Ellen G. White spent much of her 87 years battling poor health. Severe illness, periods of exhaustion, and ongoing physical struggles shaped many of her views on health reform. Her personal experiences often became the lens through which she interpreted diet, disease, and the body’s relationship to health.
One of the more surprising examples is her attitude toward vinegar. Today, apple cider vinegar is widely promoted as a natural remedy for issues ranging from digestion to blood sugar regulation. In the nineteenth century, however, vinegar was often a much more strongly fermented product than the varieties commonly sold today. Modern manufacturing methods, preservatives, and improved sanitation have significantly changed the production of condiments. Ellen White, however, viewed vinegar as a dietary enemy. She claimed that it promoted fermentation in the stomach, contaminated the blood, and contributed to diseases of the liver and kidneys.
Interestingly, there is evidence that Ellen White may have been consuming apple cider, which in the nineteenth century was often an alcoholic beverage. This adds an intriguing layer of complexity to her views on vinegar. Regular consumption of alcohol is well known to have harmful effects on the liver and kidneys, raising the possibility that some of the health concerns she attributed to vinegar may have been associated with alcoholic cider instead.
What makes this position particularly interesting is that she openly admitted struggling with a strong craving for this particular beverage, whatever it was, herself.
Writing to a woman who was battling an unhealthy habit, White shared her own experience: “There was a time when I was in a situation similar in some respects to yours. I had indulged the desire for vinegar. But I resolved with the help of God to overcome this appetite. I fought the temptation, determined not to be mastered by this habit. If you will determine to overcome, the Lord … will give you strength to resist every temptation.“
According to White, giving up vinegar triggered a prolonged physical crisis.
“For weeks I was very sick; but I kept saying over and over, The Lord knows all about it. If I die, I die; but I will not yield to this desire. The struggle continued, and I was sorely afflicted for many weeks. All thought that it was impossible for me to live.”
Eventually, she believed she had gained complete victory over the craving.
“Now I have no inclination to taste anything of the kind. This experience has been of great value to me in many ways. I obtained a complete victory.“
Her account raises an intriguing historical question: what exactly was the “vinegar” that Ellen White found so difficult to withdraw from? As she says, “If I die, I die; but I will not yield to this desire.” A quick search of alcohol withdrawal reveals the serious medical risks that can accompany this.
Did Ellen White Mean Vinegar or Alcoholic Cider?
There is still ongoing debate about the type of vinegar White was consuming. Was it apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, alcoholic apple cider or one of the harsh commercial vinegars becoming common during the nineteenth century?
The Case for Apple Cider Vinegar
The strongest evidence points toward apple cider vinegar. White grew up in Maine and spent much of her early ministry in New England and Michigan. During the nineteenth century, apples were the dominant orchard crop in these regions. Hard cider was a common household drink in Ellen White’s time, and when the fermentation process continued, it eventually produced apple cider vinegar. This is quite different from the apple cider vinegar sold in supermarkets today, which contains no meaningful amount of alcohol. In the nineteenth century, however, cider and vinegar were closely linked through the fermentation process, making them very different products from their modern counterparts.
For many rural families, apple cider vinegar was simply the vinegar. It was used in cooking, preserving food, and everyday household life. White frequently linked vinegar with “sour cider” in her writings. In 1870 she warned against both “cider and vinegar,” suggesting that she viewed them as different stages of the same fermentation process. This connection strongly supports the idea that apple cider vinegar was the substance she had in mind.
The Case for Wine Vinegar
Others argue that White may have been referring to wine vinegar. During the nineteenth century, Adventists were heavily involved in debates about fermented and unfermented wine in the Bible. Wine vinegar also had a direct biblical connection, being the “vinegar” mentioned in the crucifixion accounts.
Later in life, White travelled extensively and spent nearly a decade in Australia, where grape-based vinegars were more commercially available than they had been in rural New England. Her strongest objections were directed not at apples or grapes themselves, but at the process of fermentation. Since wine vinegar was an obvious product of fermentation, some historians see it as fitting her concerns particularly well.
A Third Possibility: Commercial Vinegars
There is also a third possibility that is often overlooked. The industrial revolution brought mass-produced vinegars onto the market. Many were made from fermented malt mash or from distilled wood alcohol products. These commercial vinegars were often far harsher than traditional homemade vinegars and were commonly used in pickled foods. White specifically mentioned cravings for highly seasoned pickles and condiments. It is entirely possible that some of the vinegar she consumed came from these commercially prepared products rather than from homemade apple cider vinegar alone.
The Bigger Issue: Fermentation
Ultimately, the debate may focus too much on whether the source was apples, grapes, or malt. For Ellen White, the real issue was fermentation itself.
She viewed fermentation as a process of decay and believed that fermented products introduced harmful influences into the body. In her mind, vinegar, hard cider, and alcoholic beverages all belonged to the same family because they were produced through similar biological processes. Whether the vinegar originated from an apple orchard in Maine, a vineyard in Australia, or a commercial factory, White saw it as evidence of what she called the “laws of fermentation” at work.
The irony is that one of her strongest health warnings grew out of a personal struggle. Long before she condemned vinegar in print, she had first fought a private battle with her own appetite for it, whether it was vinegar, apple cider vinegar, malt wine, or even alcoholic apple cider itself – a battle she later described as one of the most difficult victories of her life.
Further Reading:
Thank God Ellen White Was an Alcoholic, AdventistToday.org https://atoday.org/thank-god-ellen-white-was-an-alcoholic/
EG White, Counsels on Diet and Foods, pp. 484–485.
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