Jogging in a Jug
In 1985, Jack McWilliams, an Alabama farmer, concocted a potion he called "Jogging in a Jug." It consisted of apple cider vinegar combined with a variety of fruit juices to give it a more appealing taste.
Acetic acid, claimed McWilliams, was lacking in the modem diet, and this deficiency was the root cause of many health problems. He claimed that the potion had cured his arthritis and heart disease, and it could reduce the risk of cancer in the internal organs. McWilliams marketed his product through the media, receiving extensive coverage in small community newspapers and broadcast outlets. He reportedly sold $9 million worth of his potion in one year.
The FDA, however, did not look kindly on Mr. McWilliams's vinegar product and its advertised claims. The federal government seized the product in 1994 due to the unproven health claims.
In 1995, thousands of bottles of the potion were ordered destroyed because the product was considered an unapproved new drug due to the claims made by the producer. Subsequently, Mr. McWilliams's company, Third Option Laboratories, Inc., paid the Federal Trade Commission a $480,000 fine to settle charges of false advertising. "Jogging in a Jug" is still on the market today with a new label that meets FDA guidelines.
The Real Story according to Beth Fontenot
There is no scientific evidence that apple cider vinegar has any medicinal properties. While the folksy anecdotes from those who claim to have benefited from apple cider vinegar tonics may be amusing to read, they are simply that -- anecdotes.
Apple cider vinegar is anything but a storehouse of nutrients. A nutritional analysis of one tablespoon (more than the one or two teaspoons suggested to make a tonic) reveals that the golden liquid contains less than a ram of carbohydrate: minuscule amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium. copper, manganese, and phosphorus; and a mere 15 mg of potassium. The fiber, vitamin, and amino acid content is zero.
As for the presence of any beneficial enzymes in apple cider vinegar or the "mother," food scientists doubt that any could thrive in the acid environment of the vinegar. Assuming any were present, though, they would be destroyed in the acid of the stomach when consumed and be of no use to the body.
The Arthritis Foundation calls vinegar a harmless, but unproven, arthritis remedy. It points out that arthritis symptoms come and go, and that a person using an unproven remedy may think a remedy worked simply because they used it at a time when symptoms were going into natural remission. Such is undoubtedly the case for many of the "cures" connected to vinegar.
Beth Fontenot is a nutrition consultant and freelance nutrition writer in Lake Charles, LA. She serves on the adjunct faculty at both McNeese State University in Lake Charles and Lamar University in Qrange, TX.Labels: Apple cider vinegar |
