Note: Be sure to check with your doctor before using vinegar as a health treatment.

During the fall season, vinegar, an ancient folk medicine - now widely recognized as a valuable weight loss tool and potent elixir - can help both locals and tourists slim down and healthy up.

Want to lose up to 5, 10, 15 pounds? Lower your blood pressure or cholesterol levels during the hectic holidays? Fight seasonal colds and flu? It's time to using this natural, inexpensive modern miracle in your cupboard, according to Cal Orey, author of the popular book "The Healing Powers of Vinegar: A Complete Guide to Nature's Most Remarkable Remedy," Revised and Updated (Kensington, September 2006). Here's why.

1. Fat Burner: Nutritionists say apple cider vinegar is a notable fat burner because of its ability to keep sodium and potassium levels balanced. As a potassium-rich food, apple cider vinegar will put a lid on your appetite because you will be far less hungry.

Home Cure: Every day before each meal, drink 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in an 8-ounce glass of water. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey, if desired.

2. Metabolic Syndrome Fighter: Excess body fat puts you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. These problems together or "metabolic syndrome" are of concern to adults (at any age), but especially to baby boomers and seniors.

Home Cure: Follow the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, which includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts, fresh fish, and olive oil; don't forget fat-burning vinegar - all types. Plus, include daily physical activity.

3. Bye-Bye Cold: Got a runny nose, sore throat, cough? Chances are, you've got a cold.

Home Cure: Mix 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar with 1/2 cup of honey. Take 1 tablespoon several times daily.

4. Clear Up Congestion: When it comes to fighting colds and sinus congestion, apple cider vinegar comes to the rescue again.

Home Cure: To clear up clogged respiratory congestion, inhale a vapor mist from a steaming pot containing water and several teaspoons of vinegar.

5. Stop a Cough: Coughs come with everything from the common cold to acute bronchitis, which causes mucus in the throat and lungs. Not only is coughing annoying, but it can hurt your chest after a while, too.

Home Cure: Mix 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 4 teaspoons of honey. Take 1 tablespoon when your cough starts up. Take another at bedtime.

6. Cure an Earache: In the mountains, you may have realized that every winter you get an earache due to the low humidity and the high altitude. Since vinegar fights infection, it makes sense that it can be used to fight an oncoming earache caused by bacteria.

Home Cure: Dab apple cider vinegar on sore areas surrounding the outer ear canals.

7. Fizzle Out the Flu: Do you have muscle aches and pains, headaches, low back pain, fatigue, and fever? If you are a victim of the flu season - or don't want to be, drink plenty of fluids.

Home Cure: Try 1 teaspoon of the ground root of goldenseal in 1 cup of boiling water. Steep for a few minutes, then strain. Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with honey or lemon. Repeat three times daily.

In "The Healing Powers of Vinegar" you will learn red wine vinegar contains resveratrol - it's the latest buzz in the new. Thanks to researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Aging, the report shows that the natural substance found in red wine and grapes offsets the bad effects of a high-calorie diet in mice and boosts their longevity. In Cal Orey's new book she explains how this compound, found in the Mediterranean-style diet foods such as blueberries and nuts, may play a role in staving off heart disease, cancer and other age-related diseases.

"The Healing Powers of Vinegar" is available at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.