Sacramento and Davis area, particular the University of California, Davis has done recent studies on the health benefits of apples and apple products that focus on the health benefits. But how can you tell whether apple cider vinegar, raw apples, or apple extracts will have health benefits for your specific health and nutritional needs?
If you use apple cider vinegar as a food, for example as a salad dressing in small amounts, that's the way it was meant to be used. Don't use it in high doses as medicine. Apple cider vinegar also increases the acidity of your colon.
How do you tell whether apple cider vinegar will help your acid reflux condition? Or if you use it with animals, there's a website that explains how to use a little cider vinegar to help your horse. See, Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar with Horses and Uses in the Barn.
In the Sacramento and Davis regional area, the University of California, Davis researchers have discovered how apple flavonoids heal the body and protect it from cardiovascular disease, aging and other chronic diseases. In one UC Davis study researchers exposed human endothelial cells to apple extract and then once saturated then these cells were exposed to ''tumor necrosis factor,'' which is a powerful pro-inflammatory death hormone.
Apple and apple juice extract protected these cells from damage and remained healthy. This means in plain language that apples may increase health. That study appeared in the the journal, Experimental Biology and Medicine. Check out more information at the Health Boards.com website.
There's a difference between fermented foods and raw foods when it comes to apples. Usually, fermented foods have specific health benefits and raw foods have other health benefits. But too much of acid in your body may pose a problem in high doses. For example, if you use vinegar may help maintain blood glucose levels, you should know that it can also decrease the pH of urine and lead to a buildup of acid in the body.
You don't want acid building up in your body because cancer cells tend to grow in acid environments rather than in more alkaline environments. Also, too much vinegar reduces your potassium levels.
Check out the study in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, that explains that if you're using vinegar medicinally, you may benefit from using potassium-rich alkali salts alongside it to protect against elevated acidity. According to the article, "What are the health effects of cider vinegar," you should be aware of hypokalemia, a potentially dangerous low level of potassium in the blood.
Hypokalemia, which means too little potassium in your blood, according to that article, was observed in a 28-year-old woman who had reportedly consumed 250ml of apple cider vinegar daily for six years. Hypo means too little amount of and hyper means too much amount of (chemical, pressure) in your body.
This effect was likely due to the elevated potassium excretion related to the bicarbonate load from the metabolism of the acetic acid in the vinegar. What this means in plain language is that too much vinegar too often can wash out the potassium from your blood. You need a specific, balanced amount of electrolytes in your blood, which includes some potassium, but not too much.
Beware of chemical burns on your throat and esophagus from apple cider vinegar. According to the article, "What are the health effects of cider vinegar," in one study high doses of cider vinegar produced alterations in the liver, stomach, and duodenum of laboratory animals with evidence of erosion of the gastric mucosa.
There also were lesions in the gastric glands and the duodenum of the animals fed high doses of cider vinegar. This means it's meant to be used as a food, such as mixed with oil and other ingredients in a small amount used for salad dressing or similar food uses.
Apple cider vinegar is made from the fermented juice of crushed apples and contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals and large quantities of acetic acid. Most people know that cider vinegar is traditional, folkloric medicine used for centuries. The question is whether it works and can be proven to work scientifically without side effects.
Apple cider vinegar for centuries has been used to treat everything from skin infections to sunburn and too high blood glucose levels to acid reflux and weight loss issues. But where are the scientific studies proving the effectiveness of most of these claims?
Basically, who has the money to fund studies of a food product? And there are some possible dangers, especially if used in high doses for a long period of time. Just like most anything you eat, too much of a good thing such as ice cream, candy, vinegar, or fat-soluble vitamins are dangerous and unhealthy because too high a dose could cause damage, for example acid burns from vinegar to your throat or stomach mucous lining.
In another study, one patient suffered spasms of the laryngeal cords and subsequent sudden drop in heart rate after aspirating some apple cider vinegar. According to the article, "What are the health effects of cider vinegar," Serbian researchers at the Institute of Preventive Medicine have also linked the consumption of high levels of vinegar to bladder cancer. In another case in Austria, a woman suffered low potassium levels, hyperreninemia (too high renin levels, perhaps leading to high blood pressure) and osteoporosis after ingesting large amounts of cider vinegar.
Check out that article for more information on the various studies. But wait, there are benefits also to a little apple cider vinegar, yet emphasis is on a little vinegar such as a spoonful used on a salad or mixed with other liquids such as water or juice. And the study in this case of benefits was done with laboratory animals, not humans.
For example, researchers at Japan's Central Research Institute in 2001 reported a marked decrease of 20mmHg in systolic blood pressure in laboratory animals that were fed a diet with vinegar or acetic acid, according to the article, "What are the health effects of cider vinegar." How can you tell whether cider is right for you? You check out how your body responds to a small amount. There are blood, urine, and other tests to see how or whether any changes in your body are happening based on what you eat.
One study with humans noted that participants in the Nurses' Health Study who consumed oil-and-vinegar salad dressings at least five to six times weekly had a significantly lower risk for fatal ischemic heart disease than compared with those who rarely consumed them. Also, a small amount of cider vinegar may help stabilize those with type 2 diabetes, but the findings are mixed.
That's why it's important to read the primary sources,which are the studies in the scientific journals, and see whether the findings apply to your particular situation. Some people are helped and others are sensitive to the taste of cider vinegar. There's a place for condiments as food. It's your choice. Ask yourself, does your throat close up and go into a spasm when you taste any type of vinegar? Or does it help you, for example, a teaspoon of cider vinegar in a large glass of water or juice?
Does the acidic concoction burn all the way down your esophagus when you swallow cider vinegar? Or does it feel good when you drink a diluted version on top of your acid reflux issue? That's why it's an individual choice. Research shows mixed findings, and it's up to you to tailor your foods to your body's response.
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