The dangers of blogging and ACV.

I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging.  Part of it had to do with being under the weather, but I'll get to that in a bit.  The biggest part is that I'm still unsure of what I want this blog to be.  So at the moment it's basically nonexistent.

I know what I don't want it to be.  Narcissistic and/or vapid.  There's always a danger of that when you're blogging about yourself.  Although I suppose there's a danger of that no matter what you blog about.  Someone please holler at me if this place threatens to become any of those terrible adjectives that describe the worst sort of blogs.  Insipid. Twee.  Self-indulgent.  Need I go on?

Ick.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way let's talk apple cider vinegar.

One passion of mine that I've never discussed on this blog is healthy eating.  And by that I don't mean low-fat, low-cal, etc.  Double ick.  That's a post/rant for another day.

For the past couple of years I've worked on eating as cleanly as possible.  No boxed meals, frozen meals, canned meals, bottled dressings, etc.  I'll go into more details another time, but basically that means cooking from scratch with whole foods, which are foods as close to their natural state as possible.

But now I'm getting slightly off-topic.  Healthy eating is indeed a passion of mine.

As I mentioned above, part of the reason for my blogging absence was that I'd been feeling under the weather.  For a couple of weeks I had stomach issues.  Anytime I'd eat, no matter what it was, my belly blew up like a blowfish and gurgled and churned constantly.  Never mind the aches and pains.  I'm not sure what was going on, but it wasn't pretty and there seemed to be no end in sight.

You can hardly be interested in healthy living and healthy living blogs without coming across praise for apple cider vinegar.  ACV is said to benefit digestion, heartburn, skin conditions, joint pain, energy levels, even weight loss.

For months I debated trying it but didn't want to get sucked into some silly health nut fad, though to be fair it dates back to Hippocrates.  I've read testimonials singing the praises of ACV and I've read reports stating that there is no scientific evidence of its claims.

Fast forward to my recent stomach issues and I decided it was worth a shot.  I dragged my achey self to Whole Foods (They don't carry the good stuff at Walmart.) and picked up a bottle of Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Unpasteurized Gluten Free Apple Cider Vinegar with The 'Mother'.  Say that 3 times fast.  Apparently ACV should be raw, unfiltered, and with the 'mother' (the sediment at the bottom).  Also, Bragg is unanimously, as far as I can tell, the recommended brand.

In less than a week all of my stomach woes were completely gone.  Not only that, but I never bloat after eating anymore.  I also have more energy.  It's amazing!  Next stop, an online order for a gallon jug of the stuff.

Because of the strong flavor ACV is usually diluted.   Distilled water is best, but so far I've been using tap.  I plan on going distilled soon.  Honey, preferably raw, is often added for taste and is believed to be a healing aid in its own right.  Particularly if you have allergies, raw local honey is best.

Here's how I do it:

2 teaspoons ACV
1-2 teaspoons honey
8-10 ounces warm water  

3 times a day

Some people take as much as 1 tablespoon ACV 3 times a day.  Some don't dilute the ACV at all, although it's better for your enamel if you do.

ACV is believed to help with:

MD
MS
Parkinson's
Bi-polar
Crohn's 
Epilepsy
Cancer
Rheumatism
Arthritis
IBS    
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue
AIDS
and more

ACV doesn't help everyone with those diseases/disorders, but it has helped some to the point of no longer needing their medications.

In my opinion, apple cider vinegar is completely worth trying if your health is suffering or if you're just not feeling as well as you think you could.