Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Brittany MullinsUpdated Dec 18, 2023

717 Comments

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Learn more about the health benefits of apple cider vinegar including blood sugar control, lowering cholesterol and weight loss. Plus tips for how to incorporate apple cider vinegar into your diet.

It seems like everyone is talking about apple cider vinegar these days. I’m sure you’ve heard about it and are wondering if it really lives up to the hype…

So I’m going to break down the facts for you!

Spoiler alert: I’ve been using apple cider vinegar for years and love it! It’s such an easy thing to add to your daily routine and the health benefits are amazing. Read on to learn more.

A bottle of Bragg Organic Vinegar.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar

First, let’s start with the basics! Apple cider vinegar is a vinegar made from fermented apple juice. The process starts by adding yeast to crushed apples.

The yeast ferments the sugars and turns them into alcohol. At this point, bacteria is added which further ferments the alcohol and turns it into acetic acid… the main active compound found in most vinegar.

Acetic acid gives vinegar its pungent smell and flavor and is also responsible for many of ACV’s health benefits.

ACV in a tablespoon over a glass cup.

Apple Cider Vinegar Nutrients

ACV contains similar nutrients to apple juice and apple cider: pectin; vitamins B1, B2, and B6 (also known as biotin; folic acid and niacin), as well as, pantothenic acid and vitamin C.

It also contains small amounts of minerals including sodium, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium.

One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar has about 3 calories.

Health Benefits of ACV

The health benefits of apple cider vinegar aren’t something we just discovered. For centuries people have known about its antimicrobial and antioxidant effects and generations have used it in both cooking and medicine.

That said, recent research has brought many health benefits of ACV to light so let’s talk about them.

Weight Loss

Multiple studies have shown that consuming vinegar is linked to “feelings of fullness” which in turn will help manage your caloric intake. (Source)

Of course, only adding apple cider vinegar to your routine and not changing anything else about your lifestyle isn’t recommended. Still, if you’re looking for a boost to your healthy eating and exercise habits, it’s certainly worth incorporating ACV into your daily routine.

I’ve personally found ACV to help a ton with feeling full. Whenever I’m drinking 1-2 Tablespoons of ACV a day I don’t have intense cravings for food or find myself snacking mindlessly.

Blood Sugar

This one is huge because studies have shown that apple cider vinegar improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood sugar after meals. (Source)

Researchers are excited about what this could mean for people with Type 2 Diabetes, but also for the general public as high blood sugar has been linked to chronic diseases. (Source)

Heart Health

There aren’t enough studies to link apple cider vinegar and heart health in humans, but multiple studies have shown a link between the two in animals. Animal studies have shown that ACV can lower cholesterol, blood pressure and other heart disease factors. Again, more research needs to be done with humans but the studies are promising with animals! (Source)

Digestion

Apple cider vinegar is naturally acidic so for people with low stomach acidity, adding ACV into their diet may help raise stomach acid levels, which will help with digestion and overall gut health.

ACV also has antimicrobial properties, which may help kill bacteria in the stomach or intestines. Excess bacteria can lead to gas and bloating so eliminating it with ACV may help alleviate these symptoms.

I personally love drinking ACV regularly to help with my digestion! If you feel gassy or bloated after a meal or when traveling, try drinking apple cider vinegar.

I like to take it before a meal to prep my digestive tract, but I have also taken it after eating if I was in pain and my body needed a little extra support.

Improve Your Skin

While some have noted improvements in their skin by taking apple cider vinegar internally, you can also use it topically! It has been used to improve dry skin and eczema.

If you try this, be sure to dilute the ACV and spot-test a small area of your skin before applying it over a larger area. Here’s a recipe for making your own apple cider vinegar facial toner.

WATCH MY VIDEO ABOUT THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR:

What Type of ACV Is Best?

There are several types of apple cider vinegar on the market! You want to look for one that is labeled organic apple cider vinegar with the ‘mother’ or unpasteurized. The ‘mother’ is made up of strand-like enzymes of connected protein molecules with living nutrients and bacteria, similar to the ‘mother’ that’s in Kombucha.

Clear vinegar is processed and doesn’t have any of the benefits that raw apple cider vinegar has. There are different brands out there but I use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar which you can find at most grocery stores and on Amazon.

How to Drink

Now that you know all the benefits I’m sure you’re wondering how to incorporate ACV into your daily routine. You can totally just dilute it with water and drink it that way, but if you’ve tasted ACV diluted with water you’ll know that it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s pretty pungent and doesn’t taste all that pleasant on its own.

Lucky for you, I have a ton of drink recipes to share!

A glass of an apple pie vinegar drink with salt around the rim.

These recipes make drinking ACV enjoyable and delicious!

More ACV Recipes

Of course, you don’t have to drink your apple cider vinegar! There are a ton of other ways to incorporate it into your diet. I love adding it to my salad dressings or using it as a marinade for protein. Here are some of my favorite recipes with ACV.

How Much Should You Drink Daily? 

I drink 2 Tablespoons a day, in the morning, and I usually make one of those drinks that I linked above. I also incorporate ACV in a variety of recipes, which I shared above.

What Happens When You Take ACV Daily?

It’s hard for me to tell if the habit of adding in ACV daily is working wonders on my body and helping in ALL the ways I mentioned above, however I do know that my complexion has been really clear since I’ve started taking it and I crave my apple cider vinegar drink every day now.

In the morning I make my drink in a large mason jar. I’ll sip on it throughout the morning or have it after lunch with my afternoon snack. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that it helps to keep me feeling full and less hungry, which is huge for me because I tend to have a habit of mindless snacking!

Disclaimer – Due to the lack of supporting research, apple cider vinegar cannot be recommended for treatment or prevention of any health problems. Also, please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or healthcare provider before taking any home remedies or supplements. I’m just sharing my experience and what works for one person doesn’t always work for another. 🙂

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About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

More about Brittany

717 Comments

  1. I think the most recommended drinking dosage is 2 teaspoons mixed in minimum of 16 ounces of water. You list 2 tablespoons without indicating how much water. That is very risky on your part. That much acv taken with a small amount of water can be dangerous!

    1. I’ve been taking mine straight off a teaspoon… Is that not recommended?? I’m used to the taste but if it’s not safe then I will mix it with my acai or orange juice.

    2. @ Fraser,
      Why would this be dangerous? I think I would rather do that to my body than drink a can of cola.

      1. Ok. That is certainly your right. I already explained why though. Check it yourself. Good luck.

  3. You say that ACV has alkaline properties….It’s incredibly acidic. This would definitely not be good to drink if you ingest a lot of coffee or wine. The reason the serving size is such a small amount is because excessive quantities are bad for the lining in your stomach. Unless I am mistaken this is a big issue because you’re informing people with already acidic intakes that by drinking ACV they can regulate this acidity, when in actuality it would severely increase the acidity levels of their body.

  4. Thank you for the information Brittany. I used it for acid reflux that I used to suffer at night and found immediate help with this. I also noticed that it helped my allergies greatly and it allows me to breath through my nose which I was often unable to do before trying it. I usually drink a couple of tablespoons in a half glass of water two or three times a day and I use it with an olive oil and vinegar in salads. Raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar has a long history of use and was one of Hippocrates remedies. Hippocrates is a Greek physician from before the time of Christ and is considered the father of modern medicine. Bragg’s is the brand that I have tried.

  5. Hi there, i really want to lose weight. can you tell me how to consume ACV inorder to lose weight. many thankz

    1. Simple – instead of eating meals, drink diluted ACV instead. I guarantee you will lose weight very quickly.

  6. hi i am mary lyndel canlas OFW in kuwait,since i started to work abroad,i noticed that the skin on my face having more pimples specially acne, do you think this ACV can help to clear on my face and could possibly remove the pimple scars and dark spots?pls share what i am supposed to do and how to apply on my face…

    1. YES- ABSOLUTELY- that comes from someone who’s tried it. Contrary to most of the info on here,
      Internally- it is not a bad thing if the vinegar is taken full strength (if you can handle the taste of it, go right ahead. I always had a thing for salt & vinegar (or malt-vinegar and sea-salt) chips for many years- stronger the flavor, the better.) I DO follow the vinegar with a bit of food, however. Never had burning sensation in my throat or stomach from taking it straight-up.
      Externally: YES to the varicose/spider veins- although most doctors will tell you to go get an operation to have them removed. DON’T LISTEN. Twice a day, after a shower in the morning and just before bed at night, take about 1 cup or so of the vinegar- UNDILUTED AND FULL STRENGTH- and literally MASSAGE it into the bulging veins in the inflamed leg. Don’t stop until that cup of vinegar’s used up. (Sit on the side of the bathtub while you’re doing it.) You won’t see results for about a week or so as your body needs time to adjust- but eventually you will not feel pain anymore if standing on your feet for a length of time. Yes, you may go through a few bottles of ACV quickly- but for the pain relief- it’s SO worth it.
      Regards, Nigel

  8. I am a Filipino, I am 52 years of age, I am suffering skin asthma, do you think ACV can clear my face and also my arms? please advice me on how to apply ACV on my skin. Thank you .

    1. Hi Rosemarie, I use ACV daily on my face and body after a shower. Use as directed on the bottle which is: 8oz water (I use warm water) with 1tbs of ACV some people use 2tbs. I put it in a spray bottle and use 1/2 the bottle on my hair as a pre rinse and let sit for 10 minutes, this will make your hair soft and shiny, after showering take a cotton ball and spray it then apply to your face and spray the rest it of it on your body and rub it in, air dry. After air drying I also apply baby oil on my body only not my face. You should see a difference in less than a week if done daily. I hope it helps with your skin asthma. I almost forgot I use it on my face morning and night.

    2. I am 54 and never used vinegar for anything until I purchased the plain white vinegar in a huge bottle (from Costco) for cleaning some odors in an old dresser and discovered that it calmed the itch on my hands. This was remarkable to me and completely by “accident.” My hands have always been hypersensitive due to allergies (I also have asthma) and are sensitive to washing dishes and a lot of hand washing but it seems like the vinegar sooths and calms the itching and eczema. I use an over-the-counter cortisone cream and even that doesn’t feel as calming as the vinegar. This is what got me interested in the health claims of vinegar. I only recently decided to try and go gluten free since food testing done years ago showed that I have grain allergies.

    1. I don’t know about Jeddah, but I get mine at the local Kroger in the organic foods section. I would assume any organic food store would have it.

  10. My name is brandon in my hair Iine is receiving I was wondering can ASV can grow my hair back….an also my skin is lookn like a dark dry loook too it can ASV doin anything too lighten my skin an also stop the dryness

      1. Try castor oil or coconut oil to grow hair. You can add rosemary oil to these oils to grow back your hair however rosemary oil is known to darken hair.

      3. Not everyone speak English as their first language. I think the Vinegar can help you to be more open-minded.

      5. @DaveyC….pretty rude comment, even though you put a winking emoticon afterwards….sometimes we shouldn’t let out those negative things that linger around in our head-it just puts negative energy into the world and I’m sure you didn’t make Brandon feel any better about himself by saying that. Thinking before you speaking your mind is always a good thing to remember. Perhaps you should drink the AV in large doses …to help with your ignorance….

        1. Way to go Julie!! Why is it that when someone is reaching out for help there is always someone out there that wants to make them feel even worse!! Why not instead try to say something nice to someone at least once a day!! It is nice to see that some people care about the way a total stranger feels. If there were more people like Julie out there this world would be a better place. And to DaveC if you give love you will receive it. You will be amazed at how your life will change. So to you DaveC I wish you a wonderful weekend!!

    2. hello brandon,
      my husband had a small bald patch at his crown so i said to him to start the vinegar organic with the mother unfiltered. it definitely grew back could not believe it he took it everyday over several months. they said a hair folicle can be stimulated to grow again as long as it is not dead. ibelieve the bald patch hair may have been dead but there where still small hairs that could not be seen and started to regrow. this seems to be the same for the rest of his head as although his hair has thinned he is not bald. he’s delighted. definitely gave it a try as he also had a receding hairline but has not worsened any. goodluck. you will have many benefits to your health as well as your hair.

      1. Hi Majella,
        Did your husband drink the ACV or did he apply it directly on his scalp? Exactly how many months did it take to see results? Hope to hear from you soon.

        1. I have not used ACV internally for hair growth, however, ACV makes a really good hair conditioner, and is really healthy for the skin. I have an unbelievably sensitive scalp and just about any shampoo/conditioner will make me itch like mad and even break out from build up. I started using baking soda as my ‘shampoo’ and ACV diluted with a little water and some of my favorite essential oils like lavender and tea tree oil in a spray bottle as my ‘conditioner.’

          My itch went away within days, I didn’t have the constant scabs and breakouts, my hair was super thick shiny and healthy within weeks. I highly recommend it to, not just people with hair and scalp problems, but to everyone. Although, I do not know how this works ultra curly or ethnic hair… I suggest reading up on it first before trying.

    3. Jesse, ACV does help with weight loss but shouldn’t rely on it solely. Your body needs vital vitamins and nutrients which also help with weight loss. If you’re unsure of what foods to eat and what foods to avoid, then I highly recommend an online presentation called “5 foods to never eat” by Isabel De Los Rios. You can watch it at: http://www.DSPmethod.com