About a month ago (Feb 7 to be exact), I started drinking apple cider vinegar on a daily basis for health improvements and cleansing. I've read about the benefits from several bloggers and I was really interested in trying it out for myself and reaping its benefits. Read on if you're interested in my experience!
This vinegar is a funny little thing. It's made from organic fermented apples (Santa Barbara), unfiltered, unpasteurized and unheated with 5% acidity.
How I had it everyday was right before breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would mix 1-2 teaspoons to a 12oz glass of water and I drank without adding any sweeteners. Taste-wise, it is very pungent and the smell is putrid! But since I diluted it with so much water, you will barely "feel" the burn of the vinegar but you will still taste it. The smell is less concentrated. I got use to it after awhile, especially drinking it 3x a day everyday for 1 month.
Below are some of my observations. And I also included a bit of my lifestyle so you can see how it relates to you.
My Lifestyle:
1. I have a 9-5 office job.
2. I go to the gym 4x a week (sometimes 3), and I run 2-2.5 miles on the treadmill, I do 50 pushups, 50 situps and some weight machines.
3. I eat out a lot on the weekends.
4. Snacking is my biggest vice! I've lessened it but it's a continuous.struggle. I have dinner before 6pm.
5. I eat pretty healthy on weekdays, but I more than make up for it on the weekends, lol. You live once!
My observations after 1 month of drinking Apple Cider Vinegar:
1. I noticed during my first week I felt less sluggish and more energized. I slept better, woke up more refreshed.
2. I also didn't feel as hungry - my metabolism improved for sure!
3. My skin also cleared up and I didn't need to use pimple creams
4. I was more "regular". My engines felt cleaner!
5. I lost some weight. This is probably due to my metabolism working harder and me having more energy to work out.
Now that I finished 1 month, I feel it is a great supplement for my sedentary day job. At first I was really skeptical about drinking vinegars because they seem so highly processed. But vinegar actually is a breakdown of other acids and it includes other minerals, vitamins, salts and amino acids that are good for you. I've read in numerous blogs that raw apple cider vinegar breaks down fats in your body so your body can use them as energy, removes toxins to promote regularity, and clear your skin from blemishes and improve your complexion.
All of those points sound
really good... right? o_o I was skeptical too, but I did lots of research and found that it's an alternative medicine and based less on science and more on the "nature" of the vinegar, which used in conjunction with organic apples and undistilled raw vinegar, there are many benefits for your body. And it is not highly processed as I thought in the beginning.
Regular white vinegar is highly processed but
raw apple cider vinegar is not.
Overall, I felt that this drink really improved my health. The results are not overnight and you really have to go at it fiercely (drinking it everyday!) for nature can take its course, but I felt that little improvements in my health really made a big difference in my overall lifestyle. So in the course of 1 month, I drank two 16oz bottles but everyday we made it for two people so if it's for 1 person, I think 1 bottle a month should do it if you plan to use 1-2 teaspoons before each meal. I bought both my bottles at GNC health stores and at the time they had a buy 1 get one half off promotion, and it was around $4-5 dollars per bottle. I learned you can pick it up at supermarkets like Lucky's as well. On the
Bragg online store, it's $3.49.
I know this is not for everyone and my trials were solely based on my experiences. I was in it for health reasons and that helped me a great deal to get over the smell of the vinegar and the sour, pungent taste of it.
Have you ever tried Apple Cider Vinegar or any long term health improving remedies? What are your thoughts?
