Should you believe all the apple cider vinegar cheers?
Have you heard about the ‘fantastic’ properties of apple cider vinegar? A few tablespoons a day do wonders. At least, that’s what many food bloggers, diet gurus and coaches say. You lose weight, it provides a natural cleansing of your body, your stomach complaints disappear like snow in the sun and you can use it to wash away pesticides on food. What is it all about?
To start with the bad news: the claims about apple cider vinegar should be taken with a grain of salt. If something sounds too good to be true, it often isn’t true. The same goes for apple cider vinegar.
What is apple cider vinegar?
The correct name is actually apple cider vinegar. Because apple cider vinegar is made from apple cider and not from apple juice. Vinegar is made from an alcoholic drink that becomes acidic through fermentation. This fermentation produces acetic acid. That creates the sour taste. Leave a bottle of wine open for a while: it will automatically turn into wine vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has a less sour taste than regular vinegar and clear notes of apple. You can buy a bottle of apple cider vinegar for less than 1 euro in the supermarket. The acetic acid in it is really no different than in the often expensive bottles that you can buy on all kinds of websites.
Apple cider vinegar as a detox
Vinegar has traditionally been used to clean, which is why the slightly tastier apple cider vinegar is also recommended to cleanse your body from the inside. Two glasses of apple cider vinegar with water every day would help to ‘detox’ the body, or to remove waste products from it. You don’t need apple cider vinegar to “detox” though. Your liver and kidneys are constantly cleaning your body. Waste products that arise during the metabolism and potentially toxic substances that you ingest through medicines or contaminants are excreted by your liver and kidneys. These organs are very good at that, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You really don’t need apple cider vinegar for that. This claim about apple cider vinegar is not true.
Lose weight with apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is also often propagated because it helps with weight loss. Every morning you should drink two glasses of water with apple cider vinegar for easy weight loss. The acid is said to speed up the metabolism and support fat breakdown. This is sheer nonsense. Your stomach is already acidic enough. Whether you use apple cider vinegar or not. To speed up your metabolism and increase your fat breakdown, there are other well-known remedies: build more muscle or stay longer in the cold. Starting with drinking two glasses of water is a good idea. That can curb your appetite. Even without apple cider vinegar. This claim about apple cider vinegar is therefore also not true.
Apple cider vinegar and stomach complaints
The third claim: the sour apple cider vinegar helps with stomach complaints because it is said to support the functioning of the stomach. But did you know that stomach acid is even more acidic than apple cider vinegar? It does not help with stomach complaints to add extra acid. Stomach complaints can have various causes. The remedy is often certain rules of life and more regularity in eating. Unfortunately, this third claim about apple cider vinegar is also incorrect.
Remove pesticides with apple cider vinegar
Soak your fruits and vegetables in water with apple cider vinegar and ‘rinse’ off the pesticides. Also such advice that you often hear or read. We can be brief about it: it doesn’t work. Years ago, research showed that washing with vinegar is no better than washing with water. Many pesticides also penetrate the product and do not remain on the skin. In addition, the vinegar can leave an aftertaste, especially on leafy vegetables. It is mainly the friction during washing that ensures that pesticides from vegetables and fruit disappear.
Do you really want no chemical pesticides on your fruits and vegetables? Then buy organic. Organic farmers do not use these. But even then, washing (with water) before use is still good advice.
What do you do with apple cider vinegar?
There is no scientific evidence that apple cider vinegar does anything special for your health. In fact, drinking apple cider vinegar regularly can really take a toll on the enamel on your teeth. So is apple cider vinegar good for anything? Yes. Apple cider vinegar is a nice variation on other vinegars. Ideal for making dressings. Try a dressing of 3 tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, a drop of honey and a pinch of mustard. Delicious on lettuce, with pieces of apple and some walnuts.
A second option: use it as a cleaning agent and as a descaling agent. Scientific research shows this: acetic acid (which is also in apple cider vinegar) has an antibacterial effect when used for cleaning or as a rinse aid for laundry. So you can use it as a cleaning agent in your home. But your grandmother already knew that.
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