A Slimming, Energizing Healthy Concentrate

“Health comes from the farm, not the pharmacy,” as I write in The Curative Kitchen.

When I was barely 17, I learned the secrets to living a healthy, balanced life from grandmother, Fritzie. At that time in my life, my diet was deplorable. Meat, sweets, and white refined-flour breads were my daily pleasures and my health sorely suffered as a result. I was rarely without allergies, and I carried copious amounts of tissues with me everywhere to wipe my runny nose, deal with my sneezing and to take care of all the extra mucus that I was coughing up. It was not a pretty picture and my physician apprised me that I would have to live with this condition forever.

One day when I was visiting with my grandmother, telling her what I learned from my doctor, Fritzie told me that if I followed her healthful guidance and suggestions 100 percent, she guaranteed that not only would my allergies and sinus problems clear up within 30 days, my entire life would also profoundly change for the better: my acne would clear up, my energy would soar, the extra weight I was carrying would fall away, and my attitude would change from negative to positive. Needless to say, she had my attention, and for the next several hours and days (and eventually years), I learned a variety of health practices that—even though they sounded weird and strange at that time—still touched a responsive cord in my heart. That well-known adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” was definitely true for me with my grandmother’s loving support. I was ready and my entire life would change for the better because of that wonderful, memorable day with Fritzie—when my new approach to healthy living was engendered.

Along with comprehensive guidance on the healing power of natural, plant-based foods, herbs and spices and the importance of cultivating a positive attitude, she taught me the specifics of taking great care of my body so that my body would be better equipped to take great care of me—in other words, how to live a sacred, balanced vibrantly healthy life. One of the health foods she encouraged me to take every day was raw apple cider vinegar. She had me put one to two tablespoons into a glass of water (about 10 – 12 ounces) and drink it down at least once daily. Within days of consuming this new beverage, I began to feel better, and it’s been part of my healthy living program for decades — that is until a few months ago when I discovered a fantastic liquid herbal concentrate called Slender Cider. (Refer to my healthy eating and living books — Health Bliss, Be Healthy~Stay Balanced, Recipes for Health Bliss and The Healing Power of NatureFoods — for detailed information on healthy foods/recipes and living with vibrancy.) From my grandmother’s loving guidance, I chose my life career; my passion for alternative and holistic heath was born. And because of her holistic health teachings, I have never taken any prescription medication in my life. Instead, I choose to live close to Nature and listen to my body’s whisperings. To learn more about my favorite apple cider vinegar~herbal concentrate, continue reading.

Eating "an apple a day" will most definitely help keep the cardiologist away. Current studies suggest that eating apples regularly reduces the risk of stroke and chances of dying from a heart attack. Apples lower total cholesterol and triglycerides. It's not clear which compounds are responsible, although flavonoids (which are antioxidants) and fiber are possibilities. Although whole apples have more fiber than juice, both forms probably benefit your heart. 

And as I wrote about in a Blog several months ago,  a healing agent since Biblical times, apple cider vinegar is now known as a superfood by many nutritionists and other health professionals around the globe. It is said that Hippocrates, the Greek “father of medicine," relied on apple cider vinegar as a standard remedy. The current scientific literature and users of apple cider vinegar, which is rich in enzymes and potassium, have corroborated its ability to help in the healing of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, acid reflux, achy joints, allergies, vaginitis/yeast infections, sore throats, and many other conditions.

There’s a difference between the raw, organic, unfiltered and undistilled apple cider vinegar sold primarily in health food stores and the distilled, clear vinegar that turns up on grocery shelves. The latter lacks the “mother of vinegar” — the cloudy sediment that proponents say contains most of the health-promoting enzymes, acetic acid, bacteria, minerals, and other nutrients from the apple, but which lacks “eye-appeal” to the general public. For more information on the many health benefits of apples, my favorite apple cider vinegar drink (SlenderCider.net), and how to use apples to help ripen stone fruit, continue reading.