Water, vinegar, and surviving heat. Works at a price.
In the Aug. 96 issue of American Survival Guide is an article entitled "Living with the Heat", by Christopher Nyerges. In this article, besides the common sense recommendations of loose light clothing, a hat, etc. is the recommendation that one add to each quart of water about 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
The author explains that vinegar affects the hypothalamus which controls the body's cooling system. Mr. Nyerges says "With one tablespoon of raw vinegar per quart of drinking water, one can tolerate the heat without feeling drained and stressed." Since I am shortly to undertake an extensive trip through the southern California desert in an un-airconditioned car, I thought I would try this out and then carry water with vinegar with me on the trip. Today, with temperatures in Sonoma Co. hovering over 100 deg. F., it seemed like a good time to experiment.
I poured a quart of water into a bottle and added 1 tablespoon of ordinary apple cider vinegar. The vinegar taste was so strong I could not even drink the water. So I diluted it with a second quart. Now drinkable, it still tasted terrible, but I decided to go ahead with the experiment. I drank that two quarts over the next couple of hours while doing ordinary things about the yard in the 100 degree heat. All in all, I have to say that I did feel better than I otherwise would have doing yard work in that heat. The vinegar must have done some good. Yet there was a price to pay. Every time I took a swig I felt nauseous. I never threw up, but the nauseous feeling lasted throughout the afternoon (of course I was drinking it throughout the afternoon).
When I finished that 2 quarts, I made another, this time adding only 1 teaspoon of vinegar to a quart of water, and in addition I added a teaspoon of sugar just to see what would happen. The lower vinegar concentration and the sugar did make the water a little more palatable, but it still made me nauseous to drink it.
It's evening now, the temp is back down, and I've been through an experimental gallon of water with vinegar. I still have a queasy stomach as a result! So what do I do? Has anyone else tried this technique? What has been your experience. Perhaps I am reacting to the vinegar while others don't? I like the way the vinegar + water helped me to feel less drained by the heat, but the nausea certainly isn't a pleasant trade-off. Or is it? Can anyone relate similar experiences?
