Michelle Kwon wrote this article about the history and benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar. I thought you may be interested in this as well.

In addition to being a tasty, low-calorie dressing, apple cider vinegar could be a miracle elixir for melting away fat, boosting the immune system and even restoring arthritic joints.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is an old folk remedy claimed to be beneficial in treating . a list of ailments. It’s thought to guard against osteoporosis, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, heal infection, assist in digestion, and relieve everything from headaches to heartburn and hay fever.

It is still not known why apple cider vinegar provides benefits. Some proponents say it is due to its enzymes, minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, fluorine, silicon, trace minerals and pectin. Yet research shows that it actually only contains very slight amounts of these. Others say its natural malic and tartaric acids help fight body toxins and inhibit unfriendly bacteria.

Though nothing has been clinically proven, researchers can’t discount the myriad of accounts of healing that have been collected throughout history. The qualities of apple cider vinegar have been known for thousands of years. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used it as an antibiotic and antiseptic in 400 BC. It was used in Biblical times as a healing agent and is mentioned in the Bible. In Paris in the Middle Ages it was sold from barrels by street vendors as a body deodorant and health drink.

Even Christopher Columbus had it on his voyage to discover America in 1492 in order to prevent scurvy. In 1820, poet Lord Byron made the vinegar and water diet popular. During the US Civil War, soldiers used it as a treatment for pneumonia and indigestion. It was also used to treat wounds during World War 1. For centuries in Japan, Samurai warriors drank it for strength. The vinegar is now officially recognized in Japan as functional food because it is said to stimulate bifidus bacteria in the bowel, contributing to gastrointestinal health.

This conclusion was also reached by popular 1950s author DC Jarvis, who advised those with GI problems to consume a tonic with each meal to destroy harmful bacteria in the gut. His book Folk Medicine praised apple cider vinegar as the solution for ailments including chronic fatigue and fat reduction. He declared that cider vinegar tonic would reduce body fat because it caused fat to be burned instead of stored.

But what about the Apple Cider Vinegar science?

Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: acetic acid, America, apple cider vinegar, Arizona State University, Author, benefits of apple cider vinegar, body deodorant, body toxins, British Columbia, Byron, Carol Johnston, Christopher Columbus, digestive disorders, fatigue, Folk Medicine, folk remedy, food trends, functional food, Hay fever, headaches, health food pioneer, indigestion, Japan, Michelle Kwon, Newsweek, nutrition professor, obesity, osteoporosis, Paris, Patricia Bragg, pneumonia, poet, scurvy, treatment for pneumonia

I just noticed yesterday that the tour De France has started up again for the year. I am a biker but I only ride as far as to work everyday, I have never ridden my bike a hundred miles before. Every year I watch the tour and I do not watch it just for the drama and entertainment value I watch it partially just to see that there is no real limits except for the ones that we create for ourselves.

This year the Tour de France will cover 2200 miles in 20 days. For someone that has never ridden a 100 miles in a day, also known as a century ride, this kind of race still astounds me. Not only are many of the stages of the Tour De France over 100 miles long but there are a series of stages that go through the mountains were the climb may be tough but also the lack of oxygen at higher elevations makes these race stages even more difficult.

There is another shadow race that occurs the day after each Tour de France stage and this is where people get together and race the same stage that the pros did the day before.

So next time you are on the couch and thinking about how you can get just a little more exercise in your day to lose weight just remember that over the next three weeks over 150 of the best riders in the world are racing as fast as cars to try to be the first to get through Paris.

Later this week I will post a sample training schedule that the Tour de France racers use.

Tags: France, Paris, Tour De France