Hello clean fam. How y'all doing? I know I've been AWOL for some weeks but don't worry it's all for a good cause but for what it's worth I missed you all.
Thank God it's another Friday and I'm excited about this particular friday because I have a dinner to go to. I've spent all week indoors trying to make the world a better place but today I get to dress up, put on a pair of heels that might hurt a little but I don't mind because they're fabulous, let my hair down, and look fly as ever but before all that craziness begins I'm here to tell you about a little secret of mine called Apple Cider Vinegar or ACV as I like to call it. I don't tell a lot of people about ACV because I have this fear that if I do, I'll wake up one morning to find out that all the ACVs in the market are gone. It sounds silly I know but that's how I feel, ok?
How is this awesome liquid made you ask? I'll tell you. Vinegar generally, is one of nature's great gifts to mankind. Any alcoholic beverage whether it is made from apples, grapes, dates, rice or plain white sugar, once exposed to air, will turn naturally to vinegar. It is the ever present bacteria in the air that converts the alcohol in apple cider (derived from fermented apples), into acetic acid, which gives ACV and all other vinegars their characteristic sharp sour taste.
Now you know how it is prepared, let's move on to a brief history of ACV, shall we?
BRIEF HISTORY
Apple cider vinegar or ACV has being around for at least 10, 000 years. It was used to treat various ailments such as scurvy, stomach aches and so many other ailments. The Babylonians revered it for it's healing powers and not to be out done, the Egyptians who never fail to turn super foods into idols, stored it in urns and used it to send their dead into the afterlife probably so they'll have something to drink incase they get thirsty on their journey, #Justsaying.
ACV also reported to have been used as a healing elixir by my boo Hippocrates (father of modern medicine). You see Hippy and I go way back, he understood the value of eating healthy.
ACV doesn't necessarily smell great so you see why I got confused when I discovered that the Parisians during the middle ages used it as deodorant. How? Why? I mean these guys are known for their exquisite perfumes, they rule the world of perfumes, my favourite perfumes were created by french designers so how on earth did they imagine that ACV would smell great in their arm pits? Well, I leave that to your imagination. The Parisians also appreciated ACV as a healing tonic and as a preserver of youth, ohhhhhhhh now this has definitely got your attention. I know that getting old is a thing of pride especially if you have and still are achieving a lot but I also believe in ageing gracefully which for me means being 70 and looking 35. Like my mum, she's in her 60s and she looks 45, people think I'm her younger sister and then they turn pale when I tell them I'm the last of 5 children. I've always envied her for that though but don't tell her I said so. When I discovered that ACV was used to preserve youth in ancient times, you can not imagine my joy, I've being drinking it by the gallon ever since. I mean wouldn't it be nice to look youthful and fresh without nipping and tucking or slicing off a chunk of your face so the rest can be stretched to elastic limit?
In addition to all of ACV's wonderful properties, it was also used to disinfect wounds during the American civil war and heal wounds. All in all very useful.
So let's get down to the health benefits of ACV.
HEALTH BENEFITS
- ACV as a Potent Antimicrobial
ACV has been used since time immemorial to help kill pathogens, including bacteria. I earlier mentioned that my boo Hippocrates a.k.a Hippy, used it to treat infections. It has traditionally been used for cleaning and disinfecting, treating nail fungus, lice, warts and ear infections. ACV has been used as a food preservative, and studies show that it inhibits bacteria ( like E.Coli) from growing in the food and spoiling it.
- ACV and Your Skin
ACV helps with acne. Simply dilute ACV in water and apply to the affected area. There have been no reports of ACV helping with acne but it only makes sense since acne is a bacteria infection and ACV is known for treating bacteria infections.
-ACV and Diabetes
ACV lowers blood sugar and this is by far the most successful application of vinegar to date especially in patients with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by elevated blood sugars, either because the patient's body resists insulin or the patient's body is unable to produce insulin. But don't get happy just yet because you haven't tested positive to diabetes. Elevated blood sugar can also be a problem in people who don't have diabetes, it is believed to be a major cause of ageing and various chronic diseases, so if you want to look young, fresh and hot like I do * batting eyelids*, then watch your sugar intake and the most effective way to do that is to avoid refined carbs and sugar, but ACV may also have a powerful effect on blood sugar levels. ACV improves insulin sensitivity during a high-carb meal e.g fufu (pounded cassava), garri (cassava flakes), pounded yam, sweet potatoes, I can keep going because a major percentage of our diet in Nigeria consist of high-carb meals, so ACV improves insulin sensitivity by 19-34% and significantly lowers blood glucose and insulin responses.
2 tablespoons of ACV before bedtime can reduce fasting blood sugar by 4% . If you're currently taking blood sugar lowering medications, then check with your doctor before increasing your intake of ACV.
ACV and Weight loss
Several human studies suggest that ACV can increase satiety ( a feeling or condition of being full after eating), help you eat fewer calories and even lead to actual pounds lost on the scale. Vinegar along with high-carb meals can increase feelings of fullness and make people eat 200-275 fewer calories for the rest of the day. By reducing calorie intake, this should translate to reduced weight over time. This is not to say you should stop exercising or watching what you eat and how much you eat, these activities contribute greatly to the general wellbeing of the human body.
A study in obese individuals showed that daily vinegar consumption led to reduced belly fat, waist circumference, lower blood triglycerides and weight loss.
SIDE EFFECTS, DOSAGE AND HOW TO USE IT
ACV doesn't seem to have any known side effects. So long as it is consumed normally. The best way to incorporate it into your diet is to use it in your cooking for salad dressings, mayonnaise or drink it like I do. Now when I say drink it, I don't mean undiluted because remember it is sour, very sour, it might hurt your throat if you drink it undiluted. Simply dilute 1-2 tablespoons of ACV in a tall glass of water, you could add a tablespoon of honey if you're not into sour tasting drinks, I usually add honey to mine but I can do without, either way I like it. I also make sure the water I'm using is cold, it makes it a lot more refreshing.
There are so many brands of ACV in the market today but it is recommended to use organic, unfiltered ACV with the "mother" . How can you tell if it is organic? I'll tell you. When you want to buy a bottle of ACV, make sure the liquid in the bottle is cloudy with web-like substance settled at the bottom of the bottle, that web-like substance is the "mother", that's the one to go for.
I can go on and on about ACV because it's simply amazing. I can tell you how it can be used to treat fungal infection in the nails, how it can be used as a hair conditioner, how it is a very effective cleaning agent in the home or how it can be used as a disinfectant in your bathing water and so much more but I have to move on to other things. I gotta start prepping for that dinner I told you about. So till next week, I remain your ever loving, healthy food blogger. Eat clean, stay healthy and blessed.
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