Vinegar contains acetic acid, which helps in the release of calcium from nutrients and in its absorption by the body. Vinegar also contains other important nutrients, such as vitamin D, which is necessary for calcium absorption.
Adding vinegar to food can help strengthen bones, as it helps absorb calcium well from vegetables that contain it, such as spinach, for example. It also boosts calcium levels in athletes.
Vinegar has also been used in traditional medicine to treat coughs, colds, and some skin diseases. But its newly discovered importance relates to calcium absorption.
There are two main food sources of calcium: the first: milk, dairy products, cheese, and eggs, and the second: dark leafy vegetables, but these vegetables contain oxalates that prevent the absorption of calcium in the body, and here comes the importance of acetic acid because it helps neutralize these compounds that prevent the absorption of calcium.
Eating vinegar is important with age, as the body’s ability to absorb calcium from food decreases, and calcium from nutritional supplements is only partially absorbed. Therefore, calcium should be mixed with compounds that help increase its absorption, such as magnesium, or taking vinegar to increase the body’s ability to absorb this important mineral, to avoid osteoporosis and prevent painful cramps in the legs that occur when the level of calcium is low in the blood.