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Apple Cider Vinegar Health Benefits {Health}

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Some days back, I posted on how drinking Apple Cider Vinegar helps with breakouts. In the post, I had mentioned very briefly that even people who do not suffer from breakouts can drink it. Why?? Because of the various health benefits it poses.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar???
As the name says, it is made from apples. It is actually made from apple skin and apple cores but not the meat and then it is actually double fermented using yeasts or bacteria. So, it is especially rich in nutrients and minerals due to the presence of apple and the enzymes created during the fermentation process. It is golden brown in color and has really high levels of acidity so it is used only in garnishing instead of intaking it raw.

Apple cider vinegar contains valuable minerals such as Phosphorus, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Magnesium, and Chlorine. It also contains Sulfur, Copper, Silicon, Fluorine, Provitamin beta-carotene, Pectin and malic acid. (Source: Wikipedia)

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

  • Weight Loss – It suppresses the fat accumulation in the body especially around the tummy
  • Skin – It prevents against breakouts and acts as an anti-inflammatory
  • Improves immune system
  • Controls the cholesterol levels
  • Increases the stamina
  • Increases metabolism
  • Improves digestion
  • Prevents stone formations in the body

These are just a subset of the health benefits which can be acquired from drinking Apple Cider Vinegar regularly. You will get plethora of results when you google it so I have just summarized a few here.

Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

  • Acetic Acid (present in any vinegar; ACV has high concentration of acetic acid) can lower potassium levels in the body and reduces the bone density making the bones weaker in the process
  • Since ACV has high acidity, it shouldn’t be taken raw

How to drink Apple Cider Vinegar??
The above mentioned risks are associated with intaking of ACV  on a regular basis for a very long time. Thus, keeping this in mind, I had advised to intake ACV during breakouts and dilute only a tablespoon of ACV per day in a liter of water.

To reap the benefits of ACV, drink ACV only once in three days (when not facing breakouts; during breakouts make it once a day) diluting only a tablespoon of ACV in a liter of water. This is safe and would give the amazing benefits of ACV.

P.S.1: Happy April Fools Day!!! Sorry for the belated wish. In fact, I had totally forgotten  about it. So, how many of you got fooled today???? Do share your amusing experiences 🙂
P.S.2: Finally, the world cup is here. So, lets hope India wins!!! All the best guys 🙂

Beware of where you are eating!

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Hopefully, you have seen Blood Brothers which I had posted a few days back. If you missed it, watch it here. Now, I was talking that I was having a discussion with my friend about HIV-AIDS. Durign the convo, he narrated an incident which happened almost a decade back in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
The incident went something like this. There was a panipuri guy who used to serve really good panipuris in Banjara Hills. One day he got a cut in his hand which he did not bother to cover or treat and obviously he could not stop serving panipuris coz of a cut so he continued with an open wound. And, a month later some person was detected positive for HIV. So, ultimately a trace was run on how he got the disease and it was found that the panipuri wala was the cause. That day around 80-85 people who ever had panipuri at that guy’s stall were detected positive for HIV. This incident garnered a lot of media attention though I could not find any details on the net. If you do or know anything about the incident (even if I am wrong), please do share the news.
This incident whether true or not had raised a lot of questions in my mind. I am a person who loves to eat junk and all the road side crap (even if I stop you from dong so). I try to curb my junk food cravings but chat and panipuri are my loves and I can’t leave them totally. Now, I donno how many of you would agree with me on this but I always found roadside items to be more tasty than the same items available at a posh restaurant. Well, that might be psychological too. But, whatever the case be, I wanted to warn everyone including myself from eating too much outside because the food can be unhygienic. Even the cutlery is enough to transmit the viruses and bacteria from one person to another.
I know that this post of mine would have an impact for at max a week. It is not easy to leave the habit of eating outside. So, I would just list down certain tips which can help you maintain a decent level of hygiene.
  • Avoid using cutlery in places where you can. Going to road side stalls, sweet shops, small local restaurants and dhabas are places where you can avoid cutlery easily.
  • When the plates are put in front of you, wipe them with a tissue once on your own.
  • Where you are doubtful about the quality of water, order a mineral water bottle or better yet, carry your own bottle of water.
  • Check the seal of mineral water bottle and always order bottles of cokes and other drinks.
  • Do not worry about the quality of water used in cooking coz temperature destroys many bacteria.
  • Always wash your hands before you eat. Prefer to carry a small tube of hand wash or a cheap face wash will also do the job. Anti-bacterials are not as effective as soaps.
  • Try to choose a hygienic place where self-service is allowed.
  • Avoid anything given in newpaper wraps (road side chats and other things).
  • If you are really interested in eating them, carry your own tiffin box and ask him to put the item in your box. Newpapers have a lot of germs.
  • Similarly, do not ever put your hand in your mouth after handling cash. Cash notes change a lot of hands so always avoid handling cash before eating.
  • You can wear gloves to keep your hands clean when using public transports.
These are certain precautions which can be taken to avoid unnecessary diseases. And, I am not just talking about AIDS, Hepatitis and TB but also simple cold and coughs and other unnecessary complications.
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How much weight do you want to lose?

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Ok, so I came across a story of Isabelle Caro. I am not sure how many of you have read the story so I am recounting it for everyone. Isabelle Caro was a French model who died in November, 2010 due to anorexia. She was 28. Anorexia is an eating disorder caused by losing too much weight and not partaking proper nutrition to meet the daily dietary needs.

 
Isabelle Caro was anorexic since the age of 13 due to her personal life. And, when she joined modeling, she was advised to lose 10 kilos to survive in the fashion world. She had been hospitalized at the age of 20 for the first time. In 2006, she had slipped into coma where it was predicted that she would not survive. At that time, she was weighing only 25 kilograms. Since she recovered, she has been trying to gain weight and was weighing 33 at the time of her death. The video is an interview of Isabelle Caro with Jessica Simpson for the documentary series “The Price of Beauty.”
 
 
The idea of telling you this story was not to discourage modeling or to show the fashion world as an unsightly profession. This thing of losing weight runs much deeper than that. First reason is to fit into that favorite dress which is only available for a size 2 or 4. Or, to equate yourself to some sexy gal who might be luring the guy you have your heart set on. We all want to become thin.
 
Recently, my father went to Baba Ramdev’s shivir. He told me an amusing incident which happened there. One of the girls present there asked him how to go about losing weight. He asked her what her weight and height were. They were proportional and the reply given to her was “What more do you want to lose?”
 
I would not deny that even I was a part of this brigade until I joined my college. The girls in the school were athletically thin and I was not. So, people did make fun of me. I still had my baby fat. As a consequence, I did feel bad and tried to exercise but I am so irregular at that so I could never stick around with it. But, gradually, I lost my puppy fat and grew to be fine proportioned though still on the heavier side. But, as I reached college, I came to an equation with myself that I can never get thinner than what I was and my only vow at that time was to stay healthy and well-toned. I have always been healthy but even today I am struggling with the well-toned concept. But, definitely, I am a big foodie and have never given up on food. I have fasted a couple of Mondays in my life but they were never done with the viewpoint of losing weight. Instead, I always ended up eating more in the night. Peer pressure and societal strictures dictate our outlook at life.Not only those, genes can dictate your body type whether you would be anorexic or elephantine. And, of course, there is always a psychological background to it all. Be happy with what you have. When ever you feel like throwing up the food for the sake of losing weight, think about the people who have no access to the luxuries you take for granted and thus, suffer and die of hunger.And, I mean this from the bottom of my heart without sounding preachy. So, the summary of the story is that there is no point starving yourself to lose weight. Follow a healthy routine and you would definitely remain in shape. On that note, I am leaving you with an extremely shocking ad. Check it out for yourself.

 
 
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