Is Apple Cider Vinegar Healthy?
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* Feature Article: Is Apple Cider Vinegar Healthy?
No, YOU Rock!
Thank you so much to everyone who filled out my survey last week! I received a lot of great suggestions on my upcoming program Your First 30 Days Raw.
I’m still working on putting everything together and it looks like I’ve already included many of the things people are asking for in a 30 day raw program (e.g. recipes, recipes, and more recipes!), which is fantastic!
I also received some really lovely comments, like this one…
Thanks so much for providing this amazing information to the public!!!
And this one…
Swayze, I love what you do – your enthusiasm is so infectious
And here’s another…
You rock!
Okay, just one more…
Swayze, Keep on making this world a better place one person at a time.
Aww shucks, you guys are the best. Anyway, Your First 30 Days Raw will be released this Spring 2011 so I’ll have much more detailed info coming up very soon! 
Swayze
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Healthy?
Apple cider vinegar is touted for its amazing medicinal abilities, anything from curing your arthritis to lowering your blood pressure and helping you drop excess weight.
And this popularity is also present within the raw food movement. Many raw foodists use ACV as a healthy way to add flavor to raw dishes like salads and soups.
But should apple cider vinegar really be considered a health food? Let’s take a look at some of the many health claims about apple cider vinegar and see for ourselves.
Is ACV Full of Nutrients?
No. Apple cider vinegar is a processed product. Much of the vitamins and minerals that were present in the original fruit are gone.
In fact, ACV doesn’t really contain much of any of stuff you need. One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar contains only tiny amounts of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron and not one drop of fiber, amino acids, or vitamins A, C, E, K, B6, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, or folate.
If you want to eat something that’s full of nutrients, and I know you do, turn to the real thing. Eat your fruits and veggies!
Is ACV a Good Source of Enzymes?
Yes, it is. But does this really matter, in terms of your own digestion and overall health? No, it doesn’t.
The idea that plant enzymes somehow help you digest your food is a huge misconception. The only enzymes that can function in your digestive system are YOUR OWN digestive enzymes.
The best way to have great digestion is to eat the foods that your body has evolved to digest, absorb, assimilate, and eliminate easily and efficiently. You know, good ole’ fruits and vegetables.
Does ACV Heal Your Body?
No, because no food heals your body. The body heals itself.
Drinking apple cider vinegar won’t help you heal and get healthy. Eating a low fat raw vegan diet will.
Should You Consume ACV?
No. While there are definitely worse ingredients to spruce up your nightly salads (bacon bits being one of them), apple cider vinegar still isn’t a good choice. There’s a reason you can’t drink the stuff on it’s own and even when combined with other alkaline foods, your eye’s still water and your nose still runs.
All vinegars, including ACV, are made by diluting the poison acetic acid with water. When you ingest apple cider vinegar, you are ingesting small doses of poison.
As Dr. Douglas Graham says in The 80/10/10 Diet (pg. 254):
Vinegar should not be considered food.
If you’re having a difficult time giving up apple cider vinegar, look to healthy alternatives. Lemon or lime juice will add nice acidity to your salads and other savory dishes and fresh herbs like cilantro will add great flavor and a hint of bitterness. A few sun-dried tomato halves is a great way to add a little healthy punch and depth of flavor to any dressing.
Go raw and be fit,
Swayze
P.S. Looking for healthy and tasty raw vegan recipes that don’t include popular-but-UNhealthy raw ingredients like apple cider vinegar? Then check out my e-book:
“Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes”
Delicious and Healthy Raw Vegan Favorites for Every Meal
7 comments
Thank you for validating what my body intuitively repulses! I have had a lot of people in the health movement recommend that I take ACV to clear up candida albicans and enhance fertility, and when I have tried to consume it, I gag. Also, I figure, if a kid won’t eat it, why should we? Also, thank you for being willing to take a stand for what you believe in as it is really helping others.
[Reply]
Frank Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 7:37 AM
Swayze and Katie,
Some raw foodists claim “If you can’t make a meal of it..don’t eat it”. This would include such “healthy” foods such as onions, garlic, ginger and all other “condiments”.
According to this philosophy we have gained our cravings for these “spices” as the result of our having gotton used to the taste of them in the concoctions that were developed over the centuries to preserve meat, and to make tainted meat palatable.
Makes even more sense to me.
[Reply]
With regards to apple cider vinegar has raw apple cider vinegar with the mother/ culture healthy or is it over rated etc?
[Reply]
Swayze Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 4:49 PM
Definitely overrated. The mother of vinegar is nothing more than dead bacteria and yeast cells.
[Reply]
for improving digestion, better than apple cidre vinegar, is adding fresh juice of a lemon, which will help to increase the secretion of gastric juice in the stomach
(lemons, as well as oranges, grapefruit, …have many other cardio-vascular benefits )
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absolutley pathetic!!!!!
You just keep saying, NO, without even giving adequate reasons for anything.This is just a biased review for someone who fails to realize dr doug graham looks 25 years older then his actual age .
What you failed to mention was acv is made from fermented apples. The enzyme content is magnified by billions, and new enzymes are created during the fermentation. Every chemical recation inside the body takes place due to enzymes, so if you eat an orange tommorw, having a higher enzyme count will ensure u get a massive energy boost,and having a low count will result in fatigue. Because a lot of people have pancreas failure due to years of processed food abuse, and when they transition to raw, they always get extreme fatigue, white tongue,aches an pains. Its not due to a die off, its due to the fruit rotting and fermenting inside their body and causing havoc becuase they dont have the enzymes to digest it. For starters the enzymes in acv are different to standard apples, and you body needs a bit of everything for longevity. Im saying this becuase acv, cured my hairloss and receding hairline, due to too much fruit.Now new hair grows back at mach speed,and i dont look so white and anemic anymore.no im not trying to sell anything, im just s student, buti just want to give light on something that really is beneficial for everyone.
i would really recomend everyone to try it for themselves for a week and see what happens, as opposed to dismiss it entirely on cultish reasons.
[Reply]
Swayze Reply:
August 6th, 2011 at 8:05 AM
“This is just a biased review for someone who fails to realize dr doug graham looks 25 years older then his actual age .”
Actually, I’ve met Dr. Graham in person and he looks excellent for his age. Plus, how many 57 year olds do you know who are this fit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzk-jh1eemI&list=FLGEQmYDSkMc0&index=4
“Every chemical recation inside the body takes place due to enzymes, so if you eat an orange tommorw, having a higher enzyme count will ensure u get a massive energy boost,and having a low count will result in fatigue.”
Yes, but those enzymes are our own, not from any fruit, vegetable, or vinegar. I do not and can not use the enzymes in an orange for digesting that orange. If we did, then wouldn’t the orange just digest itself before we even ate it? It just doesn’t make sense.
Here’s some more on enzymes:
http://www.fitonraw.com/?p=3364
“Because a lot of people have pancreas failure due to years of processed food abuse, and when they transition to raw, they always get extreme fatigue, white tongue,aches an pains. Its not due to a die off, its due to the fruit rotting and fermenting inside their body and causing havoc becuase they dont have the enzymes to digest it.”
If someone does have an enzyme deficiency from years of unhealthy eating, consuming a couple tablespoons of ACV certainly isn’t going to fix the problem. Removing the conditions that caused the deficiency (unhealthy eating) and living in such a way that allows the body to repair itself (low fat raw vegan diet, exercise, sunshine, sleep, fresh air, clean water, etc.) will.
“For starters the enzymes in acv are different to standard apples, and you body needs a bit of everything for longevity.”
We most certainly do not need a bit of everything for longevity. There are plenty of foods that should be avoided (or at least severely limited), such as all animal products, refined carbs, and salt. While ACV is not as “bad” as these foods, it isn’t an optimal food either.
Again I ask, can you eat apple cider vinegar on its own? Can you make a meal of it? If the answer is no, then it’s highly unlikely that ACV is a health food.
Swayze
[Reply]
Leave a comment, beautiful.