Houston... we have a problem — Apple cider vinegar remedies

It’s science fair season! Young people across the country are busy competing for the chance to represent their communities at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair next month in Atlanta, Georgia. The inspiring entries are evidence of the brightest and best young minds, as they gain first-hand experience in the scientific process. They’re mentored by their science teachers and judged by local professional scientists and engineers, who also serve as advisers in their fields of expertise. It’s a win for kids, whether they win or not.

We hear rumors, though, of young people being taught that science cannot be trusted or believed.... and that there are other, better ways of knowing.

That’s like saying we cannot trust or believe in ourselves!

That’s because science isn’t stuff that someone else tells us to think or believe. Scientific literacy — aka the scientific process — just means thinking critically. We do that.

The scientific process is simply how to think logically — how to carefully evaluate observations, accurately test ideas and make decisions based on real data. There’s nothing to fear by thinking. Knowing stuff (called science literacy) is good, too, of course, but not as important as how to think because with those skills we can then use our brains to take on the next question that comes along, and the one after that, and the one after that.... throughout our life.

Dr. Jon D. Miller, Ph.D., who directs the Center for Biomedical Communications at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, told the New York Times that in today’s era, when science permeates every issue facing us from global warming to genetic research, scientific literacy has never been more important. Without an understanding of basic scientific concepts, he said, people are left out of the democratic process. The National Science Foundation said that 70% of Americans don’t understand the scientific process. Dr. Miller, who has tracked our scientific literacy for more than thirty years, was even less complimentary. He said that only 20-25% of Americans are “scientifically savvy and alert,” and that most of rest of us “don’t have a clue.” That’s not the case with science fair kids.

Well ...

Houston, we have a problem.

Two weeks ago, a heartrending article appeared in the Sunday newspaper (of an unnamed U.S. city to protect the young people). The winners of a regional science and engineering fair, held at the state University and judged by prestigious scientists and engineers, were announced. Eight high school students had been awarded top honors and were going on to compete in Atlanta. In a special newspaper feature, the science writer highlighted one of the winners. He said the parents had been skeptical of an old alternative curative. Their “dad never did listen,” one of the winners said, so they tested the cure.

“Dad listens now,” the science journalist wrote. “The kids were right.”

What were they ‘right’ about?

Apple cider vinegar as a cure for high cholesterol! The experiments of two other winners had also tested nutraceuticals. Weeks have passed without a single letter to the editor from a concerned scientist or doctor.

What happened?

The ISEF and Affiliated Fairs offers general guidelines for students and their teachers on the scientific process and how to use it to create their science fair projects. Step #2 is “background research.” They are told to research their topic by going to the library or internet, and review the published information relating to their scientific question, and to talk to professionals in the field. After they’ve planned and designed their experiment, the students are to consult with their adult sponsor and get written approval.

Your heart has to go out to the young students when they went on the internet to do their background research. Claims of “apple cider cures” and the health benefits of vinegar dominate. Websites claim apple cider vinegar benefits everything from cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, migraines, gout, HIV to heart disease, and that it even halts the aging process. A search for “vinegar” and “cholesterol” brings up 427,000 websites, 328,000 of those specifically for apple cider vinegar! And if the students had tried to research the general health benefits of apple cider vinegar, they would have been hit with 835,000 websites to sort through.

Here was a lost teaching opportunity for them to learn what makes credible scientific evidence and that all information is not created equally. Everything on the internet needs to be viewed especially critically!

It’s understandable that a young person might mistakenly conclude that if everyone agrees with something, such as the healing powers of apple cider vinegar, then it must be true. Tallying web hits makes the “weight” of the evidence seem undisputable! They missed the chance to learn that the popularity of an idea doesn’t make it true.

If they’ve been taught to believe in experiential evidence, then claims, testimonials and anecdotes would also have carried the weight of evidence, rather than be recognized as nothing more than rumors. Perceived cures are oftentimes the effects of placebo or the natural course of an illness, other important scientific concepts in understanding anecdotal evidence (and in designing experiments on people) they missed out on.

If no one had ever explained that all studies are not the same and that studies require careful evaluation then, understandably, anything calling itself a “study” would have been mistaken for science.

And most importantly, no one helped them to apply basic biology and physiology, digestion, nutrition, chemistry, and other science principles to determine the biological (im)plausibility of their hypothesis that apple cider vinegar lowers cholesterol.

“Sour wine”

The word vinegar comes from a French word that means sour wine. That’s because vinegars are made from fermented juices (such as apples or grapes) or other sources of sugars (such as rice, barley, honey or molasses) where yeasts first turn the natural sugars into alcohol (cider, wine, beer). During a second fermentation (when wine goes bad), the alcohol is converted by acetic acid-forming bacteria, or prolonged exposure to air, into vinegar, which tastes sour. Centuries ago, it was discovered that preserving foods in vinegar could discourage the growth of most microbes and make them safer to eat — think of “processed foods” like pickles and sauerkraut.

Vinegar has been claimed to have medicinal purposes for at least 10,000 years. Its healing virtues were extolled in records of the Babylonians and the Greek physician, Hippocrates, was said to have used it as an antibiotic. Even early samurai warriors purportedly believed vinegar would give them strength and vitality. As a folk remedy, apple cider vinegar was used for pneumonia during the Civil War and to treat wounds during World War I.

The healing properties of vinegar have enjoyed a resurgence among natural foods and supplement advocates, largely since the publication of a book in 1958, where a Vermont folk medicine doctor, D.C. Jarvis made extreme claims about apple cider vinegar. He prescribed a daily mixture of apple cider vinegar mixed with water and honey as a preventative and natural remedy for a long list of conditions. Among his many tenets was that pregnant women should drink his apple cider vinegar tonic daily to ensure that their baby was born with “an excellent chemical pattern with which to meet its new environment.” Despite being considered quackery decades ago by the medical community and even most herbalists, his book is still available and he continues to have followers.

One certified nutrition consultant** and health coach in Telluride, Colorado, praised his wisdom (recommending readers put his book on their Christmas list) and the curative powers of apple cider vinegar, writing in a newspaper article this past winter:

What Dr. Jarvis pieced together was that when people are on the road to being sick, there is a shift in the body’s acid/alkaline balance that precedes the illness... Drinking the apple cider vinegar restored the proper pH to the body through its naturally occurring acidic content...

The apple cider vinegar not only normalizes the body’s acid/alkaline balance, but it is also rich in enzymes and mineral content, particularly potassium. Potassium serves to regulate growth, hydrate the cells, balance sodium and enable the proper performance of the nervous system. The pectin in apple cider vinegar promotes elimination and healthy bowels; the phosphorus prevents the formation of putrefactive bacteria. Not to be feared is the cloud of stringy material in raw vinegar, often called the “mother.” It is composed of strands of enzymes and protein molecules. All of these are good things to have working for you on a daily basis....

Not any vinegar will work, however. In my opinion, the healing benefits are only available in raw, un-pasteurized apple cider vinegar. The act of pasteurizing, filtering, refining and distilling vinegar destroys the “aliveness” and goodness otherwise available.

Like many alternative modalities, apple cider vinegar’s curative powers are based on three main arguments: the acid-alkaline theory of illness, vitalism, and special medicinal properties of nutrients beyond preventing/treating deficiencies. Vitalism has been covered here at length. So, too, has the idea that acidic foods and liquids make our bodies and blood too acidic, which is said to promote diseases, the accumulation of acid waste, and aging.

The solution proposed by proponents of the acid-alkaline theory is that all chronic diseases can be eliminated by consuming alkaline liquids and foods...

Oops. Wait, those were claims for the benefits of alkaline liquids, not acidic liquids like vinegar!

Alternatives can make anything sound convincingly like “science.” As Dr. Miller said, they take advantage of those without science skills. Dr. Stephen Lower, a chemist from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, explained that all of the claims surrounding the pH of our body are nothing more than sales fiction and meaningless when one understands the facts of chemistry and physiology.

The acid-alkaline (pH) theory for disease defies biological plausibility and is one of the longest-running hoaxes. “Anyone who tells you that certain foods or supplements make your stomach or blood acidic does not understand nutrition,” said Dr. Gabe Mirkin, M.D., at Georgetown University School of Medicine and board certified in four specialties. As he wrote in an article, “Acid/Base Theory of Disease is Nonsense”:

No foods change the acidity of anything in your body except your urine. Your stomach is so acidic that no food can change its acidity. Citrus fruits, vinegar, and vitamins such as ascorbic acid or folic acid do not change the acidity of your stomach or your bloodstream. An entire bottle of calcium pills or antacids would not change the acidity of your stomach for more than a few minutes.

All foods that leave your stomach are acidic. Then they enter your intestines where secretions from your pancreas neutralize the stomach acids. So no matter what you eat, the food in stomach is acidic and the food in the intestines is alkaline. Your bloodstream and organs control acidity in a very narrow range. Anything that changed acidity in your body would make you very sick and could even kill you.

Promoters of these products claim that cancer cells cannot live in an alkaline environment and that is true, but neither can any of the other cells in your body. All chemical reactions in your body are started by chemicals called enzymes... All enzymes function in a very narrow range of acidity. If your blood changes its acidity or alkalinity for any reason, it is quickly changed back to the normal pH or these enzymes would not function and the necessary chemical reactions would not proceed in your body.

Claims that the acidity of vinegar helps cut the blood thickening effects of fats and heavy proteins in meat and make the blood thinner to put less strain on the heart and improve circulation — are myths, too.

Nutritional woo

Apple cider vinegar enthusiasts say it can heal a vast array of ailments and prevent chronic diseases of aging, largely because it’s chocked full of nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals; complex carbohydrates and fiber, including pectin; amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and digestive enzymes. Its ability to reduce the risk of heart disease is said to come from pectin, a soluble fiber that binds to cholesterol and carries it out of the body. Its reportedly high amounts of potassium and calcium are said to lower blood pressure. Weight loss claims also rest on it being high in fiber and is apparent ability to suppress the appetite. [You have to ignore other folk remedies that use apple cider vinegar to stimulate the appetite.]

More recently, apple cider vinegar devotees have given claims a modern twist by saying that it contains high levels of beta-carotene which is supposed to destroy free radicals and prevent cancer and slow aging.

These claims are easy to verify... and disprove. Nutritional analysis of vinegar, including apple cider vinegar, quickly shows that it is not a good source of any nutrient. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, a tablespoon of cider vinegar contains:

Nutrient	Units	1.00 X 1 tbsp ------- 14.9g
Proximates
Water	g	13.98
Energy	kcal	3
Protein	g	0.00
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.00
Ash	g	0.03
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.14
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.0
Sugars, total	g	0.06
Sucrose	g	0.00
Glucose (dextrose)	g	0.01
Fructose	g	0.04
Lactose	g	0.00
Maltose	g	0.00
Galactose	g	0.00
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	1
Iron, Fe	mg	0.03
Magnesium, Mg	mg	1
Phosphorus, P	mg	1
Potassium, K	mg	11
Sodium, Na	mg	1
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.01
Copper, Cu	mg	0.001
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.037
Selenium, Se	mcg	0.0
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.0
Thiamin	mg	0.000
Riboflavin	mg	0.000
Niacin	mg	0.000
Pantothenic acid	mg	0.000
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.000
Folate, total	mcg	0
Folic acid	mcg	0
Folate, food	mcg	0
Folate, DFE	mcg_DFE	0
Choline, total	mg	0.0
Vitamin B-12	mcg	0.00
Vitamin B-12, added	mcg	0.00
Vitamin A, IU	IU	0
Vitamin A, RAE	mcg_RAE	0
Retinol	mcg	0
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	mg	0.00
Vitamin E, added	mg	0.00
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	mcg	0.0
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	0.000
4:0	g	0.000
6:0	g	0.000
8:0	g	0.000
10:0	g	0.000
12:0	g	0.000
14:0	g	0.000
16:0	g	0.000
18:0	>g	0.000
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.000
16:1 undifferentiated	g	0.000
18:1 undifferentiated	g	0.000
20:1	g	0.000
22:1 undifferentiated	g	0.000
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.000
18:2 undifferentiated	g	0.000
18:3 undifferentiated	g	0.000
18:4	g	0.000
20:4 undifferentiated	g	0.000
20:5 n-3	g	0.000
22:5 n-3	g	0.000
22:6 n-3	g	0.000
Fatty acids, total trans	g	0.000
Cholesterol	mg	0
Phytosterols	mg	0
Amino acids
Tryptophan	g	0.000
Threonine	g	0.000
Isoleucine	g	0.000
Leucine	g	0.000
Lysine	g	0.000
Methionine	g	0.000
Cystine	g	0.000
Phenylalanine	g	0.000
Tyrosine	g	0.000
Valine	g	0.000
Arginine	g	0.000
Histidine	g	0.000
Alanine	g	0.000
Aspartic acid	g	0.000
Glutamic acid	g	0.000
Glycine	g	0.000
Proline	g	0.000
Serine	g	0.000
Other
Alcohol, ethyl	g	0.0
Caffeine	mg	0
Theobromine	mg	0
Carotene, beta	mcg	0
Carotene, alpha	mcg	0
Cryptoxanthin, beta	mcg	0
Lycopene	mcg	0
Lutein + zeaxanthin	mcg	0

Apple cider vinegar contains no measurable amounts of pectin or any other fiber, the basis for cholesterol claims. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar contains a mere 1 mg of calcium, nowhere near the 1000 milligrams an average adult needs each day. And it contains negligible amounts of minerals.

Nor do its secrets lie in any vitamin, because apple cider vinegar contains no vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, or folate. What about other health-enhancing substances alleged to be in vinegar? It contains no notable amounts of amino acids, ethyl alcohol, caffeine, theobromine, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein or zeaxanthin.

Its benefits come down to a magical “aliveness” and beliefs in an unseen, unmeasurable vital energy that negates all known laws of physics.

Medical research

Given the scientific implausability behind most of vinegar’s claims, not surprisingly, there is no scientific evidence that it has any medicinal properties. The FDA has even issued warning letters to nutraceutical companies selling apple cider vinegar products for making unsupportable claims that it reduces cholesterol levels or hardening of the arteries; lowers risks for heart disease, heart attacks or strokes; or is effective for conditions ranging from obesity to arthritis. Even the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health specifically tasked to investigate natural or unconventional modalities, has found no studies to support vinegar.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, concludes there is no evidence of any benefit of vinegar for:

Acne, amino acid source, anti-aging, antiseptic for gastrointestinal tract, appetite suppression, arthritis, asthma, bladder cleanser, bowel stone prevention in horses, circulation improvement, colitis, dandruff prevention, decongestant, dental conditions, detoxification, diarrhea, digestion aid, dizziness, ear discharge, eczema, fatigue, flavoring agent, food poisoning, hair loss, hair rinse, hay fever, headache, hearing impairment, heartburn, hemorrhage, hiccoughs, high blood pressure, household sanitizer, high cholesterol, immune enhancement, infections, insect bites, insomnia, itchy scalp, kidney cleanser, leg cramps, menstruation regulation, mental alertness, mineral source, nail problems, nervousness, nose bleeds, obesity, osteoporosis, queasy stomach, scurvy prevention, shingles, sinus congestion, skin toner, sore eyes, sore throat, strength enhancement, stuffy nose, sunburn, tired eyes, vaginitis, varicose veins, viral hepatitis, vitamin source, or weight loss.

While apple cider vinegar is relatively harmless for most people as normally consumed, believing it can cure, prevent or treat health problems also puts people at risk who are deterred from seeking needed medical care for serious health issues. M.D. Anderson, according to Natural Standard Monograph (2007), also warns that theoretically, long-term use could diminish bone mineral density and interact with and increase the risk of toxicity of cardiac glycoside prescriptions, such as digoxin; and potentiate the potassium-lowering effects of insulin, laxatives and diuretics, such as Lasix.

Sadly, for the young regional science fair winners featured in that Sunday paper, they lost out on something bigger - the chance to learn the scientific process - but through no fault of their own. They didn't fail. The adults failed them.

As young people across the country compete next month in Atlanta, they merit applause for all of their hard work and talent. These budding scientists will inspire millions of others to discover how much fun and important science is.

Science is empowering. Without it, just imagine how scary the world must seem — surrounded by frightening news and sensationalized information about their food, environment and health. It’s science that provides the tools to help sort out what is factual and can be trusted, and ignore scares and fallacies that can hurt them.

© 2008 Sandy Szwarc

** What is a certified nutritional consultant? Information here. Certificate depicted is courtesy of Quackwatch and was issued to a pet hamster.