We here at Hines Terrace Herald know the election is over and we couldn't be happier to not have to watch or listen to another hate-filled add full of half-truths that is candidly endorsed by the candidate or listen to another acquaintance who has suddenly acquired their PhD in Political Science from Stanford with a specialization in items they've gleaned from the internet, talk radio, and NPR. We will, however, miss the funny signage from candidates with names like , "Bubba", "Bubbers", "Ron Lawless", "Skipper" and "Schmuck" that want so badly to run for office that they are willing to have their names blown up to font 3000, put on a sign, and put on every free space of ground in the county. Some of us here at HTH are saddened and overwhelmed by the results of the election, while some us are excited about the expansion of government services and products because they were titled, "handouts" and this person likes when everything is done for him and hopes that continues his whole life. And while the election is behind us now and it is time to move on and move forward, we couldn't help putting our great hulking editorial weight behind an endorsement for another glowing product: Apple Cider Vinegar.
I have had acid reflux or something very close to it for a very long time and have found myself in the constant cycle of taking Prilosec, carrying around Tums, and about 100 other items to calm the acid in my poor little stomach. And all of that does an ok job, but sometimes it just doesn't work. Sometimes....nothing works! And if you have acid reflux or GERD, you know the scenario. It is a constant cycle of medicine and being depressed about your body letting you down once again. So, this past year, I have been searching for something to be my cure-all. I had long grown tired of paying for all the promises of a normal digestion process and I have also been worrying about what all those items are doing to me internally. I have read and heard that Prilosec dissolves the lining of your stomach. Is that what we really want? I know I don't. And so I began my little quest to find something that was effective and yet affordable. I had tried eating differently, but there were days that a glass of water gave me heartburn. I tried eating at different times. I canceled items from my diet. I took digestive supplements. I went gluten-free for 6 weeks and I lost 8 pounds and had more energy, but still had heartburn. I sucked on lemons. I staggered taking the medicine (Prilosec) and the vitamins. Nothing seemed to work till I walked into a local health food store one day and told them of my quandary. They showed me two items. I bought one. The wrong one. It was for calming the acid in my body. It was expensive and tasted terrible. It had a whole side full of promises. The product should run for office because it broke them all. And then I gave up. I went back on Prilosec, carried my Tums, and the other 1000 other products. It was just my burden to bare. Some people are fighting terrible things like Dementia or Cancer. All I've got is some hellacious heartburn that keeps me up about 2-3 nights a week. What did I have to gripe about. Then...
Then I remembered through some sort of sleep-deprived fog that there had been a second product sitting in the "digestion aid" section of the health food store. I had foolishly said no. And that product was apple cider vinegar. I went downstairs, rummaged through the pantry, found the apple cider vinegar, poured a little in a cup, mixed it with some cold water, drank it down, and shivered like I'd seen a ghost, and tried not to throw up. And then something almost miraculous happened. My throat opened up and then I suddenly didn't have any heartburn or acid racing up my throat. It was wonderful. I would have shouted with full-throated glee if it hadn't been 3:30 in the morning and my son had just fallen back to sleep. The next day, I looked up apple cider vinegar to see if it was okay to consume it and discovered that some people drink it three times a day and consider it to be a necessary part of life. I figured they were just trying to sell a product and then the night came again and brought with it heartburn and I once again drank the cup of apple cider vinegar and sat back in full astonishment. The stuff really worked. It was nasty. It was terrible, but for 10 seconds of taste discomfort, I could sleep ALL night! I was hooked. The next day I went to the health food store and purchased a 32 oz. bottle of Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. It was a wise and good investment.
Since I purchased the bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar, I have been amazed at all the aliments that it is supposed to help with. There are places and sources that claim it will help you with everything from diabetes to obesity. Some sources, like the "ever-truthful" WebMD makes note that many of the claims made about the wonders of apple cider vinegar have not been studied with evidence to prove if they are indeed truthful or just claims. All I really know or care about for the moment is that it has really helped with my heartburn. I am not completely cured in anyway, but since I have purchased my bottle of vinegar (for $6) I have only taken 4 Prilosec tablets which cost about a $1 a piece. In a monetary sense, I have saved myself around $32 dollars, or if you want to be nit-picky about things, I guess I have actually only saved $26. I will add that I have now begun to sleep well on many nights because I will muscle down my little, terrible concoction of apple cider vinegar and cold water and then I won't have to worry about being woken up by acid racing up the back of my throat. (I know WTMI!). I will also say that it has been around a full month and I have not gone through my first bottle. And apple cider vinegar is from apples. I know where they grow them and that an apple is supposed to go into my body and my body knows what to do with it. I am not fully sure what some of the ingredients that are in Prilosec actually are or how they make berry-flavored Tums without actually using berry juice and I feel pretty good about saying that those items were never meant to enter my body and my body can deal with them, but doesn't want to have to. It's like the over-talked about idea of a zombie apocalypse, we don't want to live through that, but are pretty sure we would know what to do.
I plan on continuing my apple cider vinegar regiment. I hate the taste, but I hate heartburn or GERD so much worse. If you have heartburn or GERD, I would give it a try. I would suggest buying an organic and unfiltered vinegar, so you can get the full affects. And if you do try it, I hope it gives you some comfort when you, like me, are standing in your kitchen over the sink at 4 am with hellacious heartburn and all you really want to do is be able to climb back into bed so you won't be miserable at work or treat your family members poorly because you have acid racing up the back of your throat and they don't know or really understand.
David
I am so glad about this!
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