Apple cider vinegar and its beauty benefits
by Ray Fauteux
For the past several years consumers have become more aware of products available on the market that can benefit our heath and well-being. Products that don’t require you to sit in a doctor’s office for 2 or 3 hours so you can get a prescription.
There are so many life-enriching, simple, organic products that sit on shelves as we walk by them day after day. Unaware that they are capable of boosting our energy, immune system, and providing us with an over-all sense or well-being. In doing so they help us retain our natural beauty by benefiting our inner and outer body health.
One of these products is apple cider vinegar(ACV).
Not just any acv, but the murky one with the word “mother” on the label of the bottle. It appears that the two fermentations that the cider goes through is what gives it so many amazing qualities and healthful advantages.
The Egyptians are the first recorded users of apple cider vinegar for the traditional treatment of a host of ailments. It is believed to increase the circulation of blood, and contains a host of vitamins and minerals that all serve a different function in the healing and recovery process of the body. They believed that beauty was directly related to health and they were right.
The fiber of the cider consists of pectin which is instrumental in controlling blood pressure and getting rid of bad cholesterol. Each mineral in the vinegar plays it’s own fascinating role in contributing to the user’s overall health.
-Often it is used as a final rinse after shampooing hair and restores life and luster to the scalp and hair.
-The high Potassium levels in instrumental in removing excess water and toxidity from the body. It also removes excess sodium, and as a result aids if keeping blood pressure under control. Good steady blood flow gives us a healthy, vibrant look as it revitalizes the molecules of the skin.
-The calcium levels in apple cider vinegar will help keep bones healthy and strong and is especially helpful in seniors in preventing the onset of osteoporosis.
-High levels of beta carotene fight the ravages of free radicals and will help users stay young longer.
-The malic acid found in the vinegar will offset the uric acid that tends to collect around body joints and cause joint pain. This in turn helps by allowing a more fluid and pain free sense of mobility that can help seniors look and feel much younger than their age.
-Amino acid acts as a powerful antibiotic and in the normal person will help lower the toxicity in the body and contribute to overall health. It’s amazing that all this can be done without a doctor’s prescription.
-Best of all, apple cider vinegar is remarkable when it comes to speeding up our metabolism and if used along with a proper diet and reasonable exercise, it acts as one of the best weight control products on the market today. All this for just a few dollars a bottle.
There is so much more.
It helps reduce or remove skin lesions and is a deterrent to the forming of varicose veins. If used properly it is good for the health and whiteness of teeth, and will aid in maintaining healthy gums.
It fights the ravages of arthritis and is so full of necessary vitamins, minerals, and beta-carotenes that it is believed to be one of Mother Nature’s most powerful natural multi-vitamin.
Is it a beauty aid? Of course it is. That and so much more. Any product as potent as this one that can revitalize the body in so many ways, might well be the “ultimate” natural beauty aid.
Learn more about this author, Ray Fauteux.
Kitchen Cupboard Beauty Tips
by: Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Care2 Healthy Living Channels.
We all know that old adage about an apple a day keeping the doctor away, but did you know that apples are fabulous for beautifying our complexions? They are! The alpha-hydroxy fruit acids in apples are the greatest for sloughing off old tired skin so the fresh skin underneath can be revealed, and their pectin firms and tightens saggy skin–as well as healing inflammations and smoothing fine wrinkles.
Apples are mentioned in ancient literature as magical fruits sacred to many goddesses. Now it’s autumn and the apples are round and ripe, ready to be picked so you can be a Goddess of Beauty with their help. Find out apples’ secrets here–and learn why they’re also great for your teeth and breath!
For Teeth and Breath
The pectin in apples helps to neutralize food odors, so the next time you have garlic or onions, have an apple for dessert! The fibers also serve as a natural dental floss.
Honey of an Apple Glow Mask
This one really wakes up a dull complexion and it’s fun, too! This formula combines the magical apple with sweet honey, a great humectant–meaning it will bring moisture to your skin.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cored apple
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Pulse ingredients in a food processor, combining well. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Apply this mixture to a clean face. With your fingertips, begin gently patting your face. Continue until the mixture feels very, very sticky–this will bring the blood to the surface of your skin, making it glow. Rinse with warm water.
To Reduce Wrinkles and Inflammation
Grate an unripe apple and apply to clean skin to heal and improve the appearance of fine wrinkles or inflammation. Allow pulp to remain on skin for 10 to 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water.
Oily Skin/Acne Healing Mask
Mix equal parts grated raw apple (or unsweetened applesauce) and honey. Apply mixture to a clean face and allow to remain on skin for 10 minutes. Rinse with cool water.
To Reduce Eye Puffiness
Mix 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce with one small grated raw potato. Lie down and apply to eyes, covering with a warm damp washcloth, if desired. Allow to remain on for 10 to 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
Autumn Magic Facial Mask
This formula soothes and nourishes skin and nerves, and provides gentle exfoliating action.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cored apple, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon rolled oats
1 teaspoon cream
1 teaspoon honey
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Apply to clean face, massaging gently, and allow mixture to remain on skin for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/apples-kitchen-cupboard-beauty.html
Apple Nutrition Facts
(*One medium 2-1/2 inch apple, fresh, raw, with skin)
| Calories 81 Carbohydrate 21 grams Dietary Fiber 4 grams Soluble Fiber Insoluble fiber Calcium 10 mg Phosphorus 10 mg |
Iron .25 mg Sodium 0.00 mg Potassium 159 mg Vitamin C 8 mg Vitamin A 73 IU Folate 4 mcg |
*The nutritional value of apples will vary slightly depending on the variety and size.
Source: USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory — Apple
Eat Green Apples for Better Health!
Nutritional value of Green Apple
Did you know a daily dose of one green apple a day, by eating a whole apple or even by drinking its fresh juice can help you reduce the amount and level of cholesterol in your body? There are several other benefits you can get from the nutrition contained in a green apple. Here is the list of other good things that an apple can do to your body:-
- Helps in preventing accumulation and building of cholesterol on the walls of the blood arteries in your body
- Eventually reduce the risk of heart attack
- Promotes better condition for the membranes of your lungs
- Improve bone health through additional supply of chemical called boron to the bones’ minerals
- When your cholesterol level is controlled, consequently your body’s cardiovascular system’s health will be maintained
- Assist you in maintaining body weight
- Reduces asthmatic stress
- Helps reducing the risk of cancer
- Do eat the skin too! the vitamin contained on a green apple’s skin can help you get beautiful skin
- Helps in cleansing colon and detoxification quickly and almost efficiently
- Prevent you from having constipation problem when you blend a green apple with celery and drink it everyday
Let’s try this slim-down with green apple recipe!
Take one green apple and cut it in half and have it de-seed. Now take one medium size lime and one small preserved sour plum. Blend the apple with some water (not too much and consider the size of the green apple) and add in lime squeezes. Lastly, add the preserved sour plum and voila!