Apple cider vinegar can be found in most kitchen cupboards because of its usefulness. It can be used to add flavor to cooking and to dye Easter eggs, but it may also serve as a home remedy ingredient, particularly due to its possible effect on the body's pH level. Of course, you should never use vinegar as a supplement without first consulting a doctor.
Understanding the pH Scale
Before you can understand how apple cider vinegar can affect your body's pH, you first need to understand how the pH scale works. The pH scale is divided into two extremes, acids and bases. The scale runs from 0 to 14, with anything below 7 measuring acidic and anything above 7 measuring as basic, or alkaline.
Infection Cure
Drinking apple cider vinegar may play a role in changing your body's pH level, especially in terms of fighting infection. According to Thomas Baroody, author of "Alkalinize or Die," urinary tract infections occur when the urinary tract and urine are too acidic on the pH scale. Though acidic outside of the body, vinegar becomes alkaline in the digestive tract, according to Baroody, and it can help to prevent infections.
Food Poisoning Remedy
Apple cider vinegar might reduce the symptoms of food poisoning, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Vinegar is thought to work as an antimicrobial, and will kill bacteria through restoring the acid-alkaline balance. Since the bacteria that cause food poisoning thrive in an acidic environment, drinking apple cider vinegar diluted in water may cut back your symptoms, according to Baroody.
Heartburn Relief
By changing the pH of the body, apple cider vinegar may also help to reduce heartburn, according to "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies." Drinking 1 tsp. of vinegar mixed in a half a cup of water before eating may neutralize the acid in your stomach and prevent it from backing up into your esophagus and causing pain.
References
- "Dr. Earl Mindell's Amazing Apple Cider Vinegar"; Earl Mindell, M.D.; 2002
- "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies"; Deborah Tkac; 1998
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Food Poisoning; August 2010
- "Alkalinize or Die"; Thomas Baroody; 1998
- Elmhurst College; pH Scale
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