There are many things from my learning intensive with Susun Weed that I have continued to reap the benefits of. One of these is the easy creation of herbal vinegars. This medicinal ferment is worth knowing about, so I thought I would share some information from my teacher to pass on to you.
Herbal vinegars are an unstoppable combination: they marry the healing properties of apple cider vinegar with the nutritional genius of plants—the mineral and antioxidant- rich, health-protective green herbs and wild roots. Herbal vinegars are tasty medicine, enriching and enlivening our food, while building health from the inside out.
Vinegar is unique in its ability to draw minerals out of plants. The addition of vinegar to cooked greens magnifies the minerals available to our bodies. And the addition of mineral-rich medicinal vinegar to our diet magnifies health by making high-quality minerals available. Vinegars Seek Minerals Minerals are important for the health and proper functioning of our bones, our heart and blood vessels, our nerves, our brain (especially memory), our immune system, and our hormonal glands. No wonder lack of minerals can lead to chronic problems and getting more can make a big different in health in a few weeks. One of the best ways to get more minerals—besides drinking nourishing herbal infusions and eating well-cooked leafy greens—is to use herbal vinegars.
Vinegar and Your Bones It is not true that ingesting vinegar will erode your bones. Adding vinegar to your food actually helps build bones because it frees up minerals from the vegetables you eat and increases the ability of the stomach to digest minerals. Adding a splash of vinegar to cooked greens is a classic trick of old ladies who want to be spry and flexible when they're ancient old ladies. (Maybe your granny already taught you this?) In fact, a spoonful of vinegar on your broccoli or kale or dandelion greens increases the calcium you get by one-third. All by itself, apple cider vinegar is said to help build bones; when enriched with minerals from herbs, I think of it as better than calcium pills.
Vinegar and Candida
Some people worry that eating vinegar will upset the balance of gut flora and contribute to an overgrowth of candida yeast in the intestines. Some people have been told to avoid vinegar altogether. My experience has led me to believe that herbal vinegars help heal those with candida overgrowth, perhaps because they're so mineral rich. I've worked with women who have suffered for years and kept to a strict "anti-candida" diet with little improvement and seen them get better fast when they add nourishing herbal vinegars (and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso, and yogurt) to their diets.
Come and learn how to make there incredible medicinal herbal vinegars, and how to consume them at our next Gut Health Masterclass. You can find upcoming dates here.
With herbs & weeds, Rose x