Kombuchat

Hot new drink to get a buzz from — vinegar?

The most popular alcoholic beverages in the world, wine and beer, are fermented.

However, another substance you likely consume on a daily basis is also fermented, also good for you, and also what you may not expect as a way to get a buzz — vinegar.

Vinegar is a fast-fermented substance created by adding sugar to corn (white vinegar) apples (apple cider vinegar) or grapes (balsamic vinegar).

But you don’t have to be limited to just those.

The Raw Duck, a restaurant in the UK, makes their own vinegars from a variety of fruits and vegetables like watermelon, strawberry, rhubarb, and black cherry.

According to a taste test:

The watermelon was clean and sweet, vaguely reminiscent of those little jelly sweets you’d get in a Woolworths pick ‘n’ mix and only a touch acidic. The strawberry was viscous, potent, and like drinking an acidic coulis. Delicious. The apple was like cider syrup—very alcoholic-tasting and sweet, with a nice, sharp kick-up-the-arse at the end. The raspberry, my favourite, was like the purest distillation of the fruit I’ve ever tasted and was, pleasingly, the most acidic of the lot.

These are called “drinking vinegar”, and they’re a slightly sweeter, more ingestible form of vinegar compared to the one you use in your salad dressing.

They’re meant to be drank with fizzy water, creating a natural sort of soda.

The taste tester reporting being quite tipsy after taste-testing some drinking vinegars, and that’s because as a fermented product, vinegar is similar to wine and beer, just not fermented as long.

Who knows? Maybe we could be ordering a vinegar drink at the bar soon!

Vinegar and your immune system

Apple Cider Vinegar has long been touted as a health treatment.

But according to nutritionist Brooke Alpert on the TODAY Show, Apple Cider Vinegar, and vinegar in general can specifically help boost your immune system:

Apple cider vinegar is a great way to help feed the healthy bacteria in your system, which can help fight off colds, and keep your immune system running.

To do so, consume 1 tsp – 2 tbsp of raw, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. It’s the kind with all the right cultures, almost like kombucha, and is best for making sure you get the correct enzymes.

Cold and flu season are on their way, so boosting your immune system BEFORE you get sick will be the best way to stay healthy.

Is Apple Cider Vinegar worth adding to your diet?

Apple Cider Vinegar is one of those home/health remedies that never quite seems to go away. It has been long touted as a miracle ingredient for everything from weight loss to detox to skin conditions. But is ACV all it’s cracked up to be?

For starters, it’s said to do wonders for regulating sugar levels, which is a boon for diabetics:

Studies have shown that those with diabetes who regularly ingest vinegar have improved insulin sensitivity, and that it lowers blood glucose and insulin responses.

It’s currently being studied in trials to reduce the risk of heart disease. And it’s known as a great digestive aid after a large meal and to help curb appetite cravings.

The recommended dose of Apple Cider Vinegar is a 1 tsp – 2 tbsp per day. It’s strong stuff on its own, but added to water with honey, a juice, or tea, it can be easier to consume.

As a topical remedy it’s said to be helpful for reducing acne, fungus, warts, and other topical skin issues. The vinegar kills bacteria and other cultures which cause the above, and does so without the use of harsh chemicals.

It’s not expensive to buy in the store and if all else fails–at least it helps make a good salad dressing.

The Apple Cider Vinegar trick you never thought of

Apple cider vinegar is known for having such a wide variety of health properties.

One of the newest claims is that it helps your complexion.

In fact, “[s]ome restaurants have recently begun offering shots of vinegar juice as a skin-boosting beverage”.

And what can it do?

Avid drinkers claim “firmer skin and more youthful appearance, as well as reduction of minor skin rashes and improved skin texture.”

This could be due to “beta carotene in the apples which acts as an agent for anti-aging”.

So if you’re tired of that dull complexion and want a little boost to your glow, try drinking “around two teaspoons, mixed with water”. It could be the thing you need to help you look your best.

Gallbladder problems? Try this cure…

Apple cider vinegar is known for a variety of pain relief.

One blogger, Nancy Ging, notes how it helped her overcome severe stomach pain, which well-known naturopathic doctor, Dr. Jean Layton, attributed to low stomach acid and gallbladder blockage:

[Dr. Layton] quickly noted a pattern, informed me that my stomach wasn’t producing enough acid, and said the result was that protein molecules were not being broken down into small enough pieces, and the overly large pieces were obstructing my gall bladder…
“You just need to take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a little water before each meal,” she said.

And the result?

According to Nancy: “It’s been nearly two years since I started taking the vinegar, I haven’t had a single recurrence of the attacks. From my point of view it’s been miraculous.”

To get the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar, you don’t even need to take it in straight spoonfuls.  In fact, Nancy uses it in a recipe for sweet-and-sour sauce as a substitute for rice or other vinegars.

It’s another testimonial to the health benefits of ACV. Sometimes, when traditional treatments (heartburn medications and the like) just don’t work, ACV may be the solution to give you some relief.

You won’t believe this amazing use for Apple Cider Vinegar

Many apocryphal claims of vinegar’s historical benefits exist.

Hannibal used it to dissolve limestone rocks, allowing his troops a victory against Rome in 218 BC.

During the Dark Ages, four French graverobbers avoided catching the plague due to inhaling vinegar beforehand.

These claims may be far-fetched, but there is a great deal of fact to vinegar’s health benefits.

For blood sugar:

Dr. Carol Johnston at Arizona State University has shown that a couple of teaspoons a day may help improve blood-sugar control in Type 2 diabetics. It seems acetic acid inhibits some of the enzymes that digest sugar and starches, meaning that these are more likely to pass through the digestive tract without being absorbed and therefore have less of an impact on blood sugar.

For fat loss:

In a properly controlled double-blind study of 155 obese patients, [Dr. Tomoo Kondo and the Central Research Institute in Japan found] that about four teaspoons of vinegar a day over three months resulted in a weight loss of about a kilogram, and a reduction in waist size of about 1.5 centimetres.

We’re in an obesity crisis.  What’s little spoken of is the fact that we’re also in a diabetes crisis, with Type II diabetes reaching epidemic proportion and growing with the same persistence as obesity.

Imagine if Apple Cider Vinegar helped just 10% of people lose weight and control blood sugar.  It would be the safest, most successful health product on the market.

Of course, regulatory authorities have cracked down on vinegar’s claims as a cure all.

But the testimonials are out there. Apple cider vinegar has provided a great number of people with relief.

And it’s about as cost-effective as cures come.