FOOD NEWS
Apple Cider Vinegar's Popularity Began With A Hollywood Health Guru
By Elias Nash
One of the most popular examples of a superfood in recent memory is apple cider vinegar (ACV), and proponents of ACV say it can soothe a sore throat, stop dandruff, and aid weight loss. Its rise to prominence has been aided by A-list endorsements from the likes of Katy Perry and Scarlett Johansson, but ACV’s tale of Hollywood success actually began a century ago.
Epicurious mostly credits the modern ACV trend to Paul C. Bragg, who gained fame as a Hollywood health guru in the mid-1900s. Bragg expanded his business in the 1920s, opening a combination store and restaurant called the Bragg Health Center in Los Angeles, and his Apple Cider Vinegar is still available in grocery stores, with its label proudly exclaiming that it comes unfiltered.
Epicurious also notes that Bragg’s booklet, "The Apple Cider Vinegar Miracle Health System," promotes ACV as a virtual cure-all, helping with weight loss, heart disease, baldness, and a vague problem called "female troubles." ACV preserving one's youth was perhaps Bragg's most popular and controversial claim, and he was known to lie about his age in interviews to promote this theory.