Under the influence with Bernard O'Shea: Is apple cider vinegar all it's cracked up to be?

I hate vinegar but, if swallowing a cupful of it every morning could make me lose weight instead of having to exercise and eat more kale, I was willing to revisit my old culinary foe

Bernard O'Shea found it impossible to know if a fortnight of punishing his taste buds had affected his cholesterol or bacterial gut health. However, it has made one big difference in his life. Picture: Moya Nolan

Every summer in the '80s, my father would herd us into the car in Laois to visit his family in West Kerry. It was a gruelling four-hour-long, pre-motorway journey and we'd come back on the same day too.

We had a blue Toyota Corolla with a green door that had well over 100,000 miles on the clock. To fit us all in, I’d have to get into the boot. My mother used to say: “If you need anything Bernard, shout.” By the time we’d get to Nenagh, the only thing I’d be shouting for was oxygen.