Q: We often hear about the wonders of apple cider vinegar and how it controls arthritis, rheumatism and osteoporosis and cleans arteries. What is your opinion?
A: I hate to disillusion followers of the apple cider vinegar regime, but vinegar is vinegar. It is mainly acetic acid, produced by the fermentation of organic products such as malt or apples in the presence of air or oxygen. If this process is done without oxygen, as in wine and beer making, then alcohol is formed instead. Apple cider and wine vinegar taste better in cooking than the plain white variety, but they do not have any magical powers. The health benefit rumour goes back to the ancient Egyptians who were thought to have used an apple cider diet for weight loss.
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In the 1970s, there was a diet craze that used a combination of vinegar, kelp, vitamin B6 and lecithin in an attempt to trick the body’s metabolism into burning fat. You were supposed to take three teaspoonfuls before every meal. This is enough to make anyone nauseous.
Vinegar is back in fashion for use in medical conditions that are chronic or difficult to treat, such as arthritis. There is no scientific proof that it works. Of course, there are always individual anecdotes about the miracle cure, but sometimes these diseases go into remission on their own.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only.
