Vinegar health benefits
Vinegar is heralded as a natural remedy for certain medical conditions, said to cure anything from aches and pains to more serious ailments. In this day and age medicine is highly dependent on technology, but many people are still highly encouraged by the use of traditional remedies. Vinegar is one of these natural remedies that has been around for hundreds of years; apple cider vinegar being the most widely used. You can enjoy its benefits in food or as part of a healthful dietary regimen. While some of its benefits are not yet proven, word of mouth through personal experience is sometimes much stronger than scientific evidence. Learn about vinegar’s uses in treating these conditions and many more today!
From Natural Production to Medicinal Uses
Cider vinegar is a completely natural product resulting from the fermentation of crushed apples (or apple juice) to hard apple cider, and then a second fermentation to apple cider vinegar. Because this process is natural, none of the healthful ingredients are destroyed or altered, including the nutritious qualities from the apples and the additional acids and enzymes produced during the fermentation process. Together, all of these components contribute to what are known as the wonderful health benefits of vinegar. In addition, because this product is natural and is full of nutrients, it is useful in today’s world as a “whole and unprocessed, organic food”.
Common Uses of Vinegar
- Weight loss. Many theories exist as to why this is possible, but the two main recognized reasons are that it helps speed up metabolism or that it helps burn more calories.
- Digestion. All vinegars are high in acetic acid, which helps the digestive system by improving the ability of the body to absorb essential nutrients that might otherwise be lost in the digestive process. These important minerals are naturally found in foods, but they need to be fully absorbed and digested to perform their proper functions in the body. This can be particularly helpful with the absorption of calcium.
- Replacement of high fat or high sodium foods. There are many different, and equally delicious, varieties of vinegar available. For this reason, it can be used to replace salty ingredients and high fat foods in cooking. Try substituting it for mayonnaise to produce a sweet and tangy coleslaw. Even better, vinegar only has 25 calories per half cup serving.
- Controlling blood sugar levels. Those with type 2 diabetes may need to consider taking vinegar to get more control on blood sugar levels. Vinegar appears to slow the absorption of sugar into the blood stream, allowing more time for the insulin-resistant diabetic more time to deliver the fuel to the muscles, tissues, and cells that need it. This allows for a slow, and often lower, rise in blood sugar levels, which is an ideal situation.
- Removing harmful substances from produce. The worries about unhealthy consumption of pesticides are common, but this worry can be lessened by washing produce in a mixture of water and vinegar. This will wash the produce of certain pesticides.
Misconceptions of Vinegar
There has been very little research on whether or not vinegar is truly an effective medicinal alternative. It is highly unlikely that vinegar can actually cure such diseases as osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. On the other hand, it may indirectly contribute to this widely believed phenomenon by supporting the things that do fight these diseases. For example, by helping the body fully absorb calcium, bone-thinning and osteoporosis are less likely to occur. More research needs to be conducted and studied to determine more health benefits that vinegar can offer.
Comments are closed
Related Information
