Apple cider vinegar in naturopathy – observations of apple cider vinegar pioneer Dr. Jarvis
Dr. De Forest Clinton Jarvis actually only wanted to write about his experiences as a naturopathic doctor for his daughter and her offspring. His motivation was similar to that of all parents who only want the best for their children: that they stay healthy and fit well into old age ! And that includes the effects of apple cider vinegar.
To date, his book "5 x 20 years of life" has been printed more than 1 million times and translated into 12 languages worldwide. As a life and nutrition guide for people who love nature. It's a shame that this basic knowledge about the effects of apple cider vinegar is no longer published! (See footnotes)
Minerals and their central importance for a healthy organism
The book has 200 pages on which a wide variety of medical histories and therapy approaches are documented. Ultimately, they can be traced back to one common denominator: the basic supply of nutrients to the body and its cells. The supply of minerals in particular must be correct for the human organism to function. Without sufficient mineralization, the body is not able to absorb and process vitamins, for example. To ensure this, Dr. Jarvis used a very simple but effective recipe from naturopathy :
2 teaspoons of honey and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar . Mixed in water, drink up to 3 times a day before meals as needed. He summed up the all-round effect of apple cider vinegar and honey quite simply: This mixture heals and prevents diseases from occurring in the first place.
Another piece of advice was algae . The importance of a saturated mineral balance was of paramount importance to Jarvis. All mineral salts originate from the earth, with the exception of iodine, which comes from the sea. Since iodine is mainly responsible for the healthy functioning of the thyroid gland, Jarvis recommended eating algae to complement the apple cider vinegar and honey drink if necessary. He was able to cure numerous cardiovascular diseases with his therapy, among other things.
Vermont naturopathy
Dr. Jarvis had a practice as a general practitioner in Vermont, USA, and as a medical scientist he opened up to alternative medicine early on. He was particularly interested in the traditional knowledge of Vermont naturopathy. And this goes back to the native people of the USA, the Indians and their wisdom. The title of the book "5 x 20 years of life" comes from Jarvis's firm belief that people can live to be 100 years old in harmony with nature and their natural instincts . And at the same time maintain their quality of life, i.e. stay fit . With a healthy lifestyle, supported by the diverse effects of apple cider vinegar and honey!
Our grandfather Rudolf Höhl , a convinced Jarvis follower until old age, summed up the beneficial effects of this energy cocktail of apple cider vinegar with honey with a wink:
Apple cider vinegar is good for and against everything – internally and externally.”
Rudolf Höhl, our grandfather.
7th generation of our family business, which has been dedicated to the love of apples since 1779.
What honey can do
When enriched with honey , the positive effects are multiplied , as honey is a very valuable source of energy. And thanks to its excellent potassium content, honey has an antibacterial effect. 1). As honey is already fermented by the secretion of the bee's salivary glands, the body can use it better than any other sugar . The organism must first make this usable using enzymes. Honey, on the other hand, is naturally an ingenious natural polysaccharide that provides both immediate and long-term energy. According to Dr. Jarvis, it knows how to fill every gap in our diet by supplying the brain and heart with energy. How exciting!
Sugar is essential to life – but the right amount
To make the overall context and the role of naturopathy understandable, Jarvis works with a clear metaphor: "Folk medicine teaches how to keep this human machine, which is our body, running well into old age. The engine of this human machine is the heart. Its fuel is sugar, and it makes a big difference whether you feed the heart natural sugar, such as honey, or refined white sugar." 2)
The sugar content of the entire blood is about 1 teaspoon full. This content is so important that if it were reduced by half, one would immediately lose consciousness. On the other hand, if it is increased to significantly more than the normal level, even only temporarily, diabetes can occur." 3)
Honey contains two types of sugar: glucose (approx. 40%) and fructose (approx. 35%). When honey is consumed, the glucose is absorbed into the blood very quickly. The fructose, which is processed more slowly because it is converted to glucose in the liver, regulates the blood sugar level. This stabilization of blood sugar is significantly increased by the effect of apple cider vinegar. Insulin secretion is reduced and cravings, which are particularly common when dieting, are prevented.
Here you can find out more about the effect of apple cider vinegar on blood sugar levels
Dr. Jarvis' credo on the effects of apple cider vinegar with honey summarized
Rational insight and knowledge of the laws of nature enable us to maintain and continually renovate the body structure so that we can live comfortably in it for as long as possible. Its resilience depends on the choice of food we eat, the liquids we drink and the air we breathe. The minerals we ingest through food and drink play a crucial role in this. They help our body to function, in other words: they make our life worth living."4)
The reason why apple cider vinegar is preferable to any other vinegar is because of its relatively high mineral content , especially magnesium, potassium and calcium, as well as the composition of its individual acids. Today we also know that the minerals in the body metabolize in an alkaline way and thus bring the acid-base balance into balance.
Jarvis' simple conclusions from his observations and experiences of biochemical and physiological laws from today's perspective are fascinating. We all know the buzzwords probiotics or microbiotics, which are scientifically proven findings that guide modern medicine today.
The effect of apple cider vinegar on the intestines
Intestinal bacteria used to be considered hocus-pocus - today everyone preaches about the connection between probiotics and physical and mental well-being. Today we know about the beneficial effect of apple cider vinegar on healthy intestinal flora. It is the basis for a strong immune system and affects not only the body but also the soul.
Through the transmission of the vagus nerve (the vagus nerve is the largest nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, the 10th cranial nerve, which extends in pairs down to the abdominal cavity), a mutual influence takes place between the "stomach brain" and the head brain. We now know how important the intestine is for our health and how it has a significant influence on our immune system, our brain and our psyche.
Even without this current scientific knowledge, Jarvis described in 1958 how physical well-being has a decisive influence on feelings of happiness in the soul and spirit. And what everyone should experience for themselves. He called the effect of apple cider vinegar and honey a true fountain of youth - even in terms of mental well-being. Because a cleansed and purified body also conveys psychological well-being via connections between the hormonal and nervous systems of the stomach and the brain... Isn't that great? 
The effect of apple cider vinegar on cell health
The second currently exciting topic is microbiotics. Dr. Jarvis, in his study of the human body, came to the conclusion that
Health and disease can be traced back to the smallest particles, namely the cells." 5)
Supported by the belief in folk medicine that diseases arise from a disturbance of certain basic factors of the laws of life, the nutrition of the body's cells is crucial for health or illness.
A disease does not come unexpectedly like a thief in the night without any cause. Before any harmful microorganisms can attack and exert their destructive effect, they must first get into the cell." 6)
It can be stopped by a healthy, strong and "satiated" cell, which in turn must be able to get everything it needs from its diet. The apple cider vinegar and honey drink can help here with its minerals and the additional property of thinning the blood and thus increasing turnover.
The effect of apple cider vinegar in acute diseases or for prevention
It was particularly important to Jarvis to describe the connection between the fluid exchange between cells and bacteria.
"According to folk medicine, bacteria that need fluid to thrive draw it from the body's cells. However, if a body cell has enough potassium, it in turn draws moisture from the bacteria and destroys them." 7).
In addition to potassium-rich foods such as vegetables, salad and fruit, he prescribed his cocktail of apple cider vinegar and honey to his patients - for acute illnesses or as a preventative measure.
As early as the late 1950s, Dr. Jarvis saw the danger that humans were increasingly losing their healthy relationship with nature and their instincts, and thus becoming more susceptible to disturbances. He regretted that humans were increasingly beginning to rebel against nature and were no longer able to see the connections and similarities between all living things. In doing so, humans should now and again take their bearings from the behavior of animals in order to gain insights for their own well-being.
Fasting is part of human nature
For example, you can observe that a sick animal refuses to eat anything. It instinctively "knows" that when it fasts, its body reaches a biochemical state that helps it recover more quickly. A sick person, on the other hand, can be talked out of his lack of appetite, saying that all he needs to recover more quickly is fluids, preferably acidic drinks such as apple cider vinegar water. Somehow, the old misconception that something terrible will happen to people if they skip a meal has persisted with many people to this day. 8)
Fasting provokes the self-healing powers
Modern medicine today calls this autophagy . A process in which the cell develops strength as a result of blocked food supply that can eliminate disruptive factors. As a treatment for illnesses, modern naturopathy recommends fasting , or at least intermittent fasting , in order to activate the body's self-healing powers . But the most important thing here is a healthy, full cell that is supplied with sufficient nutrients on a daily basis. In times when the soil is being exploited and the valuable content of fruit and vegetables is reduced, this should be supported by targeted nutritional supplements, which brings us back to the valuable effects of apple cider vinegar and honey.
The positive effect of apple cider vinegar is only achieved by vinegar made from whole apples
The old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is true for Jarvis because of the healthy properties and active ingredients of the apple, whereby the vinegar, as a double-fermented apple juice, has special significance due to the acids. Compared to other vinegars, the vinegar made from apples has “particularly healing effects”, whereby
...apple cider vinegar intended for medicinal purposes should always be made from whole, crushed apples. Often vinegar is made from apple peels and cores after the pulp has been used for other purposes." 9)
It goes without saying that organic certification is now a given. It is therefore worth tracing the path of the apple back to the vinegar on the label.
All in all, "it is useful for everyone to know exactly what effect apple cider vinegar has on the digestive organs and how and why two teaspoons of it in a glass of water, taken with every meal, is so beneficial to the health of these organs and the entire body."10) Together with honey, the energy cocktail is an "all-rounder" for a healthy body as a whole. And therefore a proven and delicious tonic that keeps you fit!
Apple cider vinegar and honey is an all-rounder for overall physical well-being
- Apple cider vinegar and honey strengthen the heart and brain and ensure fitness into old age
- …stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent cravings
- Apple cider vinegar and honey support healthy intestinal flora, thus the immune system and have a mood-enhancing effect
- Apple cider vinegar and honey promote cell health and thus disease resistance
- Apple cider vinegar and honey ensure a balanced acid-base ratio due to the alkaline metabolism of the minerals
- Apple cider vinegar and honey support the positive effects of fasting with all its health benefits for humans.
We are fascinated by nature as man’s first pharmacy
What still fascinates and convinces our whole family and many others, even 60 years after the publication of "5 x 20 years of life", is that Dr. Jarvis's statements are not the results of scientific research, but rather the careful and analytical observation of people , their habits and their living conditions. And the conclusions drawn from this do not only come from the 19th century, but from the ancient wisdom of the early inhabitants of America, the Indians .
In addition to the many plants and medicinal herbs used to make tinctures, juices and ointments , apple cider vinegar, honey and algae were used to maintain health and cure illnesses. Nature as man's first pharmacy - this is what Dr. DC Jarvis postulated in 1958 in Vermont, USA. This was a belief based on ancient traditions, coupled with his current findings at the time. He was right about many things, as today's science confirms. What is true is what never changes. And it is so easy to integrate this truth into our everyday lives and make it a good habit.
Please stay healthy!
Your family Dr. Höhl's
Sources:
1. Jarvis: “5 x 20 years of life” Stay young and healthy and grow old healthily, Hallwag Verlag, 37th edition, 1997, p. 105, “...that bacteria do not thrive where there is honey,... because honey deprives the bacteria of the potassium they need to thrive.
2. Jarvis, p. 15
3. Jarvis, p. 16
4. Jarvis, p. 18
5. Jarvis, p. 28
6. Jarvis, p. 29
7. Jarvis, p. 72
8. Jarvis, p. 21
9. Jarvis, p. 75
10. Jarvis, p. 73: The vivid report on the effect of apple cider vinegar on bacterial life using the example of an earthworm is impressive.
