Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
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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.
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.
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!
These recipes make drinking ACV enjoyable and delicious!
- Ginger Spice ACV Drink
- Limeade ACV Drink
- Grapefruit ACV Drink
- Honey Cayenne ACV Drink
- Apple Pie ACV Drink
- Fire Cider
- Grape Antioxidant Drink
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. 🙂
A long time ago, I remember reading an article in Cosmopolitan magazine, about a actress who took a tsp of vinegar in warm water every night before bed. I think it was Joan Rivers. I suppose like everything else it depends on the individual’s own biology. Dr. Oz says vinegar is rough on teeth enamel and his guest recommended drinking with a straw. I found your site while searching for Bragg vinegar. I’d like to know how it compares to other brands. I’ve seen it on the shelves at our local grocery store, and comparatively it is a lot more expensive. Looking for the best value, I was wondering if there has been any official independent study done.
Here’s a link to ACV at webmd: http://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar
hi wanted to ask is ACV good for eczema and acne also does it also work for ppl under the age of 20
I heard through the grapevine that ACV can cure Polio and Fight Communism. Why doesn’t the miitary use this against North Korea?
Why are you here. You’re not very amusing.
Whoooaaaa!!!! Eeeeeeasy Tomcat. I’m here to learn all about the mystical powers of ACV. I’ll admit, I’m not nearly as entertaining as say, The A-Team or Magnum P.I., but it sounds like the real problem here is that you may have come down with a case of The Mondays!. But have no fear Tomboy, there is a cure for that! Thats right, its a little miracle drug called APPLE CIDER VINEGAR!
Wow. You’re even less amusing than I originally thought. Just another trolling jackass.
Oh TomTom, what are we going to do with you? You better drink your Apple Cider Vinegar and turn that frown upside down! You can call me names all you want Tommy Boy, I still love you. Hang in there squirt!
Peter, you’re starting to turn me on.
you spoke of other ingredients that you add to your mixture, what are those?
I gargle with it, add a little salt and hot water and clear up swollen glands in my throat. Works wonders.
trying to lose weight will this really work
Hi my name is Dawn. ACV has helped me with it’s anti-bacterial properties. i have an absess under my arm that the doctors are stalling to remove. I have been prescribed every kind of antibiotic (none have gotten rid of the boil) there is in the last four years and the absess still bothered me. I have not had anymore pain since using ACV on a daily basis. It has shrunk in size also.
I put a few drops of ACV in my pets water and they do not have fles, ticks, worms or any other ailments that affect canines. Their coats are shiny and soft. It helps my family. I am also shedding inches of fat without trying.
Dawn,
To clear the boil, are you ingesting the acv or are you applying it to the wound?
I’ve been taking ACV for a week now. I tried with water (gross) and tried making a hot tea with honey out of it (still kind of gross).
Read somewhere online that mixing it with apple juice masks the taste. I tried it and sure enough it does. I use pure apple juice, not the from concentrate kind. I put 2 table spoons of ACV with about 8 ounces of apple juice, I use a straw so as not to have the liquid on my teeth as I’ve read it’s bad for teeth. I do this in the morning. Before dinner I half the recipe.
I am taking it primarily for weight loss, but any other benefit is welcome :). Over the week I have found that my appetite has decreased and I don’t crave sweets or even snack like I used to. I’m finding that it’s a lot easier to stick to a low calorie diet and not feel hungry. I’m excited about it as I’ve been overweight all my life (I’m 36).
I’ll report back my progress to let you all know how it’s going and if I’m actually losing weight.
Report back as promised. At last weigh in (yesterday) I’ve lost 2 pounds. I skipped a day and the hunger pangs were unbearable. ACV isn’t a cure but it’s helping me with hunger, when I take it I don’t over eat.
I’ll try and report back again.
Down 7 pounds now! Eating great food and learning how to cook things I’ve never cooked before. ACV has helped me on my way!
Still on the ACV. Down 25 lbs. Slow and steady wins the race 🙂
Hi,
I have a lot of brown spots all over my forearms and hands. i think it is due to hormones. I have been trying acv at night on them , and hopefully they’ll disappear soon. It’s only been 3 days. I shall try it internally too. I wouldn’t mind being a little more beautiful!!!! Has anyone tried it on there brown spots? If so has it worked?
I started drinking Apple Cider Vinegar recently also. To early to tell what benefits I will get but based on my research, I am very, very confident.