Jim here with another intriguing installment of Weird Wednesday.Look, I'm a hugefan of gigantic, mondo salads. If you (well, not raw foodists but most SAD-diet Americans) were to visit our house at lunch time, you'd likely think that the individual salads on our table are as big as the salads bowls put out for entire families (for those few families, relatively speaking, that serve any salad at all these days, that is).

Seriously, when I have enough prep time, I like to pile 'em high with organic green leaf (though I'll take red leaf or romaine frequently), tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, apple slices, pepitos, sunflower seeds, raisins -- basically everything but the kitchen sink.

Then, when they're ready to serve, there's the whole "dressing" issue in our household. Wendi's big on olive oil (first cold pressed, thank you very much) and lemon juice. Historically, I've always been a Balsamic vinegar (hold the oil) kind of guy. The kid? She's usually a vinegar & oil lover (not surprising, as she likes mixing what both of her parents eat).

A few months back, though, I started reading the ingredients on the Balsamic stuff. It had a little caramelized sugar in it and, while it was a minor ingredient, I figured I'd take a look around to see what else is lingering in the marketplace. That's when I discovered Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar. I bought a bottle on spec and never looked back.

Ostensibly, it seemed like a good choice. From a raw foods perspective, it is marketed as "alive" with beneficial enzymes and so forth. It also had no added sugar and was made from organic apples. It was also super cheap (just $2/bottle, which lasts a long time). Plus, there were/are all sorts of claims going back to antiquity related to its general healing nature (esp. for weight loss/weight control).

Admittedly, there were a few issues I never got my head completely around -- such as whether it's (1) just acidic, or (2) acidic in nature yet somehow alkalizing to the body. But, I came to love the stuff. And so did the kid... We drown our salads in it regularly. But maybe it's not so great for you after all. And, be warned: The following observations are painfully unscientific -- but still worth sharing since this is, after all, WEIRD WEDNESDAY.

So, yesterday, Wendi ate the rest of Kerala's lunchtime salad -- which, for the first time, exposed her (Wendi's) body to apple cider vinegar. Everything seemed fine... But then this morning, Wendi woke up not feeling so great (including, notably, sore joints).

Now, normally, this would be just one of those things, but I've also noticed regularly sore joints over the past few months. My right elbow and knee in particular always seem a little painful. I'd been wondering, given the millions of reports of how diets rich in raw foods are especially good for inflammatory illnesses: How is it that I'm having joint pain ? If I should be "healed" from anything, you'd think joint pain would be the first to go, right?

So, I ask you:? Could this be related to apple cider vinegar ? Just out of curiosity, I looked up vinegar in Douglas Graham's "80-10-10 Diet" book and was quite surprised to read his assertion that vinegar (any kind) is actually "a toxin." Good lord... and I LOVE the stuff!!!

So, is it a panacea or a toxin ? Well, the jury's out on this little controversy -- even WebMD has no real position on the matter. I'm going to do an experiment, though. I'm switching, for now, to lemon juice. I'll let you know if I notice a difference.