This one might generate some heat. As with many natural remedies, when people believe in them, they seem to be fiercely passionate about it and can even get angry when someone else disagrees with their position. I am not trying to discredit anyone and there are lots of natural mom bloggers that I respect that might like it...but, I am going to offer another perspective on this - one from New Biology® and the years of research Dr. Robert O. Young has studied how this and other acidic foods and liquids impact our health. My goal is to help you make the best choices for you and your family.
First I should cover what it is and the reason people would take it in the first place. You may have seen this or other similar posters floating around facebook. It pretty much sums it up...
The first on the list is acid reflux. It works...but short term and with a cost. A big cost. The problem here is misunderstood science. The thought is that if you drink it your pH will increase thus combatting the acid creating the reflux. ACV does not increase your pH. One of the foundational aspects of New Biology® is the understanding that our teeth digest food and our alimentary canal produces alkaline buffering liquids to combat the acids from acidic foods and liquids. When we take ACV internally, our bodies thrust itself into preservation mode and create sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, or even other alkaline mineral salts) to neutralize the acid. From the extreme acidity of the ACV. the body is forced to produce a surge of bicarb which neutralizes the ACV and sometimes the acid that caused the reflux in the first place. So it works, but NO! In order to produce this surge of bicarb, the body has to rob itself of important nutrients: mineral salts such as calcium it pulls from the joints or bones or magnesium it pulls from the muscles and water it will pull from the tissues causing tissue dehydration and mineral deficiencies. With this understanding, the consumption of AVC internally over time could lead to things such as fibromyalgia, muscle and joint pain, arthritis, and even osteoporosis by repeatedly pulling calcium, magnesium, and water from the body.
I have also heard people claim that it cured their kidney stones and urinary problems. While I am sure it was a great relief, I doubt people would do it if they weighed the potential risk of osteoporosis later on. Can you imagine the amount of acid you are flooding your body with for the vinegar to dissolve kidney stones? Not that it doesn't work, but can we do something natural that DOESN'T simultaneously cause our body great strain and long-term harm?
Of course we can! It is called the pH Miracle program and is based on the simple fact that acid harms and alkaline liquids heal.
For acid reflux (along with many other ailments) shots of baking soda will provide INSTANT relief! And, it doesn't rob your body, just supplies it with the base it has been longing for. We take baking soda in our house several times a day. If your body isn't used to it, the salt can cause a colon flush if you take too much at one time. We take 1 (sometimes heaping) teaspoon in and ounce or 2 of water and drink it right down. For our 3 year old and 1 year old little girls, they take about 1/8 teaspoon at a time. It also instantly eliminates hiccups. My husband and I average about 3-5 teaspoons each daily and it has resolved his joint pain, acid reflux, trouble sleeping, and much, much more. I took about 5-7 teaspoons during pregnancy daily, and in a future post I will explain why pregnancy produces a lot of acid and why I needed so much more.
Many of the other items on the list are ailment resulting from long-term consumption of acidic and toxic foods and liquids. New Biology® research has shown that alkalizing will clean the blood and they will disappear fairly rapidly if you cleanse your colon, drink enough alkaline water, and eliminate toxic "food". These include sore throat, acne, cholesterol, chronic fatigue, athlete's foot, nail fungus, and the rest on the list. Here is a link to an article Dr. Young recently wrote offering some deeper explanation about New Biology®
What about lemons?
Lemons actually do offer an alkalizing response because it provides the minerals needed to form the base, leaving the body with a net surplus of ash and minerals. Lemon juice and also lime juice can be used wherever ACV is called for in recipes and health formulas to replace the vinegar 1:1.
I hope you have found this post to be helpful and I look forward to sharing more popular natural remedies that harm in my next post...any guesses? Let's start a conversation. If you use ACV do you plan to continue or switch to an alkaline option?