Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits & The Best Ways To Take It
It seems like everyone’s raving about apple cider vinegar—but what is it, and is it actually good for you? This post is all about apple cider vinegar, how it benefits your health, and the best ways to take it.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has gained a lot of praise in the last couple of years, becoming the new ‘trendy’ health food.
But ACV has been around for centuries! It’s not new in the slightest.
The earliest documentation of apple cider dates back to the Roman Empire of 55 BCE. When the Romans sailed to the British Isles, the Celtic Britons already drank a fermented drink made from local crab apples.
That’s over 2000 years ago!
So, although the discovery of apple cider vinegar and its various health benefits may look like a new finding, it’s an ancient remedy used by several generations.
Nonetheless, it is a powerful health drink that is easy to include in the diet and even easy to make yourself!
Check out How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar From Scraps! All you need are apple cores and peels, water, and sugar.
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar is the product of a double fermentation process.
It all starts with naturally pressed apple juice.
When the natural sugars from apples ferment over time, they turn into acetic acid with the help of naturally occurring acetic acid-forming bacteria. This is the active ingredient of vinegar.
How Is Apple Cider Vinegar Made?
Making apple cider vinegar is actually a lot easier than you probably think.
You can likely make it in your kitchen right now. All you need is water, apples, and sugar.
If you’re looking for a super simple method for making your ACV that’s both delicious and packed with nutrients, check out my easy guide for making apple cider vinegar from scraps.
You don’t need to spend so much money on store-bought anymore! This method is easy, inexpensive, and, best of all, not time-consuming. If you have 5 minutes to spare, that’s all you need!
It really is the best for busy families that want to eat natural foods.
Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is used for various health complaints and has been studied for decades.
“It helps promote youthful skin and a vibrant healthy body, helps remove artery plaque and body toxins, fights germs, bacteria, virus and mold naturally, helps regulate calcium metabolism, helps digestion, assimilation and balance the pH, helps banish acne, athlete’s foot, soothe burns, helps fight arthritis, and helps control and normalize body weight”.
What makes apple cider vinegar such a powerful tonic?
Apple cider is rich in:
- potassium
- enzymes
- organic acids (acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, formic acid and more!)
- minerals (boron, iron)
- pectin-soluble fiber
You might be wondering exactly why these ingredients matter.
Potassium
Potassium is an essential mineral and electrolyte that has been labelled as the ‘mineral of youthfulness.’ It helps keep blood vessels strong and flexible and supports healthy skin.
Organic Acids
The acids formed during the fermentation process, such as acetic acid, lactic acid, and propionic acid, also play an important role in our body.
These acids help promote and support your digestion, balance your blood’s acid/alkaline levels, help detoxify your body, kill viruses, bacteria, and fungi, and dissolve fats.
Additional studied health benefits of organic acids:
- Anti-diabetic effects
- Reduce cholesterol and lipid levels
- Reduce blood pressure
- Antioxidant properties
Apple Cider Vinegar Health Benefits
Some noted health benefits of apple cider vinegar include:
- weight loss
- lower cholesterol
- healthy blood sugar
- detox support
- reduced blood pressure
- anti-cancer benefits
- arthritis support
- help with infections
- improved digestive health (gut microbiome, bloating, reflux, diarrhea, ulcers, constipation)
- acne
- sore throat
- mental alertness
- headache relief
- candida infection support
As you can see, ACV is a powerful elixir that can help you in more ways than one and support your holistic health and wellness. Each person will experience its benefits differently.
How To Take Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar can be consumed and used in a variety of ways.
You can take it diluted in water, use it as an ingredient in your meals and salad dressings, or topically on the skin and scalp as a balancing hair rinse.
If you can’t tolerate the taste or want something more convenient, try the Bragg ACV capsules. Still made from their organic ACV, they come in a capsule containing the dehydrated powder.
1. Drink It Diluted
One of the simplest ways to take ACV is to dilute the organic product directly in water.
Start with taking 1 TSP ACV in 8oz of water.
You can take this upon waking up on an empty stomach or later throughout the day. Regardless of the time of day, you will still get the benefits.
This method might not work for you since ACV can be quite sour. If you can’t take it this way, don’t worry; there are other ways to take it!
I really don’t like drinking straight ACV either so I use it a lot in my cooking! You can still get the benefits but in a yummy, enjoyable way.
2. Use It In Salad Dressing
This is one of my favourite ways to get ACV into my diet, but more enjoyably 🙂
When used in salad dressing, ACV gives a fantastic tangy flavour to your greens and provides additional nutritious properties to your meals. You can either try just a plain splash of ACV, or if you want something extra, try:
- 1 Tbsp ACV
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(You can adjust the ratio of these ingredients to your liking, make a larger amount, and store it in the fridge for convenience).
3. Add It To Your Meals
This is one of the easiest ways to consume ACV. There are so many different ways to incorporate it into your meals, from smoothies to vinaigrettes, broths and soups, and meat marinades.
If you need some inspo, here are 16 Ways To Cook With Apple Cider Vinegar That Actually Taste Amazing.
4. Take A Capsule
This is a great option if you really don’t like the flavour of ACV. It still contains the fermented tonic but in dehydrated form.
These are convenient and flavourless, making it the ideal choice for some.
If you are leaning toward a capsule form, buy a quality product. Make sure it contains organic dehydrated ACV and that there are no unnecessary additives. Always read the ingredients! You’ll also want to check that the actual capsule is composed of a safe ingredient.
The supplement should contain nothing extra—just organic ACV, with no added sugars, flavouring, dyes, or preservatives!
5. Homemade Gummies
Did you know you can easily make your own homemade apple cider vinegar gummies?
You sure can! And it’s really quite easy.
Because of its strong, acidic properties, drinking undiluted apple cider vinegar can damage the enamel on your teeth and irritate the lining of your throat and stomach.
This makes gummies an excellent option because you can flavour them! Gummies make it easy to get your daily dose of ACV in a gentle, tasty way. Plus, it’s such a great option for kids, too.
I prefer to make my own ACV gummies because many store-bought options contain inflammatory ingredients like citric acid, preservatives, artificial dyes, sweeteners and more.
Here are three of my favourite easy and healthy apple cider vinegar gummy recipes that take less than 10 minutes to make and are all-natural:
Strawberry Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by Cooking With Coit
Tart Cherry Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by at home on the prairie
Apple Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by Food Faith Fitness
Plus, you can make them in bulk! Talk about a time saver. These are perfect if you have kids or just want a yummy, convenient way to take apple cider vinegar daily!
Filtered vs. Unfiltered: Does It Matter?
If you’ve been looking for a good ACV, you’ve probably noticed that they come in filtered and unfiltered options.
What’s the difference? Does it matter?
Both versions are made with a ‘mother’ liquid (a substance containing cellulose and friendly bacteria), which, during the fermentation process, turns the apple juice into alcohol and finally into vinegar.
The mother substance is completely filtered out in filtered ACV, often through pasteurization. This means no traces of the ‘mother’ liquid are left in the final vinegar.
Unfiltered ACV does not remove the ‘mother’ liquid and does not undergo pasteurization. Thus, the final product is often labelled as organic and unpasteurized.
Which One Is Better?
One is not necessarily worse than the other. Both can provide health benefits.
However, it is believed that in organic, unpasteurized (unfiltered) ACV, the ‘mother’ liquid holds the most health benefits.
How To Pick A Good Apple Cider Vinegar
The key to experiencing actual health benefits is sourcing quality apple cider vinegar.
There are a couple of tips to do this:
1. Choose Organic
This is really important. Look for a certified organic label when buying apple cider vinegar at a store. This way, you know the apples are high-quality and free of chemicals and significant pesticides.
2. Is It Hazy?
Have you ever seen a cloudy-looking ACV? This is actually a good thing!
No, it doesn’t mean it’s gone bad. The haze or cloudiness is visible proof of unfiltered vinegar, which means that it likely contains traces of the ‘mother’ liquid.
Say yes to gut-boosting bacteria!
3. Shop Local Farms
Before stepping into your grocery store, try doing a quick Google search of farms and orchards in your surrounding area. Farms and orchards often sell fresh, organic, unfiltered ACV, especially during autumn.
This is gold! It is fresh from that year’s produce, and the apples are organic and sun-ripened.
If you don’t live near farms or orchards, try hitting your local farmers market! You’ll also see fresh golden apple cider vinegar appear there.
4. Make Your Own!
The best way to ensure quality apple cider vinegar is to make it yourself.
It requires a little bit more effort than taking one of the shelves at the grocery store, but not by much! All you need is three ingredients and 5 minutes.
Making your own has so many added benefits:
- You have complete control over the ingredients to make it from the highest quality produce.
- You know when it was made, so it’s fresh (and hasn’t been in storage for months… or years!).
- It’s inexpensive
- It’s easy to make
- You can make a huge batch for months to come
If you want to try making your own apple cider vinegar, here’s how to do it in less than five minutes from scraps!
Easy homemade apple cider vinegar for the win!
Final Words
As with all natural supplements, research and speak with your practitioner if you have questions or concerns.
Apple cider vinegar is documented to have several health benefits, but it is still vinegar and should be taken in moderation. Although no guidelines for dosing exist for apple cider vinegar’s health benefits, start small and see how your body responds.
If you want to start taking apple cider vinegar daily, save money and make your own homemade apple cider vinegar from scraps. It’ll take you less than 5 minutes and likely have more nutrients than a store-bought version!
*Tess (Organically Well) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
