Apple Cider Vinegar

Believe it or not, apple cider vinegar has been used for medicinal purposes for over 5,000 years. Some even claim 10,000 years!. The Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks used it for healing and flavor. Roman armies used it to fight off diseases. It was used as an antiseptic for 1,000s of years and is even mentioned in the Bible. Christopher Columbus and American civil war armies used it to help stay off scurvy. In Japan, Samurai warriors drank it for strength and power. Is there any culture I've forgotten? .... Oh, the French, my brilliant ancestors, used it as a perfume. (Yuck! Dumb asses, way to propagate the stereotype!) As recently as World War 1 it was used to treat wounds!

Lately it's been mentioned a lot in regards to weight loss and general health and fitness, so I thought I'd do a little internet searching on it. Here's a short list of things people claim it can help with--

ARTHRITIS
ASTHMA
BLOOD LOSS
COLITIS
COUGHS
DIARRHEA
DIZZINESS
EAR DISCHARGE
ECZEMA
EYES (TIRED AND SORE)
FATIGUE
FOOD POISONING
HAIR LOSS
HAYFEVER
HEADACHES
HEARING
HEARTBURN
HEMORRHAGES
HICCOUGHS (HICCUPS)
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
INSOMNIA
KIDNEYS AND BLADDER
MENSTRUATION
MUCOUS DISCHARGES
NAIL PROBLEMS
NERVOUSNESS
NOSE BLEED
NOSE - STUFFY
OBESITY
SHINGLES
SORE THROAT
TEETH
VARICOSE VEINS
WEIGHT GAIN
WEIGHT LOSS
FOR A BATH
ITCHY SCALP

Wow.. huge list but what are the weight loss "claims"... First that it helps with digestion, that it changes "bad carbs" into low G.I. carbs, that you will remain full longer, that it speeds up your metabolism, that it blocks the digestion of bad fats, that it changes the P.H. of your body to deal with the food better, that it promotes your body burning fat instead of carbs for energy, that it flushes and cleans organs etc etc etc. A lot of these same things are said to be the factors that help everything else work better.

How are you supposed to take apple cider vinegar for this "new" diet? There's actually a full $30 book out there that will walk you through all the steps and science... But I'll save you the $30....

Step 1- Take 2-3 teaspoons of pure apple cider vinegar with water 3 times a day before every meal.

Step 2- Expand on this for 300 pages and charge people $30 for your book.

Does it really do anything is the real question? Well, I've actually been taking some before every meal for about a week now. So far I haven't noticed any weight loss, but I have been fuller between meals, my recovery from workouts has seemed quicker, I haven't had any D.O.M.S. (That muscle soreness you get about 24 hours after a workout), and I've felt "pumped up" for hours and hours after my workouts and the skin around my mid-section has seemed "tighter". Could this just be all in my head.... SURE... Maybe I'll give it a couple of weeks and we'll update then.

Gratuitous Hot Chick