Ellen White's Secret Swill

"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. 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. You may be sure we sought the Lord very earnestly. The most fervent prayers were offered for my recovery. I continued to resist the desire for vinegar, and at last I conquered. 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."¹

Let us compare the symptoms that Mrs. White described with the symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.

First, Mrs. White said she was in a life-or-death struggle. Vinegar itself is non-addictive and stopping its use has no adverse impact on the body. However, quitting an addiction to alcohol can truly be a life-or-death struggle:

"A person who is dependent on alcohol and who then suddenly stops drinking goes through a painful and potentially life-threatening withdrawal syndrome as the body adjusts to the absence of alcohol."²

"The following are some of the more common symptoms of alcohol withdrawal: anxiety, agitation, restlessness, insomnia, feeling shaky inside, loss of appetite, nausea, changes in sensory perception, headache, and heart palpitations."³

"The urge to drink again during withdrawal can be very strong."⁴

"Generally, the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal relate proportionately to the amount of alcoholic intake and the duration of a patient’s recent drinking habit."⁵

"Withdrawal symptoms rarely occur in people who only drink once in a while. Symptoms usually occur in people who have been drinking heavily for weeks or months and then suddenly stop drinking."⁶

While it is unheard of for anyone to suffer withdrawal from vinegar itself, the symptoms described by Mrs. White can only be explained as a severe addiction to alcohol. Where was this alcohol found? In her homemade vinegar which she admitted drinking while telling others to stay away from vinegar.

Alcohol Content of Vinegar in the 1800s

First, we are going to establish how vinegar was made in the mid-1800s. Notice the following recipes for homemade vinegar taken from Miss Leslie's Directions for Cookery, published in 1851:

CIDER VINEGAR

Take six quarts of rye meal; stir and mix it well into a barrel of strong hard cider of the best kind; and then add a gallon of whiskey. Cover the cask, (leaving the bung loosely in it,) set it in the part of your yard that is most exposed to the air; and in the course of four weeks (if the weather is warm and dry) you will have good vinegar fit for use.

WHITE VINEGAR

Put into a cask a mixture composed of five gallons of water, two gallons of whiskey, and a quart of strong yeast, stirring in two pounds of powdered charcoal. Place it where it will ferment properly, leaving the bung loose till the fermentation is over...

As you can see from these recipes, vinegar in the mid-1800s was made with ingredients such as "hard cider" and "whiskey." The process of making vinegar changes the alcohol to acetic acid. However, not all of the alcohol is converted into acetic acid. A certain amount remains, and that amount varies according to various factors, including how long the mixture was allowed to ferment. Vinegar purchased off the shelf of a supermarket today is tightly controlled to only contain approximately .5% alcohol, which is quite small. It is impossible to determine exactly how much alcohol was present in the vinegar used by Mrs. White because she was likely using homemade vinegar. The alcohol content of homemade vinegar can vary widely depending about conditions that went into the making of it.

Forbids Others to use Alcohol-laden Vinegar

Mrs. White, following the lead of Dr. Kellogg who denounced vinegar as a poison, condemned its use. Here is what she wrote in 1887:

"The salads are prepared with oil and vinegar, fermentation takes place in the stomach, and the food does not digest, but decays or putrefies. As a consequence the blood is not nourished, but becomes filled with impurities, and liver and kidney difficulty appear. Heart disturbances, inflammation, and many evils are the result of such kind of treatment, and not only are the bodies affected, but the morals, the religious life, are affected."⁸

In the Desire of Ages Mrs. White depicts Jesus as refusing vinegar because of the effect it might have upon his mind:

"In another prophecy the Saviour declared, 'Reproach hath broken My heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.' Ps. 69:20, 21. To those who suffered death by the cross, it was permitted to give a stupefying potion, to deaden the sense of pain. This was offered to Jesus; but when He had tasted it, He refused it. He would receive nothing that could becloud His mind. His faith must keep fast hold upon God. This was His only strength. To becloud His senses would give Satan an advantage."⁹

In 1887, Mrs. White condemned vinegar as affecting "the morals, the religious life." However, in 1911, the prophet of the Seventh-day Adventist church admitted having an addiction to vinegar, which she herself proclaimed affected "the morals, the religious life." Based on this revelation, SDA's should ask themselves two questions:

1. How many letters and testimonies were written while Mrs. White was "under the influence" of vinegar?

2. Could the alcohol content of her vinegar have effected her judgment and discernment?

Ellen White Drinks Wine, and other Swill

Besides vinegar, it appears Mrs. White indulged a little wine and perhaps other alcoholic beverages on occasion. In 1868, James White wrote that, at times when she felt ill, Ellen would use "domestic wine":

"During the past year, Mrs. W. has, at three or four times, had feelings of great debility and faintness in the morning. ... To prevent distressing fainting at these times, she, [Ellen White] immediately after rising, has taken an egg in a little pure domestic grape wine, perhaps a spoonful at a time, and never thought that this had to do with drugs, as she uses the term in her writings, more than the man in the moon. During this past year, she may have used one pint of wine. ..."¹⁰

Twenty years after James' article, Sister White writes a letter to Elder E.P. Daniels, whose family apparently drank wine. As justification for their driking wine, Ellen writes that Brother Daniels reportedly said, "Brother and Sister White kept wine in their house, and to your certain knowledge used it."¹² This would seem to indicate other Adventists were aware of Mrs. White's habit of using alcoholic beverages, and used that knowledge to justify their own indulgences. In her letter to Daniels, Mrs. White admits to using a small amount of alcoholic wine:

"I have not tested the wine that you claim is not intoxicating. I have perhaps used half a pint in all, taking a spoonful with a raw egg, much as I hate the taste of wine..."¹³

According to the Dictionary, a "cordial" is a "strong, sweetened, aromatic alcoholic liquor; liqueur" or a "strong highly flavored sweet liquor usually drunk after a meal."¹⁵ Interestingly enough, she warned physicians that "wine, beer, and other stimulants" were not to be used "in the treatment of the sick."¹⁶

Conclusion

Seventh-day Adventists should be very concerned that Ellen White was apparently addicted to alcohol during a time when she was writing books, articles, and sending out testimonies in the name of the Lord. She admits having an addiction to home-made vinegar, admits using alcoholic wine, and spoke of looking for a "cordial" as if it were a customary event for her. Other Adventists witnessed the alcohol in her home and used it to justify their own drinking. We may never know exactly how much alcohol Sister White downed, or how long her addiction lasted, but it certainly calls into question the veracity of her writings during the latter part of her life.

Your questions answered: Is Vinegar really so harmful?

Vinegar is mentioned in the Bible--in the Book of Ruth and in Proverbs. It is also specifically called for in the making of haroseth in Pesachim, a section of the Talmud. Hippocrates prescribed the drinking of vinegar for his patients in ancient Greece. Columbus had barrels of vinegar on his ships for the prevention of scurvy. Indeed, Apple Cider Vinegar has been used for thousands of years, as both a health and cleansing agent. It is antibacterial and anti-fungal and gives the immune system a good boost. As a high potassium electrolyte balancer, it remineralizes the body and helps normalize the blood’s alkaline acid balance. Apple Cider Vinegar is proving most beneficial to people or animals with arthritis because it breaks down calcium deposits in the joints while remineralizing the bones. Here are just a few of its other benefits:¹⁶

• Reduces cholesterol (the dangerous LDL cholesterol type)
• Regulates the water content in the cells and body
• Reduces water retention in the body
• Removes excess sodium from the body
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Assists in preventing circulatory problems
• Helps with diminishing premature calcification of the arteries
• Helps increase concentration and memory
• Assists in blood circulation

Like so many of her other health counsels, it appears Mrs. White may not have had all the facts about the health benefits of vinegar.