Apple Cider Vinegar-have you ever drank this?

[katharinad]

Real apple cider vinegar has tanic acid in it, which reduces access water in your body. So it also does that besides being a good body cleanser. You can mix into a little bit of natural apple juice and it becomes more tasty. Or put it onto your salad as a vinaigrette, since the body does not actually needs much of it. Its antibacterial properties are wonderful, just like the white version. It is an excellent natural cleaner for the house and non toxic on top of that. I like to use it to clean copper. You simply add a little bit off salt to it and copper shines in no time. No elbow work required. Copper bowls are great for whipping up egg whites or even whipping cream. Vinegar is also good for your hair, it brings shine into it. I love to use it to clean my egg cooker. Simply add to the machine with a little bit of water and run it like that. It removes all the lime deposits. White vinegar is great for your washmaschine and dishwasher. It removes lime from the heating elements and interior components which makes your machine last longer. Plus it takes off grime inside of the house pipes. Well, I love natural products in my house. We have a septic tank so I'm very cautious about what goes done the pipes. Keeping the enzymes alive in the septic tank is a good thing.

 

[jellybean]

Quote:
I'm going to have to try that. I've heard of that, but forgot. I have a horse who has a battle with thrush often, especially in winter.
The only time I've drank it is after a really hard work out, where I knew I'd be really sore the next day. Mix a couple tablespoons with water and gulp. And it works very well for that, it really cuts down how sore your muscles are the next day, by at least half or more for me. I did this when I was getting divorced and spent like 2-3 hours at the gym every day out of boredom and irritation.

I was wondering, how long can you keep it on the shelf? I had some that got kinda old, and tasted fine, but almost like it had been fermenting and I wasn't sure if I should keep it for human use or not.

 

[FenDruadin]

About the persistent hoof thrush--I don't have a lot of experience with that particular fungal infection, but I do know that using natural products often will reduce re-occurrence of infections, especially fungus. The theory goes that if you don't damage the body's natural flora and fauna (and yes, even a horse's hoof has natural flora and fauna living in and on it) while treating the infection, then the body can naturally care for itself better afterward. On the contrary, pharmaceuticals often kill off the good with the bad and as a result there is ripe opportunity for the bad stuff to move back in again and wreak havoc. At any rate, when I switched from pharmaceutical remedies for my issues to using the ACV, it worked fine but it was only after several months that I began to realize that I wasn't having the problem as often any longer and now I don't even remember the last time I had that problem. When I was using pharmaceuticals, on the contrary, it would work really fast at first but then I kept having to reapply and it kept getting worse and happening more often and soon I had to increase the dose and there was no apparent end in sight (and yes, I always followed the doctor's instructions and those on the package). Furthermore, my body developed a reaction to the pharmaceutical itself and it would actually make me itch and burn even worse the first few days I was using it. I can imagine that would have continued to get worse over time, and is the reason I switched to natural remedies. And I'm glad I did!!

Anyway--I would recommend that you also add the vinegar to the horse's water. Many animals enjoy the slightly sweet tang it gives to water, and it's a great general tonic. It may help improve the thrush issue over time, too.

Good luck with that. Wish I knew the answer to how long it keeps. Personally, if it smells a little funky, even if it's not *bad* funky, I'd probably start with a new batch. It doesn't cost much, and it eliminates the risk of poisoning or just simply it not being effective.

 

[BayouPoules]

YES! For all the reasons listed in this thread! It's worked for my family , and animals for many years,.. I wouldn't want to be without it.
Speaking only of the organic with the Mother.

 

[phaethona]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread

I recently bought some ACV and have been giving it to my hens and dogs, and so far, have nothing but good things to say about it. I haven't really had time to start in with using it myself yet, but someone mentioned foot issues and that makes me wonder...
I have a "funky toe" one of those super-thick nails, just like the Lamisil commercial where the weird little fungus guy lives under the nail bed. I've had it for years, and have gone to a dr. about it, asking him about lamisil, and the dr. said "well it doesn't work, and you have to take it for one year and then your toenail falls off, but even then, the new nail could easily come back infected" yikes!
I've come across tons of home remedies, but none have worked so far. I wonder if it'd be worth a shot to try ACV? if so, maybe a 50/50 mix, soak for a few min. a day? or maybe there's a better way? any thoughts?

thanks!

 

[katharinad]

Sunlight is actually the best cure for toe fungus. So keep your toes uncovered as much as you can. Hot sea sand also works wonder, they have been doing this for years in Germany. Now you can even buy this sand and heat it in the oven for usage. And of course a UV light lamps used once per day for 30 minutes. This strong light will go deeper into the nail and get it from there. It will also fade carpet colors, so you better put a towel down first. That is better then all the creams and pills. A friend of mine was on pills and creams for years, it got better came back etc. She did the light routine and it fixed it. She still uses the light in winter when she cannot go without socks. Another thing to keep in mind, no synthetic socks or nylons. 100% cotton if you wear any.

 

[FenDruadin]

phaethona--I'd be really interested to hear how the experiment goes. I don't see how it could hurt to try--ACV is cheap, readily available, and completely non-toxic, so even if it doesn't work you won't have lost much. And I would not be at ALL surprised to hear that it works.

Our society has become so thoroughly flooded with the (paid for) messages from the pharmaceutical companies that we've forgotten we once used to treat everything at home, and most of the time it worked. Not only that, but we were often healthier for it. Sadly, as a result, we've lost nearly all the traditional wisdom that was once passed from mother to child about how to heal ourselves, and now we automatically turn to the (expensive) pharmaceutical answer, often at great cost (but monetarily and physically). This is not anyone's fault per se, just a natural consequence of an industrialized world in which the companies with the big bucks get to construct the messages everyone hears.

Another example of this is the fact that many people are amazed to learn that even the common cold was once a thoroughly treatable condition, one that could be healed very quickly if you had the right medicinal ingredients (easy to grow in a backyard) at hand and a little time. Unfortunately, most people *don't* have the right ingredients any more, because they're hard to find. They look a lot like the apples, carrots, and garlic you buy at the grocery store but they harbor powerful compounds that knock a cold flat. They even go by the names "apples," "carrots," and "garlic," but you'll only find them at local farms or, sometimes (if you're careful and ask where they came from) farmer's markets. Industrially produced versions of the same things can still help, but they won't pack that punch because they've been fed on depleted soils by nitrogen fertilizers that don't contain the compounds the plants need in order to produce the medicinal compounds *we* need.

Anyway, if you want to try it the next time you have an upper respiratory infection (or a cold), go to your local farmer (or farmer's market--but make sure the produce is in fact local) and purchase fresh garlic, aromatic apples (any variety will do so long as they smell really strongly like apples), and some carrots (these don't actually have to be local, but it doesn't hurt--at least go for organic if you can--they're not much more expensive than standard). Take them home and put them through a good juicer. About one apple to two carrots to one clove of garlic is a good mix, but add more garlic for a stronger punch and faster action. Drink. Feel better instantly, and completely well within a day or two. Drink once or twice a day. If you can grow your own carrots and garlic (easy) and apples (easy but takes longer, lol), even better.

I was amazed the first time I tried this and it WORKED. Years later, and many other remedy recipes under my belt, I'm no longer surprised. Pharmaceuticals are almost all derived from plants and animals that we can access ourselves, with the chief advantage (to the pharma companies) that after processing they are then patentable which means someone can make a crapload of money off them. Which they then use to market the product to us so that we think it's better than the product we could make for ourselves.

Sorry for the soapbox. I am really passionate about this stuff. It's the REASON I have ducks--so I can have my own nutritious eggs with all the fatty acids in the right proportions and the trace minerals and all the other nutrients that store-bought eggs lack, plus the knowledge that my ducks get to be ducks not mindless, suffering machines. Eggs are powerful medicine too in their own right, but only if they're *good* eggs.

 

[ducks4you]

I love it in salads, and even though I'm slightly allergic to it, I do gargle with it when I have a sore throat, and it gets better quickly. I just cannot gulp it because it affects my gag reflex, (because of the allergy.)

 

[lishah2000]

I think it helps when I have a cold - I get bad chest congestion and it seems to really help. When in a hurry I just take a big gulp - nasty. But it's good in a glass of water and a spoonful of honey.

 

[3goodeggs]

This is a fantastic thread! I am learning so much!

I had a second pressing from some wild grapes, and put it into the refrigerator. It started to ferment from the wild yeast. Then I thought...'well, I'll give it a try for vinegar.' I put it into a wide mouth jar with a lot of surface area, let it breath a couple times a day, and I have vinegar! It smells wonderful. I was a bit 'iffy' about actually using it, but now I think I will bottle it and start some more!

He is a link that I found if you all would like to try making your own.


http://www.naturemoms.com/homemade-vinegar.html

I am too far south for apples, but I am buried in hard pears, so I am going to try making pear cider vinegar.
You can get acid test strips from wine supply companies. I pickle a lot, and if I can make my own vinegar that would be fantastic.

...now all I need is a dairy goat and I will remove myself from modern society.