Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar made by the fermentation of apple cider. During this process, sugar in the apple cider is broken down by bacteria and yeast into alcohol and then into vinegar. Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid (like other types of vinegar) and some lactic, citric and malic acids.
Unlike white vinegar, apple cider vinegar is a light yellow-brown color and is often sold unfiltered and unpasteurized with a dark, cloudy sediment called mother of vinegar (consisting mainly of acetic acid bacteria) settled at the bottom of the bottle.
Unfiltered and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is sold in health food stores, online and in some grocery stores.
Although other types of vinegar -- such as white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and rice wine vinegar -- are used mainly in cooking, apple cider vinegar is used primarily for health purposes. Hippocrates was said to have used it as a health tonic and American soldiers are said to have used it to combat indigestion, pneumonia and scurvy.
But it wasn’t until the book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health, written by D.C. Jarvis, M.D., was published in 1958 that the medicinal use of apple cider vinegar took off. Jarvis recommended apple cider vinegar as a cure-all, explaining that it was unusually rich in potassium (compared to other food sources, it is not). He said that mixing the apple cider vinegar with honey, a mixture he called “honegar,” enhanced the healing power of the vinegar. Jarvis also wrote that apple cider vinegar could destroy harmful bacteria in the digestive tract and recommended as a digestive tonic to be consumed with meals.
Although the year it was released it didn’t attract much attention, the following year, Folk Medicine became a bestseller and stayed on the bestseller list for months. According to Time magazine, it sold more than 245,000 copies in a single week and received many testimonials by people who felt they benefited from the apple cider vinegar and honey mixture.
In the 1970s, apple cider vinegar became popular once again, this time by proponents who had read Jarvis’ book and suggested that apple cider vinegar along with kelp, vitamin B6 and lecithin could help people lose weight by speeding metabolism and burning fat at a faster rate.
Unlike white vinegar, apple cider vinegar is a light yellow-brown color and is often sold unfiltered and unpasteurized with a dark, cloudy sediment called mother of vinegar (consisting mainly of acetic acid bacteria) settled at the bottom of the bottle.
Unfiltered and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is sold in health food stores, online and in some grocery stores.
Although other types of vinegar -- such as white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and rice wine vinegar -- are used mainly in cooking, apple cider vinegar is used primarily for health purposes. Hippocrates was said to have used it as a health tonic and American soldiers are said to have used it to combat indigestion, pneumonia and scurvy.
But it wasn’t until the book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health, written by D.C. Jarvis, M.D., was published in 1958 that the medicinal use of apple cider vinegar took off. Jarvis recommended apple cider vinegar as a cure-all, explaining that it was unusually rich in potassium (compared to other food sources, it is not). He said that mixing the apple cider vinegar with honey, a mixture he called “honegar,” enhanced the healing power of the vinegar. Jarvis also wrote that apple cider vinegar could destroy harmful bacteria in the digestive tract and recommended as a digestive tonic to be consumed with meals.
Although the year it was released it didn’t attract much attention, the following year, Folk Medicine became a bestseller and stayed on the bestseller list for months. According to Time magazine, it sold more than 245,000 copies in a single week and received many testimonials by people who felt they benefited from the apple cider vinegar and honey mixture.
In the 1970s, apple cider vinegar became popular once again, this time by proponents who had read Jarvis’ book and suggested that apple cider vinegar along with kelp, vitamin B6 and lecithin could help people lose weight by speeding metabolism and burning fat at a faster rate.
- Apple Vinegar Cider-
