Boost Your Immunity with Apple Cider Vinegar
The Wellness Wednesday theme for October is immunity! So far, we’ve covered elderberry syrup, garlic and cod liver oil. Today I’m talking about apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is an old, old brew. I don’t think anyone knows who used it first. Remains of it have been found it ancient pottery, and we have stories of everyone from Babylonians to Samurais enjoying its health benefits.
I have a little book in my possession called Folk Medicine by D. C. Jarvis, M.D., published in 1957. It’s full of fascinating anecdotes and studies made of small Vermont communities that used apple cider vinegar as a catch-all health elixir.
One of the health benefits of apple cider vinegar that the book discusses is ACV’s ability to help balance the digestive system. ACV helps to balance your body’s pH levels, which in turn boosts your immunity, as bacteria can thrive when your body’s pH is off. Apple cider vinegar provides a further health boost with its many vitamins and minerals.
I want to see if apple cider vinegar “really works.” I’ve taken it in the past, but never on a regular basis. This cold and flu season I’m going to take ACV regularly, and I’ll report back to you in a month or so on the health benefits I notice.
Do you want to join me? Be sure to get the real stuff–the raw, unfiltered product with the mother.
Here are some ways to take apple cider vinegar:
- 2 teaspoons stirred into a glass of water, with a squeeze of lemon and a couple of spoonfuls of raw honey
- A few tablespoons added to a batch of hot apple cider to give it a kick
- Mixed with olive oil and fresh herbs to make salad dressing
Thanks for hosting the link up, Elsie! I posted my healthy, gluten free pumpkin bar recipe. It is a re-worked version of the Pampered Chef recipe called “pumpkin pie a la easy.” Sweetened with honey. Now, to check out some of the other great links here…
I have never made pumpkin bars before…but I don’t know why not–they sound amazing! Thanks for linking up.
I love ACV! Do you recommend taking it just once a day?
Yes, I’d say just once a day when you first begin to take it regularly. Then see how your body handles it!
I have an old bottle ow Braggs apple Cider vinegar that is full of mother. Is this still ok to take?
How old is it? Is it unopened? It does keep for a while.
I adore ACV! Since reading about it in Trim Healthy Mama’s Good Girl Moonshine recipe, I am hooked. My husband thinks I’m crazy but I love drinking at least a couple tablespoons a day in water with stevia. It took some getting used to but now I love it.
Is it ok to take bragg’s ACV when you are pregnant? I was adding it to my water prior to pregnancy, but now that I’m pregnant I stopped since it is unpasteurized. Thoughts?
Melissa, according to Bragg’s website, it’s okay to take during pregnancy: https://bragg.com/products/acvFAQ.html. I believe that the acidity in the vinegar ensures that E. Coli can’t survive. Personally, I did continue to take ACV in my water during pregnancy. My favourite way to drink it was mixed with lemon juice, ice water, and raw honey to make a vinegar lemonade.