The REAL Health Benefits and Potential of Apple Cider Vinegar

by: Good Looking Kangaroo (w/ Good Looking Loser)

Forward by Good Looking Loser

In the past few years, Apple Cider Vinegar is yet another compound that is supposedly yet another "miracle" cure that has been patiently and quietly sitting on our grocery store shelves.

Anytime I hear hype like this, I almost immediately dismiss whatever product/compound/gimmick it may be as just another Hollywood scam. While that's not exactly being open-minded, if you have even a little health/fitness IQ, you'll know that the dietary supplement industry is arguably the biggest scam market that legally exists on planet earth.

Had it not been for a totally unexpected experience years ago (see Good Looking Loser vs. Invincible Gym Warts), I probably would have never even considered making Apple Cider Vinegar part of my daily lifestyle.

Turns out, among endless scams and over-hyped "natural" remedies, Apple Cider Vinegar is a legitimate compound.

While it's debatable that Apple Cider Vinegar can truly deliver on EVERYTHING that proponents claim it can do, there is one benefit that is certain-

It will help keep your blood sugar [more] stable and minimize fat storage.

and I can verify that it does some other cool stuff too...

The Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
What Apple Cider Vinegar Really Can Do?

Apple Cider Vinegar is fast becoming the latest super-food. Promoted as a natural cure for many common ailments, it is no surprise that it is being promoted by celebrities by the like of Heidi Klum, Cindy Crawford, Clint Eastwood and Katy Perry as “their secret to health”. And If I can I age as gracefully as these celebrities (maybe not Clint), hell- I’ll give anything a shot that won’t kill me!

Luckily, Apple Cider Vinegar is a completely natural product.

(the hippies aren't lying to you for once)

This means it gets our tick of approval as it’s not chemically modified like so any other things on the grocery store shelves that are deceptively promoted as "food".

It is made from the juice of apples and is fermented into apple cider.

It is then fermented a second time to a vinegar, hence the name- Apple Cider Vinegar. It has no sugar.

Apple Cider Vinegar has been around for many years and though most of us would be unaware- we have actually been consuming it our whole life.

Apple Cider Vinegar is a main ingredient in salad dressings, marinades and some packaged foods as it acts as a food preservative.

But what exactly is so good about Apple Cider Vinegar?

The answer to this is the acetic acid and malic acid found in it.

Legitimate Blood Sugar Control

Apple Cider Vinegar can help keep your blood sugar (insulin) levels more stable. This will prevent you from storing unwanted fat.

Lets examine the 2 primary ingredients to see how it works. 

Acetic Acid

You may remember me talking about Acetic Acid when we discussed Kombucha Tea.

Acetic acid is what makes the Apple Cider Vinegar, vinegar. It’s a weak acid, that taste very bitter and sour.

One of the best things about Acetic Acid, is its ability to prevent blood sugar spikes and keep your insulin levels STABLE.

A 2009 study in the Journal of "Nutrition Research" scientists found that that adding acetic acid to a meal significantly reduces the rise in blood sugar levels.

In the study, they fed participants a high carbohydrate meal, followed by 28mmol of Acetic Acid and then measured blood sugar levels every 15 minutes for 2 hours. The scientists concluded that the “Acetic Acid results in a significantly reduced blood glucose concentration compared with the [normal] control meal”.

In another study published in the American Diabetes Associations Journal – Diabetes Care, researchers found that having vinegar with a high carbohydrate meal, improves insulin sensitivity and lowers post-prandial insulin levels. The researchers concluded, “data indicate[s] that vinegar can significantly improve postprandial insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant subjects.”

If you’ve read some of our previous articles, such as "Sugar, Not Fat, Makes You Fat", I’ve discussed the issue around high blood sugar levels and the need to get better control over your blood sugar levels.

In my opinion, this is grounds alone to class Apple Cider Vinegar as a super-food.

If you are trying to lose weight, then Apple Cider Vinegar should be included in your diet at least 3 times per day, ideally- 15 minutes prior to meals.

Personally, I can not 100% verify specific experiences with clients taking Apple Cider Vinegar in conjunction to their diet and exercise regimes, but there is emerging research that suggests that weight loss is significantly increased when an individual takes acetic acid in in addition to diet and exercise.

Malic Acid

You've been eating Malic Acid for years too.

Malic Acid is the acid commonly found in all fruits, but more so apples and grapes. It is what gives apples its unique sour taste. It is a common food preservative and additive because of its ability to preserve packaged foods and its unique sour taste.

Less is known about the health benefits of Malic Acid however.

Although it has been reported to improve skin appearance, reduce pain levels and improve digestion, there is very limited research to support these claims.

Despite the limited science behind Malic Acid, there appears to be minimal side effects with it consumption and given the ample amount of personal testimonials surround the use of Apple Cider Vinegar, I have no hesitation in supporting its use at the time of writing this article.

Good Looking Loser vs. The Invincible Gym Warts

(The Apple Cider Vinegar Death Wrap)

In 2005, I seemed to develop 2 significant warts.

One was on my right middle-finger, it was about the size of a tic-tac (for lack of a better frame of reference).

The other was on my right quad (leg) muscle, it was about the size of a dime (pretty big!).

I tried EVERYTHING to get these ugly, awful, hideous things off.

Over the counter treatments, professionally freezing them several times, Rx medications, cutting them off with a razor blade and letting the blood pour out- were just temporary measures, they always grew back bigger and more determined to ruin my social and sex life.

This looks like the one I had; classified as 'common wart.'

One night, browsing online, I found a "natural" recipe that supposedly was guaranteed to kill these forever re-spawning deformed mutant skin tags.

It went like this-

• Wash the area where the wart is with soap and water.

• Take a big cotton ball and completely cover it in Apple Cider Vinegar.

• Put the cotton ball over the wart. (make sure it completely covers it)

• Put a bandaid (or 2) on the Apple Cider Vinegar saturated cotton ball so it holds the cotton ball in place.

• Wrap the band aid (which is holding the drenched cotton ball) with strong, industrial DUCT TAPE.

• Wrap it so the wart literally CANNOT BREATHE.

• Keep it on there the entire day but repeat the procedure every 24 hours for 5-6 days.

... after 48-72 hours, the wart will seem to inflate and it will turn blackish/purplish/orange, a color that you haven't seen before (no matter how much you've picked at it, cut on it and yelled at it).

Just keep the Apple Cider Vinegar Death Wrap on there.

After 5-6 days, the warts will deflate and literally fall off.

and the best part-

They will never come back.

Good Looking Loser's Yummy Apple Cider Vinegar Blood Sugar Control Cocktail Thing

Years ago, I would have laughed at you and called you a communist if you offered me this drink.

Now, I drink it 5+ times a day. (2013)

It's especially useful if you drink it 15 minutes before a meal.

It tastes like sweet, high-quality spiced apple juice and it has no sugar.

It's super inexpensive and takes about 60 seconds to prepare (and 20 seconds every time to refill it).

Ingredients

• Water (important to dilute the Apple Cider Vinegar)

• Organic Raw Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (1 tablespoon, learn to "eye ball" the amount to use)

• Organic Ginger Root
  (wash it, cut it up, throw it in the drink- you don't have to peel the ginger; ginger profiled)

• Organic Ceylon TRUE Cinnamon*
  (significant blood sugar control, use a lot of it; cinnamon profiled)
  (make sure you get REAL Ceylon Cinnamon, regular cinnamon can actually be bad for you; see link above if you are curious of why.)

• Stevia Extract (gives it that sweet taste)

What I didn't mention in the video was that you can eat the pieces of ginger throughout the day; they'll say moist the entire day so long as there's liquid (water) on them. They taste really good actually.

I also lied to your face about the price of the big 32 oz. of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, it's ~$5 not $2. The little bottle is [as low as] $2 though.

(A lot of grocery stores will have this brand, there might not be a need to get them through Amazon)

Other (Realistic) Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Besides blood sugar control and a weapon of mass destruction against invincible warts, the following are some more [likely] health benefits from consuming Apple Cider Vinegar on a daily basis-

• Kills head lice (when hair is washed with it over a period of 3 weeks)

• Lowers cholesterol (probably because it helps prevent sugar from storing as fat on your body)

• Aids digestion (when taken 15 minutes before a meal)

• Relieves a sore throat (when diluted with warm water)

• Improves appearance of skin (from a long period of oral consumption and/or some cosmetics)

• Soothes irritated skin (see above)

• Alleviates muscle pain associated with exercise (might help counteract the latic acid that causes muscle pain)

• Removes discoloration on the enamel of teeth (this might be a welcome side effect from just drinking it in water over time)

• Treats and prevents candida (don't quote me)

There's tons of other supposed benefits such as stopping hair loss, killing acne and increasing testosterone that you'll hear about online (or from some know-it-all).

Many of these, including the ones I just listed, are simply untrue since Apple Cider Vinegar has no significant hormonal capacity.

The healthy natural crowd (and the we-think-we're-healthy hippie crowd) tend to exaggerate how good Apple Cider Vinegar can be, but it is still a great inexpensive compound that everyone can benefit from.