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. 🙂
Eastern medicine has thousands of years of research on ACV. (Google ACV and ‘dampness.’) Just sayin. 🙂
Just discovered your blog — love it! Thank you for all of the wonderful stories and recipes. I immediately ran to Whole Foods and bought kale — I’ve been meaning to give it a try in the kitchen and finally found the inspiration in your writings. Yippee!
I have really bad hand eczema. I’ve been mixing 1\2 tsp acv mixed with 2 oz real unsweetened cranberry juice with 1 tsp lemon juice, and 6 oz spring water. I drink this before every meal, so three times a day. You can’t taste the apc vinegar at all hardly, just a strange after taste. Within 3 days my hands have cleared up very nicely and don’t itch hardly at all. None of the prescription creams came close to doing anything this good. My husband and I can finally sleep again !! I used to wake us both up at night itching like crazy.
hi ive been drinking this product for a month an i dont see any change do any of u see a difference in ur body structure how long before this actually works .
Please just keep with it. I drink it all the time. I lost over 20 lbs. but it is slow like a couple pounds a month. From my experience it flushes fat and toxins out. I actually lost 3 jeans sizes so it doesn’t show on the scale as much as in your clothes size.
Hello there,
I have to say in the old days my Aunt used to rince my hair ACV all the time and put it in my bath. Years went by after she passed and I never thought zbout it again, Then i started getting itches and it felt like bites all over and I was getting desperate and it came to mind ACV? Well I splashed it all over the itch and the added water showered and ricned my body and hair with it. I seemed to nutrilize my skin and my hair is softer as well. I have melanoma and recently had surgery and the spot just stayed there red and ugly-after ACV it is clearing up and blending with my skin.
I am very excited to start adding it to my diet as well in moderation not to much but I am thinking if it helps outside it must help inside as well.
Just thought I would share and Thnk you
dont drink this stuff guys. i drank it , and it gave me chroniic gastritis. dont belive the hype, i dilluted it like hell, and over time it will inflame your stomach, thats why it burns when you drink it. you cant compare it to stomach acid because its a different make-up. vinegar isnt natural to your stomach, just beware, if you want 8 months of trying to heal your stomach, with awful pain, not being able to breathe, or eat, drink up, if not, use this stuff externally. and even that, burned my skin after 3 days, DILLUTED.
Maybe you should state it as “this is my experience” and not instruct others not to use it, just because it didn’t work for you. I use it, and it has done wonders for my digestive system. We also use it for my daughter’s dandruff, we massage it diluted into her scalp, then she wraps her head with a towel and waits for 30 min. Then she showers as usual… dandruff gone. There are many uses for ACV, but just because it didn’t work for you, don’t steer someone else from seeing if it will work for them.
I agree with you on that sir…. The man is just giving his bullshit advice..
Hipocrates himself talked about this wonderful health drink. ACV rocks. Works for everyone I have ever seen using it .. Including me.. 🙂
Chris, I’m sorry if it didn’t work for you. I have been taking ACV for 4-5 years now. My body and skin is much healthier than ever including my stomach. My husband who’s got very sensitive stomach was afraid to drink it but eventually he tried. I told him the ph in his stomach will feel better because ACV will balance it. It works! He is no longer having stomach problems like before. And both our cholesterol and sugar level gone normal and our immune system is stronger than ever!
That’s really funny jojo because I’ve been drinking diluted ACV for almost a month and it doesn’t burn when I drink it! Nor does it burn my skin cos I used it in my hair to get all the build up out of my hair and my hair was squeaky clean! Never had that happen before and I’ve tried Head & Shoulders shampoo as well as Selsun Blue- which is very expensive and I didn’t notice much difference with either shampoo!
watch your teeth!!!! very acidic!!!
I thought she said it was an alkaline??
*Rich in ash which gives ACV its alkaline property. This aids your body in maintaining proper pH levels for a healthy alkaline state. (It is particularly important if you drink a lot of coffee or wine.)
It is also very high in acetic acid which is what can damage tooth enamel, mouth tissues and esophagus. That is why dilution is very important. I take a morning mixture of 3 tbsp. ACV, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 C warm water and it does wonders for my allergies and energy level. I discovered ACV when I had a stomach ulcer and not even morphine in the ER helped the pain. A mixture of 1 tbsp ACV, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 C water, and some honey to taste would knock the pain right out. I still use this remedy today for upset stomach.
Can apple cider vinegar help with dandruff too?
Yes. That’s actually the first application of ACV I ever tried and after years of trying T Gel and Selsun Blue, etc it was rinsing with ACV that resolved my dandruff issues. I very rarely get dandruff anymore.
I recently rediscovered how amazing it is on my skin. I started having bad hormonal breakouts with slow-healing cystic type bumps along my jawline, really unsightly. Two months ago I started back using ACV as a toner regularly and I had a couple of tiny bumps on my forehead and that was it. None of the terrible jawline breaking out. I’m now going to go back to drinking ACV daily to see if it will help with some internal issues, which is how I found this blog post. 🙂
I have been using ACV for quite awhile and love it. I thought I would try it on my cat Joey’s dander (dandruff) which he regularly has down the middle of his back. I mixed a capful in a small bowl of water and totally wiped down his fur with a wet paper towel dipped in the mixture. Joey actually seemed to really like it and the next day his coat was very soft and smooth, it took 2 wipedowns with the ACV and water and no more dander. It really does work so I think it would be great for dandruff.
I just started using Bragg’s ACV… someone asked for suggestions on how to drink it daily. I put a tablespoon in a small glass and mix either grapefruit or orange juice, and then drink 2 glasses daily. I don’t think you can taste the vinegar that much, but then again, I love vinegar!
Hi Brittany,
I was just wondering if there is any reason to drink ACV in water vs. mixing it into my morning smoothie.
Thanks girls! Your inspiring comments & experiences are very motivating! I’ve started the ACV a week ago, it’s great stuff! It helps my crazy digestive system, my skin is looking great and my cravings has minimized! I just wanted to share along with all the other brave natural dieters who’s looking for a healthy multi- purpose remedy like ACV. I drink two cups of grapefruit juice with 2 TBSP of ACV daily and I love it ! It has an acquired taste that’s well worth it! Good luck with good health! 🙂
I started drinking acv after watching Dr.Oz I notice that my digestive systems is more active and inches off my body.