Just a bit of food for thought, the drug companies that are trying to get a "new" drug approved by the FDA are the same drug companies that are PAYING for that testing process. Quite frankly, I don't trust any of them. Plants were created for a purpose, many of them do have healing properties that those drug companies some people put so much stock in would go to any lengths to keep people from learning about or believing in. Tell me, what would happen if the world was to find out that ACV could help with Acid Reflux and/or chronic indigestion? *Grins* Exactly. They'd stop buying "the purple pill" and start buying ACV. Personally, I trust the products that God made before I'd trust those which are man made. ACV is made from apples. The "mother" mentioned in this thread are simply vital nutrients and minerals our bodies benefit from which are lost in the pasteurization process of the "grocery store" brands. ACV is acidic by nature, but when your body burns it, the ash created by the process of converting it to calories is "Base" in nature, which balances out the body's Ph. There ARE health benefits of ACV, many. But you'll never see a "clinical trial" of ACV. Why? Well think about it. Who pays the bills in a clinical trial? What drug company would want it proven clinically that ACV does the same thing as their "wonder pill?" Not to mention many prescription drugs are based after that which occurs naturally in nature. Personally, I have taken ACV for over 3 years now. I have gone from a jean size 24 to a jean size 8. But you must remember that no "weight loss" product, no exercise, nothing works overnight. It is a gradual process. My advice? If you're going to try ACV, then make a commitment to stay on it for at least 3 months. That's how long it took before I began to see results. The first thing I noticed was that my craving for junk food began to wane. I began to crave healthy food. I began to drink more water, I began to get full faster. I had more energy, I felt better. But I've also not been sick in 3 years. I've had kids with bad colds standing over me while I'm kneeling down at work and coughing right in my face, and not gotten sick. No stuffy noses, no sore throats, no flu. The only time I had a problem was when I stopped taking it for a few months. I didn't realize how much ACV doing for me until then. I was miserable, I just felt like crap. And within that 2 month time frame, I gradually began to go back to eating junk. Within a few weeks of going back on ACV, I felt much, much better. Most of the weight loss I experienced occurred during the first 6 months, mainly during a 2-3 month time frame. Within a few months, I'd noticed that my clothes were a bit big. 6 months after beginning, I went up and tried on clothes to find that I was a size 10. Concerned that there might be another reason for my weight loss I went to the doctor, and was told that I was in perfect...

Yuck! I'd take it back too. Since most of us do canning because we like the flavor of real food, using the best quality ingredients produces the best flavor, and "colored" vinegar isn't at all the same! I can't believe the "cost cutting" food manufacturers do these days. I was just at our state fair, and they were giving away "Crustables" samples (pre-made sandwiches without crusts, for kids) One flavor was peanut butter and honey, and I checked the ingredients. The "honey" was actually mostly corn syrup, with honey flavoring. When I asked them why there was corn syrup in it at all, they told me that it made the honey more "spreadable" when they were making the product. (You know, because honey is so difficult to spread in its pure form!) I am allergic to corn syrup, and so I passed on that free sample... Carla in Sac

If you spray vinegar as a foliar spray on the leaves of plants in full sun, most of them will die. Some more hardy plants, English ivy for example, will not be affected. Some weaker weeds will turn black, turn crispy, and collapse to dust, all in 30 minutes when sprayed with vinegar. When you spray in the shade or on a cloudy day, those same plants do not seem to be affected by the vinegar. If you spray it indiscriminately on weeds in your lawn, the overspray will kill the adjacent grass. I have made a shield for the grass out of shirt cardboard. I drew a line down the middle of the cardboard and a circle in the middle. Then cut the cardboard along the line and cut out the circle. When you put the two pieces of cardboard together with the weed in the hole, you can spray the weed without spraying the grass. You can sometimes find horticultural vinegar at garden or feed stores. It comes in at 20% acidity whereas household vinegar is 5%. The 20% stuff must be handled with care. Breathing it is not so much a problem because with one whiff you want to leave it alone. The worst problem is getting it in your eyes. It will blind you for weeks or months until your eyes heal. Wear protection and be careful not to splash it near your face or even on your hands (you might wipe it into your eyes). Apple cider vinegar is vinegar. Spray it at full strength in full sun. On the other hand, vinegar is a carbohydrate and as such is food for bacteria. When vinegar gets into the soil, nothing seems to happen. It would be interesting to see some research on what happens to the soil microbes when vinegar hits the soil.

I have tried a few home remedies, none worked. My 3 sisters are health nuts, always looking for natural things. My Mom had trouble with swelling in her legs and ankles, which leads to congestive heart failure. My sisters were telling her to drink a quart of water an hour when she worked in the heat. They also told her to put vinegar in her drinking water. When I question the doctor about those issues he was a little unhappy to say the least. He told her, "I am giving you lasics (sp) to get rid of the water and you are replacing it. The vinegar makes you retain fluids. Drink only when you are thirsty." Of course she told me I was a tattle tale. LOL When she stopped doing those things and her legs went back to normal and she lived to 97 years of age.