VINEGAR

• By imfishing
• Reply 34066
• January 20, 2008 at 9:07 pm
• Report post

Hi jennielynn,
I too am curious about vinegar and the acid / alkaline balance bit. It is weird that vinegar and lemon juice, for example, helps the body with get to a healthy alkaline balance. I have severe GERD so I try to stay away from acidic foods which irritate my stomach. I too would be happy to have input about this subject.
imfishing/sue

• By haley (Inactive)
• Reply 34067
• January 21, 2008 at 7:12 am
• Report post

I've studied acid/alkaline foods because, yes, alkaline foods are great for our bones...and our American diet tends to be more acidic than alkaline. We need both, but need lots more alkaline foods by ratio daily than we're currently eating (ex. broccoli, asparagus, ETC.). Anyway, both vinegar and lemon juice go into our bodies as acidic foods but are actually ALKALINE foods because it's not how they "go in" but it's the "ash" a food leaves in our body once it's digested that designates it as acid or alkaline. Vinegar is slighly alkaline and lemon juice is proably considered THE best alkaline food you can consume! I use vinegar liberally daily on my salad and drink probably 1/4 cup or more of lemon juice mixed in water (can use splenda too) daily.
Anyway, hope that helps. BTW, I had GERD several years ago but weaned myself off my meds, etc....and, so, vinegar and lemon juice don't bother me, but if you have GERD, you'd have to try these and see what happens because they do enter the body as acids...until they're digested, as described above.

Haley/Margie

• By Ron1
• Reply 34068
• January 21, 2008 at 4:56 pm
• Report post

I've tried this but it irritates my stomach very much. I'm already on 2 Prevacids a day.

• By Cate1
• Reply 34069
• January 25, 2008 at 7:46 am
• Report post

I have also read that cidar vinegar is a great "cure all". I did try to drink 1 tbl. of it in warm water/ day and found it so disgusting that I figured there had to be other things I could do to stay healthy! But some people swear by it. Good luck to you!

• By MotherGoose
• Reply 34070
• January 26, 2008 at 6:08 pm
• Report post

When I was a freshly minted PT -- 55 years ago -- cider vinegar was the darling of the media.
As a cure for arthritis! I notice that arthritis is still with us.
And over the years it has returned again and again.
And now again in terms of osteoporosis management.
Maybe the next time it "comes back" it will be a cure for wrinkles and droopy skin.
Lord knows, it is cheap enough!

• By NSD
• Reply 116136 · In reply to 34067 by haley
• August 10, 2008 at 11:49 pm
• Report post

Haley,
How did you wean yourself off your GERD meds? I'm trying to do that now and it's really hard. I've been on prilosec for about 4 years and know that it prevents calcium absorption. I actually started taking apple cider vinegar to help with the symptoms and it's giving me a little relief, but not enough.

NSD

• By Jacqueline
• Reply 116184
• August 11, 2008 at 5:11 am
• Report post

Check out this site. It raises some concerns about vinegar. www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar?page=2 - 101k - Cached

• By Alli
• Reply 116252 · In reply to 34067 by haley
• August 11, 2008 at 9:28 am
• Report post

Me too I am trying to get off Nexium and I must say doing good.. better than I thought but sometimes it really acts up and I take a pill once a week or so.. trying hard to whine off. But Haley appreciate your advice.. wondering which kind of apple cider vinegar is good to use .. should it be organic or just anykind also regular vinegar that we use with fish and chips for example is that a good choice as well? With regards to the 1/4 cup of lemon juice would you just do that once a day??? Appreciate these boards for sure!!!

• By nobonesaboutit
• Reply 116269
• August 11, 2008 at 9:45 am
• Report post

Dear Jacqueline,
Thank you for the above article. I recently tried apple cider vinegar for my GERD. Well, it immediately took care of the heartburn but I've yet to be able to actually swallow it again-the taste-ugh! I had even used a tsp of honey w/it as an article I read suggested. It's still sitting on the counter and I glare at it daily. Would have liked a natural product but boy, that aciphex is soooo much easier!

• By CelticRose
• Reply 116340
• August 11, 2008 at 11:32 am
• Report post

Unfortunately, many doctors don't realize that the cause of acid indigestion can be too little hydrochloric acid. We need HCL to digest our food. As we get older our systems produce less and less hydrocholic acid. At ago 70 we are producing very little - about 10% of what we produced when we were young. When we don't have enough HCL the undigested food produces lactic acid which is what causes heartburn in many cases. If you drink some vinegar or lemon juice with water or take an HCL supplement they can provide the HCL needed to properly digest your food. (A good test is to try the lemon or ACV. If you feel better, then your system is not producing enough HCL. If it makes it work then that's not the problem, of course.)

My husband's acid reflux is almost totally cured since he's been drinking a glass of water with a little lemon juice in it - (about 1/6 of a lemon) with dinner. He used to take Pepsid-Ac every day. I knew that wasn't good because antacids halt acid production 100% leaving the system vunerable to the "germs" we ingest every day. (The digestive acids kill a lot of the germs.)

My husband is also eating pineapple with dinner. It has bromelain in it which greatly aids digestion. It certainly has helped him. If you can't get fresh pineapple, canned or even dried will work. too.

• By CelticRose
• Reply 116800
• August 12, 2008 at 9:23 am
• Report post

When we don't have fresh pineapple my husband eats canned or dried pineapple. He says those work as well. On the days he doesn't drink lemon water and eat some form of pineapple he does end up taking a Pepsid-Ac. This is quite a testimony that the lemon and pineapple work well!

• By Blues
• Reply 117017
• August 12, 2008 at 3:33 pm
• Report post

I have read that bromelain is also an anti-inflammatory which is suppose to be good for arthritis.
To Windblown, check out this link....step by step instructions for planting pineapple (sounds like you can plant in a pot).

http://www.instructables.com/id/SFMFXE2FGTXIWLT/

• By catwoman
• Reply 117557 · In reply to 34067 by haley
• August 13, 2008 at 12:57 pm
• Report post

I mix my lemon juice with orange juice, which provides natural sweetening.

• By huntc1
• Reply 117957
• August 14, 2008 at 9:28 am
• Report post

More information on pineapple- only FRESH pineapple has bromelain which is an anti-inflammatory and also has other enzymes which help with digestion- great to eat after a meal. Canned pineapple has been processed- it is what you should use in cooking- but the enzymes are destroyed in the processing.

• By huntc1
• Reply 117959
• August 14, 2008 at 9:32 am
• Report post

My answer was just a little bit off- trying to remember what I knew about the bromelain- here is a link to a much more complete discussion- Fresh Pineapple is wonderful for everything
http://www.myvillage.com/pages/restaurants-pineapple.htm

• By CelticRose
• Reply 118096
• August 14, 2008 at 1:36 pm
• Report post

My husband's personal experience is that dried pineapple works, too, so I think canned and/or dried are worth a try if you can't get fresh pineapple. I also purchased a bottle of bromelain for when we travel. He hasn't tried the pill form yet.

• By CelticRose
• Reply 120053
• August 18, 2008 at 9:57 am
• Report post

Excellent point, Sandi.

Also, I've read that the first morning urine ph is the most accurate test of ph. Mine is usually a little different from my saliva ph so I go by the urine reading.