With finals starting today, I’ve decided to ditch the boozy recipe theme this week for a healthier mocktail. In the past few months, I’ve heard a lot about the health effects of apple cider vinegar and decided to figure out what the real benefits were for myself. I hit up WebMD and, along with discovering I have cancer, heart failure, and every other possible disease, found out what’s true and what isn’t about apple cider vinegar.
The most researched effect of apple cider vinegar is that it helps lower glucose levels in the blood stream, which is promising for those with diabetes. There was also a study done that claims the vinegar potentially helps you to feel more satisfied with a meal and drinking it along with food may lead to weight loss. There’s also some data on cancer, cholesterol, and blood pressure, but these studies were preliminary and not completely conclusive. There are also many claims out there that apple cider vinegar helps to improve skin health and appearance, aids in digestion, and helps with arthritis. However, these are anecdotal and have not been confirmed in any controlled studies. WebMD recommends checking with your doctor before starting any serious, daily intake of vinegar (especially if you have diabetes), but having a drink every once and a while is harmless, and it’s always fun to try a new fad.
Last night, I made a drink of warm water with lemon, honey, and apple cider vinegar. On top of the potential benefits of the apple cider vinegar, honey is also a known cough suppressant and may have helpful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Lemon also has vitamin C, which helps to prevent colds and the flu, and is anti-inflammatory.
The Ingredients:
- 2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
Daniel Stein, the writer of the blog where I found this recipe, recommends using only warm water, so rather than boil the water I stuck a mug in the microwave for 45 seconds. Then I added the lemon (whole, freshly squeezed) and honey (I used 2 teaspoons), as well as, confession time, 2 tablespoons of vinegar (I read the measurement wrong!).
I stirred the whole concoction up and was tentative to try it because it smelled awful. However, when I finally took a sip it didn’t taste too bad. To be fair, it didn’t taste good; but it didn’t taste bad either. And as I kept drinking, the more I enjoyed it. I originally intended to give the drink a rating of 6, however, now knowing I used double the vinegar recommended, I’ll bump the score up.
The Final Product
Overall Rating: 7.5
Time Spent in Kitchen: 3 minutes
Sources:
http://optimalbeauty.org/2013/06/02/warm-water-with-lemon-apple-cider-vinegar-what-why-how/
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/medicinal-uses-of-honey?page=3