| Alternative medicine | |
|---|---|
| Claims | Wide ranging benefits on health |
| See also | Switchel |
Honeygar, alsoHonegar, is a mix ofhoney andapple cider vinegar, similar toswitchel. Honey and vinegar mixtures such asoxymel have been used for purported health benefits since ancient times.
The name "Honegar" was used byD. C. Jarvis in his bookFolk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health (1958). Following the success of Jarvis's book in the US, honegar also enjoyed some popularity inJapan.[1] Many in natural health circles claim that honeygar has wide ranging benefits on health. One particularly repeated claim is its benefits for the symptoms ofarthritis, although there is no clinical evidence to support this.[2]
In 1960, copies of Jarvis' bookFolk Medicine were seized by theFood and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection with sales of honegar.[3][4] PhysicianLouis Lasagna noted that:[5]
In Albany, New York, FDA agents seized $60,000 worth of "Honegar," a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar, because its labeling failed to bear adequate directions for treating nearly fifty diseases and conditions for which "Honegar" was intended to be used. Seized with the mixture were reprints and quotations from Jarvis' book. (Jarvis was apparently uninvolved in the commercial manufacture of the product.)