Vinegar Fridays

TGIVF!

Wow, this week went by quickly. I can't believe it's Vinegar Friday already. So, any big plans for the holiday weekend? We're going to stick close to home and take it easy. I want to transplant my plants and do some planting in my balcony container garden. I know it's a little late for some things, but this month's weather didn't really cooperate and the month flew by, so perhaps we'll just have a later harvest. My snow peas got in on time and I'm waiting for the flowers to start blooming. The plants themselves look amazing.

Enough about me and my plans. You didn't drop in to read all about that anyway. No, you dropped in to find out some more interesting facts about vinegar. Once again this week we're going to focus on the amazing benefits of apple cider vinegar. So here goes.

Since this is the weekend pools traditionally open, at least on the east side of the U.S., I thought it might be a good time to focus on the fat-burning properties of ACV. Yep, that's right. ACV can help you get back into that bikini. Notice, I said you. That's somewhere this grandma's ever going again!

The truth is, I was a bit disturbed by the reading on the scale today at the doctor's office, so I thought it was time for me to learn a little bit about how vinegar can help me shed some of these added pounds.

The following ACV facts come from books written by Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, otherwise known as the "First Lady of Nutrition."

• ACV is effective as a fat burner. Why? Because it helps to keep sodium and potassium levels in balance. Just a couple ounces a day can suppress your appetite and help you feel less hungry and less bloated.
• ACV is effective in jump-starting your metabolism. It also helps to dissove fats because of the acetic acid that slows the absorption of carbs as it affects carbohydrate metabolism. This prevents the carbs from being stored as fat. Research has shown that ACV can also lower blood sugar by up to thirty percent! Again, that helps to inhibit fat metabolism because of the lower insulin levels.
• ACV can help whittle the waist. Some people have found they dropped inches faster than pounds when they used ACV for weight loss. That's because the high potassium levels help to get rid of excess water in your tissues from too much sodium.
• ACV, used daily, can work to detoxify your body. As a blood purifier, acetic acid aggressively chases the bad toxins right out of your system. Bye, bye.

For some, the easiest way to work apple cider vinegar into their diets is to simply add a couple of tablespoons to water and drinking it. That's what Dr. Gittleman does personally. But if you can't quite stomach that, replacing your fat-based ranch or thousand island dressing with apple cider vinegar and olive oil will do the trick. Both ACV and olive oil act as blood-sugar stabilizers, so if you are diabetic, like me, or pre-diabetic, like thousands of others, this solution can be an effective one.

An added bonus, if you're still on the edge here, is that ACV sheds the body of cellulite. Really. It does. Or at least that's what Dr. Gittleman says. As a matter of fact, that's her favorite part of this whole weight loss with vinegar element. Again, it's about blood sugar control. Insulin promotes fat, so if you keep your blood sugar in check, your insulin level will return the favor by inhibiting fat promotion. Sounds good to me.

Here's a bonus tip, if cellulite is a problem for you:

Grab your loofah and your bottle of apple cider vinegar and scrub away. The stimulation to your circulation will help rid your body of that nasty dimpling. And if you want to stop cellulite in its tracks, eliminate salt, food additives, caffeine and alcohol from your diet. Good luck with that one. Even I am not going to consider that.

Of course, common sense has to come into play here, too. ACV is not a miracle potion that will take you from fat to fabulous without a bit of effort on your part. That means exercise and a reasonable diet. Period. But the ACV will speed up the process.

So, those are your vinegar tips of the day. Unfortunately, it's probably too late to get you into that bikini for Memorial Day weekend. But hey...there's always next year!

Keeping it green and healthy,

Hana