Science please people, not blind faith and unfounded claims stated as fact.
Apple cider vinegar is a weak acid - it won't cause any radical change in stomach pH or blood plasma, or renal acidity.
The amount of potassium found in the vinegar is small. Potassium is easily obtained from bananas, legumes, tomatoes or citrus fruits (last 2 are very good sources). Or there's always potassium chloride, found on any supermarket shelf.
There have actually been reported cases of where ACV has been suspected to cause a lowering of potassium levels, although I haven't seen the medical literature on this. Also, because of sugars present in the vinegar, it should be approached with care by anyone with diabetes. Plain old clear vinegar would be a better alternative to these people.
We produce acetic acid and acetates in our bodies all the time. The acetate ion is the most essential part of the Krebs or citric acid cycle - without which you would die in an instant. Citrate is produced from the actions of citrate synthase on acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate.
Ethanol, yes alcohol, is metabolized into - wait for it - acetic acid, and because of the ethanol produced in the gut and from other metabolic processes, that occurs normally without consuming any alcohol - or vinegar.
As for arthritis and psoriasis; My mother took apple cider vinegar almost everyday for most of her life. She simply loved to have a bowel of home grown onions and tomatoes soaking in the vinegar. Today in her late seventies, she is plagued by severe arthritis and psoriasis, and she can't touch apple cider vinegar as it gives her unbearable indigestion. I also know of another lady who developed a terrible form of arthritis at around age 30, and she had been a religious daily consumer of ACV. So I'd hardly call it a preventative, or a panacea for arthritis type disorders.
People with gastric, peptic or oesophageal ulcers need to be very careful with ACV. It might be a weak acid, but it can still strip some of the protective mucous lining off the stomach. As a natural response, the stomach will often release more HC
l which, as Atlas said, is a strong acid, and will cause irritation to susceptible individuals. ACV may assist slightly in the digestion of some fats and it will act as a buffer ( sodium acetate) when in parts of the digestive environment, which may in turn affect the release of pepsin and other enzymes. So there may be something to
some the digestive claims.
However, from years of observation, the best application for acetic acid is a topical one, used to cure candida or yeast infections. It's mild in that sense- although it will sting like razor cuts - but because it's acidic it will neutralize the alkaline environment that thrush and other nasty fungi create, and thrive in.
In saying all that, I love balsamic vinegar in my special french dressing. Just for the taste though.
Shit I'm opening up an entirely different issue... main thing is forget science to prove every damn thing to you in order to believe it.
I bet you're the type of person who doesn't believe in the science that gives you all the wonderful toys and lifestyle products you take for granted. Plastics, medicines, foods, etc etc, all born from the world of chemistry. And what of the successful medical products that save thousands of lives everyday?
Go and learn the science before attempting to undermine the principles responsible for us progressing as a species. Science is advancing all the time. What was allowed once - born often through necessity, and so advanced with childlike ignorance or half understanding - is today much more scrutinized and thoroughly evaluated.
When applied properly to nutrition, Scientific understanding is
the reason why some people can survive on vegan and other diets. Those who don't check the body's requirements and insure they get sufficient of the nutrients etc required, usually suffer hideously later in life. I can cite many examples, from rotten teeth, to liver failure, to osteoarthritis in 30 year old males.
Science is still in it's infancy in the sense that it can't as yet explain everything, and because of that, mistakes will be made. But in that sense, it's getting closer to ideal every day. It's an exciting time to study science - and important IMO, or you'll simply find yourself arguing in ignorance with no rational founding - and that looks, and is, really pathetic. As we draw closer to unwrapping the mysteries of the mind and how the brain functions, we will someday soon cure some of the most ghastly diseases that have to date proved elusive or difficult to understand. Cancer cures will abound over the next 5 years. Many people are already cured by chemotherapy and similar methodologies. they may not be the best medicine, but the drugs are advancing all the time. Some of the newer platinum based chemo agents can be injected directly into the brain without destroying healthy cells, and have produced amazing results in trials.
Unfounded, esoteric based blind faith is why there is so much trouble in the world today. Learn some science, dig up the studies,
then critically evaluate.
