Monday, July 30, 2012

Apple Cider Vinegar- or as the Cool Kids say, "ACV"

Three years ago, when I was pregnant with Ivan, I got the worst sinus infection I've ever had. Sinus infections were nothing new to me, but this one was a beast. The kind where your head is throbbing, you can't breathe through your nose, even though you're trying every few seconds in vain. I refuse to take any medication when I'm pregnant unless it's absolutely necessary. So I waited it out. After my sweet boy was born and I wasn't breast feeding anymore, I went to the doctor in hopes that he had a magic pill that could cure me. I wasn't very hopeful, because I've been a sickling my whole life. Ever since I was a little baby, I've been sick. I started taking antibiotics at an early age, so I guess my body got immune to them. My doctor put me on a modest round of amoxicillin. I wasn't expecting any relief, and sure enough, by the time I was shaking out my last pill, my sinus infection raged on. So he put me on a stronger prescription- nothing. Frustrated, I called his office and explained that I've been on antibiotics for so much of my life that they just don't work for me. So he called me in a prescription for something I can't even remember the name of. But it was horrible. It made me experience some crazy side effects and it did nothing to ease my sinus infection.
Desperate to find relief, I went to earthclinic.com and looked up natural remedies for sinus infections. I was surprised to see that apple cider vinegar was prominently the suggested cure for sinus problems. I decided that it was worth a try. So I went to my local health food store and picked up some ACV. To get the health benefits, you have to use ACV that has "The Mother". "The Mother" is the funky stuff floating in unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. It looks gross, but it contains some pretty amazing enzymes. After drinking ACV for a few days, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my sinus pressure was actually subsiding. After a week, I could actually breathe through my nose again. Something that I hadn't been able to do in, no exaggeration, two years. After a couple of weeks or drinking the vinegar 2-3 times every day, my sinus infection was gone! And I haven't stopped drinking it since. My favorite way to drink ACV is about 2 table spoons in warm water with a little local honey. I got Bragg's ACV when I first started drinking it, and that's all that I use now. I'm sure other brands are fine, I just love Bragg's.
I drink ACV every  morning. Sometimes if my allergies are really bad or if I feel a sinus infection creeping up on me, I'll drink it a few times throughout the day. But I haven't had a sinus infection since I started drinking ACV.                                                                                                                                                          I really think that ACV is the best medicine!!!


Don't they look so happy together? (:

2 comments:

Sally said...

I am a believer in ACV, too. Last fall Ezra had a stomach bug just a few days before I had to fly to TX for a 4 day Pilates training. I was super freaked out that I was going to get it, so I googled ways to ward off stomach bugs. ACV is said to lessen or completely get rid of certain types of GI bugs. I tried it and, even though Levi caught it, I didn't. Woo! So now I drink it (2 tsp in 8 oz cool water is my preference) if I know I have been exposed to any sort of illness or if I am just feeling off.

Big Head, Little Body said...

Yay for ACV! (: I feel like it helps me other ways besides sinus problems too. Have your kids ever drank it? I can get some of my kids to drink it if I put lots of honey in it, but the other ones want nothing to do with it.