reading arrived yesterday and I want to thank you for again helping me when I needed it so badly. These ‘catches’ in my back were so severe that I could not move or breathe without severe pain. However, since using the salt and vinegar stupes it has just about cleared up entirely. I did not know to sponge off the area with soda water {baking soda and water} and alcohol until the reading arrived and have quite a bad case of hives, which I believe is due to absorbing too much vinegar. However, am taking some Milk of Magnesia to neutralize same in system. Anyway, am much better, thanks to Him and to you.” 1100-35, Report #1
Dr. Harold Reilly, a physiotherapist who worked closely with Cayce, received a letter dated July 19, 1968, from Mrs. Ann Milano:
“I must also say a word about Cayce remedy 304-3 (Salt and Vinegar massage) of 4/2/23 {referring to the reading on that date}, which helped my daughter heal a sprained hand. She was able to move it after an application. This after nothing helped for a year.” 304-3, Report #4
Another letter to Edgar Cayce, written on January 17, 1941, by Mrs. [805], contained this short notice:
“ . . . I used the vinegar and salt on my ankle with excellent results. It is much better . . . ”
805-6, Report #1
No mention is made of what was actually the matter with the ankle.
Cayce in his letters during his waking state often gave physical advice to others. To Mrs. [1866], a fifty-eight-year-old woman who had sprained wrists, he wrote on March 23, 1943:
“Hope your wrists are coming along all right. When you take off the casts, be sure to massage the wrists with salt saturated with pure apple vinegar, and they will not give you any further trouble—as such sprains do sometimes when weather is to be bad . . . ”
1866-11, Report #2
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Vinegar is perhaps the oldest healing home remedy. An early Assyrian medical text describes an application of vinegar to treat ear pain. In biblical times it was used to dress wounds and infectious sores. During the U.S. Civil War, vinegar was credited with saving the lives of thousands of soldiers, as it was applied routinely as a disinfectant on wounds.
Essentially vinegar is spoiled wine, most likely accidentally discovered about ten thousand years ago around the time wine was discovered. Its word origin may be French: vinaigre (vin—wine; aigre—sour). Technically it is an acidic liquid made from almost any mildly sweet or alcoholic beverage such as wine, cider, or beer, though health benefits are usually linked to vinegar made from apple cider.
In times past the elaborate process of souring apple cider into vinegar often had magical overtones. However, a tiny microorganism, the vinegar bacillus, produces what is known as an “acetous fermentation,” creating water and acetic acid, which gives vinegar its characteristic tart taste. Two separate and distinct fermentation processes are required to make vinegar. In the first, sugar is changed to alcohol, and in the second, alcohol is changed to acetic acid. This process was thought to confer a special healing ability on the end product, hence its reported traditional use as an enduring health remedy.
OTHER USES FOR APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
In contrast to vinegar’s frequent use as a spice for salads, a weight-loss aid, and an alkalizer for the body, nearly fifty readings caution against ingesting it in one’s diet. Yet enthusiasts claim a long list of ailments that reportedly can be cured or prevented by taking apple cider vinegar internally. Consistently the Cayce readings advise individuals not to put vinegar on raw salads or to eat any food seasoned or canned with vinegar, thus avoiding highly seasoned foods or foods treated with vinegar such as pickles and pickled beets or carrots. “ . . . For the basis of such acid is not good in the body-structural forces . . . ” (2514-14)
With some individuals, vinegar was irritating to the digestion or would produce an over acidity in the stomach. The majority of the dietary excerpts, however, simply state to avoid it, with no specific reason given. “ . . . Never any preparations, as salads, carrying vinegar—unless wine vinegar is used,” one individual was told. (2991-2) Of course, a number of these people had health problems that conceivably could be exacerbated by ingesting vinegar.
Indirectly, the readings mention that vinegar has a beneficial effect in hair rinses that contain it as an ingredient. The comment was made during a series of queries on Furfluf, a fur cleanser that Mrs. [1000] was trying to manufacture and market, in which Cayce simply acknowledged vinegar’s good effects in a hair rinse. (1000-19)
One fifty-one-year-old woman asked what “ . . . special combination {could} be used to prevent serious results from sunburn.” The answer in reading 601-22 was: “There is no better than plain, pure apple vinegar!” Sunburn is an inflamed skin condition caused by prolonged exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The affected area becomes red, hot, and tender, and in severe cases blisters may form. Avoiding any outdoor activity in the middle of the day is frequently noted, roughly from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., since during that time period the sun “ . . . carries too great a quantity of the actinic rays that make for destructive forces to the superficial circulation . . . ” (934-2) Actinic rays are light rays (in particular, the violet and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum) that produce chemical changes. So while beneficial results may be derived from absorption of the sun’s ultraviolet rays [giving “ . . . strength and vitality to the nerves and muscular forces . . . ” (3172-2)], caution and warnings need to be heeded, guarding against overexposure.
No mention is made in the readings of the actual technique for applying the vinegar to the sunburned area, but soaking a washcloth in the vinegar and laying it against the skin or patting the vinegar onto the skin is noted in some home remedy texts.
As an addition to bathwater, vinegar and salt were suggested in the following excerpt: “ . . . bathe the hips and {pubis} with water containing vinegar and salt, not too strong but just enough to strengthen the body from the over strained condition of the system {vulvitis} . . . ” (4449-1)
See also under the heading Other Uses for Coffee Grounds in the chapter “Coffee Foot Bath” for using vinegar, olive oil, and re-steamed coffee grounds as a tanning formula for the skin.
Considering its many uses, apple cider vinegar remains a stable substance and a permanent fixture in one’s kitchen cabinet.
Apple Diet
The term diet, as used in the Cayce readings, most often does not mean what is ordinarily thought of: a weight-loss regimen. More likely diet refers to a way to detoxify one’s body, to cleanse the system, and to achieve a healthier balance. The apple diet is one of several mentioned in the readings (grapes, bananas, and citrus fruit are other examples). This mono-diet is most familiar to individuals as well as the one most often recommended. It involves eating only raw apples for three days, followed by a dose of olive oil (see also the chapter on “Olive Oil”).
In The Edgar Cayce Handbook for Health Through Drugless Therapy, author Dr. Harold Reilly states: “Since most people are toxic to a greater or lesser degree, I have found that a good cleansing routine with the apple-diet regimen is the first step toward improving assimilation and elimination for anyone. If one is reasonably well, the detoxification will bring about an almost euphoric feeling of well-being and provide inexpensive and effective insurance against disease. If one
