For the love of ... apple cider vinegar

My pal Flo (an organic beautician at Roseville Chase in Sydney Australia, 02.9417 7114 – a trusted source of alternative beauty tips) put me onto using a spray of apple cider vinegar as hair rinse to get all the soap out and as a general anti-fungal. It works a treat and leaves my hair looking shiny too.

You can also use it to spray the floor after a shower to kill any bugs, Flo says, and if you have a fungal problem then give your toes a spray. Same goes for pets. Cowboy’s picked up folliculitis, of all things, meaning his fur’s been breaking off and falling out in black clouds everywhere due to the skin infection. So, this weekend, I’ll pop him in the laundry tub, lather him up and rinse the shampoo off with apple cider vinegar and water. He’s going to be really happy about that but he’s a good cat and grins and bears it … for the first 10 minutes, at least.

A dose (two teaspoons) of apple cider vinegar morning and night when you’re travelling and consuming dodgy food and water will deter any nasty bugs you might pick up, according to my Helios homeopathic travel kit (a gem that’s been worth its weight in gold. I’ve used it many times on short trips and long – it has saved me from a massive hangover more than once when I’ve been overindulging in whiskey.) Use organic and unpasteurised and unfiltered for best effect – especially if you’re going to drink it.

AC vinegar is also great to alkalise your system (unlike whiskey) and works similar to lemon juice so you could have two teaspoons with water twice a day or 20 minutes before food to load up on the good bacteria and give the baddies the elbow. Much cheaper than those expensive probiotics! Even though vinegar’s acidic it becomes alkaline in your system, apparently. And that’s a good thing. You might want to add a wee spoonful of honey, though, as it’s a bit lip puckering to my taste. Pauline’s Mum swore by a dose every morning with a drop of lovely New Zealand honey – and she was arthritis-free well into her 80s.

Google apple cider vinegar as there’s so much else you can do with one bottle, it’s gobsmacking. Cheap, effective, with no nasty chemicals and sort of tasty … glug glug glug. -- Sage