DoctorYourself.com - Honey and Vinegar

Honey (and Cider Vinegar)

Honey & Dr. Jarvis
Home

"If you care to go to school, go to the honey bees, fowl, cats, dogs, goats, mink, calves, dairy cows, bulls and horses and allow them to teach you their ways.” (D. C. Jarvis, M.D.)

Deforrest Clinton Jarvis (1881-1966) received his M.D. from the University of Vermont Medical College, and was a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. There have long been divergent opinions on acid/alkaline foods and how they affect body pH. Dr. Jarvis seemed to have good reason for his acidophilic views. I urge all to read his books and make up their minds for themselves.

Honey and cider vinegar as a remedy has been made well known and somewhat well respected by D.C. Jarvis, a Vermont medical doctor of considerable experience. His book, Folk Medicine (1958), fully discusses why and how to prepare and use this obviously harmless self-treatment. Essentially, a tablespoon or two of each is dissolved in a glass of water and taken several times daily as needed. White (distilled) vinegar is not recommended, by the way. Dr. Jarvis states that numerous common ailments, including colds, infections, rheumatism and arthritis may be relieved, and even cured with this simple treatment.

One rationale for the vinegar and honey regimen is that a person's blood stream tends toward becoming alkaline through a modern diet of fats, starches and de-vitalized processed foods (here we go again, right?). Dr. Jarvis found that the acidity of cider vinegar, although weak, is enough to correct this excess alkalinity, and that a slightly acidic bloodstream prevents and fights infection. Since vinegar solution in a tea-kettle dissolves mineral build-up, Dr. Jarvis also suspected that calcium deposits in the joints might also be dissolved by a slightly acidic bloodstream. He experimentally proved both of these theories with patients of his, after first studying cows.

"Milk fever" in cows is usually treated with calcium injections by the veterinarian. A critically ill cow generally then makes an immediate recovery and is often on her feet again in minutes. Dr. Jarvis reasoned that vinegar must be dissolving calcium into the bloodstream, for when he gave cows with milk fever some vinegar, they too recovered immediately. This lent support to his premise that calcium deposits could be dissolved from the joints of the body in arthritic persons.

By observing cows out at pasture, Dr. Jarvis saw that they preferred eating the most acidic of the plants and grasses. He also noted that the modern diet of a high-producing dairy cow under intensive milking lacks these acidic greens and is high in alkaline-producing grains. At the same time, these heavy milkers are prone to mastitis, an infection of the udder. Dr. Jarvis felt that their alkaline diet facilitated infection, so he gave cows a few ounces of cider vinegar daily in their feed. The cows so treated failed to develop mastitis. This lends support to the belief that vinegar is anti-infective.

Honey added to the vinegar naturally makes the mixture more drinkable for people. Honey also contains subtle amounts of energies and minerals just beginning to be noticed, let alone fully understood. Curative powers of honey were known about in ancient civilizations, and naturopathic doctors recommend it still. It is what is not known about honey that is probably of greatest medicinal value.

As a sweetener, honey is more than just the sum of its sugars. Traditional nutritional authorities say that sugar is sugar, and that the source or state of it doesn't matter nutritionally. You may choose to believe that or not. I think that there is quite a significant difference in life-supporting qualities between processed white sugar and dark, raw honey. The darker, cloudier, and less filtered the honey, the better. Light, crystal-clear, pasteurized honey is lacking the trace factors that nature had the bees put into the comb.

Honey is by nature pure; why on earth anyone would pasteurize it is beyond me. Heat does in fact destroy valuable enzymes in the raw honey. In addition, bacteria can grow on the surface moisture left under the cap of processed honey as a result of heating and condensation. Raw honey actually contains natural antibiotics. So eat the honey the way the bees made it; the very best way is comb and all. (It's delicious and makes a great sandwich spread. Honey in the comb doesn't leak through your bread as much.)

Honey has a self-limiting effect on the appetite. A person who could eat a one-pound chocolate bar with ease might have great difficulty eating a quarter-cup of honey all at once. Try it on your kids next time they are pestering for candy: give them a teaspoon or two of honey. Dates and raisins work the same way. Who do you know that can eat a couple of handfuls of dates right down? Nature has put more into many foods than we fully realize.

Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html )

For ordering information, Click Here .

Andrew W. Saul

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

Neither the author nor the webmaster has authorized the use of their names or the use of any material contained within in connection with the sale, promotion or advertising of any product or apparatus. Single-copy reproduction for individual, non-commercial use is permitted providing no alterations of content are made, and credit is given.