Many promises are made in the alternative medical community regarding the health benefits of vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar. It is reputed to relieve inflammation and pain associated with joint disease, relieve acid indigestion and help dissolve kidney stones. Vinegar may indeed have the power to relieve pain and help restore your body to some semblance of health; however, too much vinegar may produce unwanted side effects. If you use vinegar to treat any serious disease, first consult your health practitioner.
Alkalinity and pH
Apple cider vinegar is an acid. It is also high in the important mineral potassium. For both of these reasons, it contributes to creating an alkaline-forming state in your body when consumed. Vinegar stimulates the stomach to release digestive acids and stimulates the pancreas to release pancreatic enzymes, including bicarbonate. This neutralizes the food and stomach acids, and as the mix passes through your digestive tract, the pH is changed to one that is slightly alkaline. As digested food passes through your small intestine, the alkaline pH is transferred to your blood, alkalizing your body. According to Dr. Theodore Baroody in "Alkalize or Die," a slightly alkaline pH is healthier and reduces the chance of becoming ill. Additionally, he mentions that when your body is experiencing acidosis, it is more prone to acute and chronic degenerative disease, thus making an alkaline state the preferred state.
Acid Reflux
Apple cider vinegar, because of its ability to trigger the neutralizing effects of bicarbonate from the pancreas, may offer protection against acid reflux. In addition, the more neutral environment of the stomach may prevent against degeneration and various diseases of the esophagus, including Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. Acid reflux is less likely to occur in an environment where the foods and acids in the stomach are no longer irritating the lower esophageal sphincter at the top of the stomach, allowing stomach contents to move up the esophagus.
Gout and Kidney Stones
Along with helping to alkalize the blood, apple cider vinegar also helps to alkalize the urine, keeping uric acid from solidifying into urate kidney stones and uric acid crystals, says Baroody. When the urine is less acidic, uric acid is flushed naturally from the system through urination instead of being returned to the bloodstream where it can deposit in the joints, causing gout.
Weight Loss
Apple cider vinegar may help you lose weight. The vinegar may help increase your body's metabolism, enabling you to burn calories more efficiently and possibly reduce your appetite.
How to Take Vinegar
If you would like to use apple cider vinegar, "The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies" suggests several simple ways. Use it as a salad dressing by combining it with vegetable oil. Use it in place of other vinegars in seasonings, cooking recipes and making pickled foods. Mix 2 tbsp. of vinegar with 8 oz. water and drink it to relieve gout pain and acid reflux.
References
- "The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies"; Joe Graedon, Sifu Teresa Graedon; 2002
- Edinburgh Renal Unit; Kidney Stones; April 2010
- "Alkalinize or Die"; Dr. Theodore A. Baroody; 1991
- "The pH Miracle"; Robert O. Yound, Shelly Redford Young; 2003
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