their regimen.
- On a small scale, ACV was studied by researchers at Arizona State University. The preliminary study was published in the Diabetes Care Journal. It reported that ACV helps reduce levels of glucose.
- Acts as a natural appetite suppressant.
- Home remedy for dandruff and acne, taken externally. It is even good for pets. It has been used to help control fleas and even promotes a healthy shiny coat.
Very remedial and invigorating right? And not to mention, feasible too! So how do I take them?
There are several options really. If you are not on a diet or your BMI is normal hence no need to lose weight, you can mix it with apple juice or anything basically to remove that tangy vinegary taste. But if you are on a diet or intended to shed off 1 or 2 kgs, then 2tbsp of raw ACV and a glass of cold/warm water should do the trick! However if you tried and you think your tummy cannot take it, mix it with 1tsp or 2tsp of organic honey into your mixture; that should soothes your tummy.
You can find apple cider vinegar in tablets or capsule form but I do not recommend these sources because they are dried sources. Hey the liquid taste much better and it is cheap too! You can even make your salad dressing using it. Give it a try. :)
Happy Fasting to all!
Love,
Iliyana I. Ramjaun
