Print
While in today’s world apple cider vinegar is mostly overlooked, to my grandmother, it was more of that “good old-fashioned medicine.”
She raised children during the Great Depression, which made her not only tough as heck, but a bit strange about some things. She saw little use for doctors most of the time and thought just about everything could be cured with folk remedies like apple cider vinegar.
I remember on most mornings my grandmother would drink hot water with a good dose of ACV in it before she had her morning coffee. Honestly, I don’t know how she managed it, but I suppose she had become accustomed to it. She claimed that it cured her stomach problems, although I’m not sure if she actually had any or if the ACV prevented her from having any!
I bet many of you remember your grandmother using ACV in various ways, too.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 ways that our ancestors put apple cider vinegar to work.
1. Dandruff cure
Many people believed that mixing equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water would stop dandruff. While I was unable to find any studies to back up this claim, there are thousands of testimonials online which say that it works. When you consider that the main compound in ACV is acetic acid, which can kill bacteria and fungus, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched that rinsing your hair with ACV after shampooing could work to eliminate, or at least reduce, dandruff.
2. Toenail fungus
The story is that, if you soak your feet every single night in ACV, then it will kill toenail fungus in “a few weeks.” Again, I could find no studies proving this is true, but the amounts of online testimonials is overwhelming. The length of time is questionable (how long is a “few” weeks?) However, there is no denying that this has worked for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people.
3. Mother nature’s skin conditioner
While I don’t remember my grandmother doing this, I know my mother did. She wouldn’t dream of paying for an expensive astringent or cleaning product for her face, but she used a diluted mixture of apple cider vinegar and water. She used it just like an astringent, applying it with a cotton ball, and then she used her favorite face cream — every night. I have to admit that my mother had beautiful clear skin and did not suffer from age spots or an excessive amount of wrinkles. Whether it was due to the ACV or good genes, I’m not sure, but I do know that she recommended it whenever someone complimented her skin.
4. “Good for what ails you”
I was fortunate that my mother never forced me to drink ACV, although she often encouraged me to drink it every time I caught a cold or had a fever. As I got older, I remember telling her that ACV would not work against a cold because it was caused by a virus. Her reply was always the same: “It’s good for what ails you. And if nothing ails you, it’s good for you anyway!” My mother always drank some with hot water, just like my grandmother, every time she got sick.
5. Heartburn and other digestive issues
ACV has long been a recommendation for digestive problems. As I mentioned, my grandmother drank it for this purpose. My husband tells me that his father used it on salads or vegetables at dinner to help prevent heartburn, and if that was insufficient, he took a swig right from the bottle. Wow! I don’t know how he could manage that, but men were tough in the olden days! I could not find any data to back up this very old and trusted folk remedy; however, hundreds of thousands of people can’t be wrong, can they?
