Apple Cider Vinegar A Natural Health Tonic
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Many of the members of the cleansing community tell me they have made this practice part of their daily routine even after the cleanse is over. I love hearing how the practices from the cleanse find their way into your life to deliver continued harmony and balance.
It is my intention in all of my cleanses to give you tricks and tips to boost your body’s ability to thrive beyond just the 5 days.
Drinking apple cider vinegar in water before your main meal as a ritual is one easy way to make an improvement in your health. Sign up for the Nourishing Food Spring Cleanse to start creating rituals that will allow you to experience the vibrant health you want.
In the Nourishing Foods Spring Cleanse you will cleanse while enjoying simple recipes for the season’s best produce, from asparagus to watercress. You will enjoy soothing soups, easy to make wraps, smoothies, puddings and more.
Nourishing Foods Spring Cleanse
Restore Your Liver
April 20-24, 2015
In the winter you naturally consume heavier foods. Toxins accumulate in your fat cells. This makes it difficult for your liver to do it’s job. Right now as we enter spring your liver is working extra hard to process the toxins we are exposed to each day.
Spring is the ideal time to cleanse. It offers a chance to RETORE and PURIFY. It is the season traditionally associated with regeneration.
By taking care of you liver this spring you begin now to get healthy and stay healthy throughout the year.
Mark your calendar to restore your liver now!
Got Cleansing Questions? Check out my RESTORE Your Liver FAQ sheet.
Whether you join us for the cleanse or not, I hope you include Apple Cider Vinegar as one of your Eat Well and Enjoy Life healthy rituals for one month and see how you feel.
Read all about how to use Apple Cider Vinegar and it’s health benefits in today’s blog.
Apple Cider Vinegar A Natural Health Tonic
Apple cider vinegar has been shown to heal conditions related to the skin, digestion and a general feeling of sluggishness. These conditions are often related to the liver. Apple cider vinegar flushes toxins that build up in the body, especially the liver. It flushes the liver, boosting the blood filtration process and improving your energy levels.
Apple Cider Vinegar when added to water is a potent detoxifier that will help increase your energy and get rid of fat.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)?
Real apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting organic pressed apple juice until the sugars turn to vinegar. It should be unfiltered and unpasteurized to keep the beneficial enzymes, pectin and trace minerals intact. This potent part of the vinegar is referred to as the “mother”. It is visible as darker cloudy strings in the bottom of the bottle. Before using your vinegar it is best to shake it up to mix in these rich brownish beneficial agents.
Raw organic apple cider vinegar also contains malic acid giving it antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.
It contains fat burning acetic acid and the pectic helps lower LDL cholesterol.
Always buy RAW Apple Cider Vinegar, that is unpasteurized. When the vinegar is pasteurized and filtered you lose “the mother”. This raw vinegar has many benefits.
Let look at how to take ACV and some of the common benefits it provides
How to take Apple Cider Vinegar
For daily maintenance, weight loss and pH balancing
- 1 Tb in 8 oz of water before your main meal
For liver cleansing or acute conditions like acid reflux :
- 1 Tb in 8 oz of water when you wake up in the morning
- 1 Tb in 8 oz of water before lunch
- 1 Tb in 8 oz of water before dinner
Yes, it does taste a bit sour, but that is a good thing. If you really can’t handle it start with 1 tsp and work up. Your taste buds will get used to it. If necessary add in a few drops of stevia.
TIP: The next time you have a sugar craving put 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar in 8 ounces of water, drink it down. The sour taste stops sugar cravings, preventing you from indulging.
Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Improves Digestion
The sour taste promotes salivation, the first step in the digestive process. Drinking it before your meal gets your digestion going and you naturally begin assimilating more from your food. You must use RAW ACV with all the valuable minerals and trace elements in tact.
Drinking ACV regularly improves digestion and you naturally begin assimilating more nutrients from your food. You have more energy and less hunger.
Relieves Intestinal Problems and Heartburn
Apple cider vinegar water corrects low stomach acid which leads to heartburn. While it sounds counter intuitive, most problems with heartburn and acid reflux come from too little stomach acid not too much. Simply put, when you don’t have strong enough stomach acids the LES valve doesn’t stay closed properly resulting in stomach acid splashing up into the esophagus. The acid in your esophagus causes a burning sensation in your chest, heartburn, or a sour taste in the back of your mouth. If you have these types of stomach problem start out with a very dilute mixture and build up.
Apple pectin fiber, found in “the mother” of raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar, soothes the entire gastrointestinal tract, helping to prevent stomach cramps, bloating and gas. This makes it beneficial for diarrhea. Oddly enough it is also helpful for constipation. It stimulates peristalsis but won’t have this effect unless needed. Certain substances like ACV adapt to the condition the body is experiencing to restore balance.
Weight Loss and Fat Reduction
Sour foods are generally cleansing and stimulate digestion. When you have an apple cider vinegar drink before meals studies show it suppresses the accumulation of body fat and lipids that have accumulated in the liver.
The sour taste will also reduce your hunger levels. If you want to use ACV for weight loss it is best to include it in conjunction with a diet of whole natural foods; 70% vegetables 30% protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Boost Your Immune System
ACV contains beneficial acids like acetic acid and malic acid which improve the make-up of the friendly bacteria in your gut. Your intestinal bacteria make up the majority of your body’s immune system. When you have more good bacteria it improves your overall immunity.
Malic acid is also antiviral which is the reason people who use apple cider vinegar experience fewer colds.
The acids in ACV benefit your lymphatic system by breaking up the mucus in your body. This is very beneficial for sinus congestion and allergy relief.
Blood Sugar Balancing
The acetic acid in ACV has been shown in several studies to slow down the digestion of simple carbohydrates preventing highs and lows that occur in a high carbohydrate diet. It may be helpful in preventing diabetes.
Detoxification
Drinking apple cider vinegar in water has a detoxifying effect on your liver. In addition to all the benefits already listed, it has a powerful alkalizing effect on your body allowing your liver and other organs to function more effectively. When your organs are working well you easily remove the toxins from your body.
Even though it is acidic outside the body, ACV like lemon water is an alkalizing drink which reduces acids in the body.
Additional Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has been a home remedy for many ailments long before we had antibiotics. For the reasons mentioned above it has also been known to:
- Lower high blood pressure
- Prevent and combat candida
- Prevent bad breath
- Prevent muscle fatigue after exercise
- Protect against food poisoning
- Alleviate symptoms of arthritis and gout
- Relieve leg cramps
- Benefit your skin, when used internally and externally
- Relieve vaginal irritation