21 Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits and 11 Uses (Blood Sugar, Weight Loss and More!)
In this article, you’ll learn and discover the 21 benefits for apple cider vinegar and the 11 Uses such as (blood sugar, weight loss and much more!)
Let’s begin…
Table of Contents
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar is just one of those things you can’t talk enough about. There are numerous grocery items that have multiple purposes and apple cider vinegar is one of those items. Made from fermented apple juice, regular use of apple cider vinegar can cut down on your use of chemical-laden products in your home.
You will be literally amazed, save a ton of money and have a newfound respect for this age-old product after you see just how much it can do.
Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits
Regulates Blood Sugar
When you eat food and drink beverages, your body metabolizes the glucose you ingest and produces insulin to help convert it into energy. People with Type 2 Diabetes are either chronically insulin-resistant or simply don’t produce enough insulin to maintain a healthy glucose level. The anti-glycemic properties of the acetic acid found within apple cider vinegar has proven in one Diabetes Care study to help lower blood sugars of Type 2 Diabetes patients overnight possibly by aiding in starch digestion, or altering the glycolysis process of the liver. Apple cider vinegar seems to positively impact metabolic functioning overnight and thus prevent blood sugar spikes in the morning.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects over 80 million Americans and its wear and tear on the arteries and heart can lead to coronary disease and heart failure. The acetic acid found in apple cider vinegar can help eliminate cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood vessels which cause thickening, hardening, and narrowing of artery walls (contributing to high blood pressure). Apple cider vinegar plays a part in boosting circulation too and helping lower the pressure at which your heart needs to pump blood through your body. As well, a study from the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry also found that in rats, acetic acid (like is found in apple cider vinegar) positively affected the levels of renin, an enzyme that helps regulate blood pressure.
Supports Weight Loss
As apple cider vinegar in part aids in metabolizing your body’s glucose, it prevents your body from over-producing insulin which can leave you craving sugar and other foods that are bad for you and which add to weight gain. In addition, apple cider vinegar has been shown, like in this 2005 study, to increase feelings of satiety; that is, it was reported to make study participants feel fuller longer. In combination with a healthy diet and exercise, apple cider vinegar can serve as an aid to weight loss, not a solution on its own.
Aids Detoxification
The human body has a miraculous way of eliminating toxins and waste that might otherwise make someone sick. The natural detoxification process specifically targets the blood – impurities are removed from the blood by the liver and more toxins are eliminated through the intestines, kidneys, skin, lungs and lymphatic system. Apple cider vinegar is rich with enzymes which stimulate liver function and lymphatic drainage, as well as healthy bacterias that filter to your gut and aid in digestion and waste elimination. One study showed the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar also binds to toxins making it easier for your liver to get rid of them.
Prevents Osteoporosis
Apple cider vinegar boasts the unique ability to help your body absorb vital minerals like calcium which aids in growing strong bones and maintaining bone density as you age. With osteoporosis affecting close to 55% of men and women over 50, a healthy diet that prioritizes calcium consumption and exercise is highly recommended for fighting bone loss. When you consume apple cider vinegar it helps pump up the acid content of your stomach – this is crucial to stimulating the enzymes which break down foods and help your body assimilate nutrients and vitamins.
Manganese
Apple cider vinegar actually contains a number of useful nutrients and one of the most abundant is manganese. Specifically, consuming a regular helping of apple cider vinegar will provide you with 30% of your DV for manganese. This nutrient is important for your bone structure and helps to prevent damage. It is also a co-enzyme which helps with metabolic activity in the body – i.e. energy efficiency. In other words, it supports many of the things that apple cider vinegar is already good for!
Balances Body pH Levels
Your body’s ecosystem is constantly trying to maintain a state of homeostasis, or balance, including between the acid-base levels (or pH). Healthy pH levels for the human body hover between 7.35 and 7.45 which leans more towards the alkaline side of the spectrum, instead of the acidic side. Interestingly, the acetic acid (derived from the original Latin word “acetum” which meant “vinegar) found in apple cider vinegar actually exhibits alkaline properties in the body. This is especially important for those who consume a largely acidic more western diet.
Prevents Acid Reflux
The curse of acid reflux and heartburn can be both an annoying and painful meal companion. Apple cider vinegar’s powerful ability to balance pH levels in the body with its naturally occurring enzymes and probiotics can lend itself towards resetting the acid balance in your own stomach towards a more alkaline level. If your heartburn results from low stomach acid, on the other hand, even the little bit of acid from apple cider vinegar can help prevent the bloating and heartburn that pushes gastric juices up into the esophagus. Experts recommend ingesting apple cider vinegar diluted in water before each meal to aid with treating heartburn.
Kills Candida (Yeast)
Candida is the commonly known fungal yeast typically found in infections on the skin or in mucous membranes, i.e. in the mouth, on skin and nails, in the vagina, or throat. Candida presents an assortment of symptoms including bad breath, sugar cravings, fatigue, joint pain, and chronic sinus issues. Apple cider vinegar contains naturally occurring enzymes which kill the candida yeast and foster an alkaline environment – candida thrives in an acidic environment. In addition, apple cider vinegar promotes the growth of healthy bacteria which crowd out the candida and help flush the digestive tract.
Combats Common Cold
Immunity-boosting apple cider vinegar aids in reducing mucus and sinus congestion, often times associated with allergies. Rich with probiotics, or healthy gut bacterias, all-natural apple cider vinegar preps your body to fight off infections, cold, and the flu, and the alkaline environment it supports eliminates viruses which can make you sick. Feeling something like sinusitis coming on? Add a one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink until symptoms subside.
Improve Hair Health
Ever heard of the “acid mantle”? This very fine, slightly acidic film covers your skin and helps protect it from bacterial pathogens, viruses and other contaminants. When it comes to your hair, the acid mantle helps hair stay moisturized, sleek, and shiny. Because many commercial hair products are more alkaline, they can disrupt or remove the vital acid mantle on your scalp. An apple cider vinegar hair rinse can restore pH levels and exfoliate the scalp, improving the look and feel of your hair as well as preventing dandruff and itchiness.
Healthy Bacteria
One of the things that make apple cider vinegar as potent as it is is its content of good bacteria. Not all bacteria is bad as you may be aware: good bacteria can also exist and it is important for the body to have a balance of both kinds. When we consume cultures of healthy bacteria in our food, we can encourage they’re existing in our guts, which in turn helps with digestion (through the production of digestive enzymes) and much more.
Mood
One of the additional benefits of consuming more healthy bacteria is that it will produce more neurotransmitters as well. Neurotransmitters are similar to hormones except that they have a shorter action and specifically affect the brain. In other words, they are responsible for regulating mood, focus, wakefulness and much more. When you increase the number of healthy bacteria in your gut, you actually produce more neurotransmitters such as serotonin and this can then put you in a better mood!
Appetite and Rhythms
What many people don’t understand is that there is a very close relationship between your energy levels, your mood, what you eat and even the time of day. Serotonin is linked with the gut because it indicates that we are satiated – i.e. full. So, when you improve your gut flora balance, you actually help it to send signals that tell the body to stop eating as well as boosting the mood. This can be useful for weight loss, as you may already have guessed!
Energy Levels
When you have more apple cider vinegar then, you enjoy greater energy levels which are another way in which this great ingredient can help you to burn more calories and lose more weight!
Nutrient Absorption
Many of us live with deficiencies in keys nutrients including a range of minerals and vitamins. This can leave us with low energy levels, it can cause weight gain and in general, it results in poor health.
Often this comes down to the simple fact that we aren’t eating enough of those nutrients – which is no surprise given our processed modern diets. However, it can also be a sign that we aren’t absorbing the nutrients properly, meaning that we aren’t able to get the most benefit from them in our diet. This can lead to deficiencies in just the same way – something which apple cider vinegar helps to prevent!
Cholesterol
Apple cider vinegar has been shown to improve cholesterol by reducing levels of the unwanted LDL cholesterol and boosting the ‘good’ kind of cholesterol called HDL (high-density lipoprotein). This is important as it can improve your circulation, as well as reducing your chances of developing heart disease or other serious conditions.
Age
Apple cider vinegar has antioxidant effects, meaning that it can help to neutralize the action of free radicals. Free radicals are compounds that are highly reactive and which can damage cell walls when they come into contact with them. Eventually, this damage can build up to become visible and this is one of the reasons that we see visible signs of aging in the skin.
By improving circulation and cholesterol, apple cider vinegar might also be able to balance the skin tone more. Don’t make the mistake of applying this directly to your skin though – that’s actually liable to cause much more harm than good!
Anti-Cancer
Like any antioxidant, you will also benefit from the anti-cancer properties of apple cider vinegar. That’s because it will prevent free radicals from causing damage to the DNA, which leads to unwanted mutations and then can spread throughout the body as cells split and proliferate. Apple cider vinegar is not the most potent antioxidant on the plant so this is a mild effect. But every little bit helps!
Anti-Bacterial
We’ve already seen that apple cider vinegar can help you to fight candida. But did you know that this is just one example of its larger anti-bacterial capabilities? In short, adding apple cider vinegar to your diet will help you to prevent infections, bacterial growth and more and should generally improve your health as a result of all that. It supports good bacteria and gets rid of the bad. Bonus!
Zero Fat
Apple cider vinegar can be used to add a little flavor to your potato chips, or you can use it when poaching eggs to prevent them from spreading out in the pan. Either way, you’ll get the benefits while adding zero fat to your diet! Now fat isn’t a bad thing in itself, but as the most calorific of food groups, this is reassuring because it means that you can add apple cider vinegar without worry that you will be ruining your diet!
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar Good For?
Hair Rinse Using Apple Cider Vinegar
If you wash your hair with conventional shampoo, a residue builds up over time. This can cause your hair to become dull and lifeless. To remove the residue and restore shine and bounce mix 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of water and pour on your hair. If you apply baking soda to your hair first you will find your hair less frizzy, shinier and healthy. Using this treatment a few times a week also stimulates hair growth and prevent split ends.
Mouthwash Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Mix a capful of apple cider vinegar with a 1/4 cup of water and swish in your mouth. The vinegar acts as an antiseptic and breaks down plaque and bacteria that cause bad breath.
Face Mask Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Apply the mixture to your clean face and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse with tepid water followed by a cool rinse. This mask can be done twice weekly. Brighten: Combine 2 Tbsp sour cream with 2 Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Sunburn Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Forget all of the creams and lotions for your sunburn, try applying a cloth soaked in apple cider vinegar to your burned skin. It will provide instant relief and rapid healing.
Deodorant Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Although the smell of apple cider vinegar is strong, it acts as a powerful deodorant. Rub a little under your armpits before you workout and odor will be a thing of the past.
Foot and Hand Rub Using Apple Cider Vinegar
If your feet or hands are swollen, try rubbing a little apple cider vinegar into them. You will experience cool relief and a reduction in swelling.
Weight Loss Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Many people drink apple cider vinegar to help with weight management. Adding 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to 16 ounces of water and sipping this through the day is thought to help reduce bad cholesterol, fight off cravings and reduce abdominal fat. A study published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry in 2009 noted that subjects who consumed acetic acid (the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar) had declines in body weight, waist size, abdominal fat, and triglycerides.
Candida Using Apple Cider Vinegar
The natural enzymes in apple cider vinegar can help the body get rid of yeasts associated with thrush in humans. Candida sufferers are often tired, have a poor memory, suffer from sugar cravings and get frequent yeast infections.
Fleas and Ticks Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is useful in treating fleas and ticks on pets. Adding one part apple cider vinegar to one part water and spraying it on your pet will help keep the pesky critters at bay. Be sure to saturate the entire coat and repeat a few times a week during heavy flea season.
Cleaning Using Apple Cider Vinegar
For clean toilets and a fresh smelling bathroom pour some apple cider vinegar into your toilet and allow it to sit overnight. You can also use it in your dishwasher instead of detergent. Clean microwaves, windows, glasses, and mirrors with a mixture of 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water.
Curing Pilonidal Cysts Using Apple Cider Vinegar
Pilonidal Cyst Home Remedy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- Cotton ball
- Band-aid
Directions
- Dilute the vinegar with water and soak the cotton ball in this.
- Place this cotton on the cyst and press gently.
- Secure the cotton ball in place with the band-aid.
Repeat this twice a day. Before changing the vinegar-soaked cotton, wash the area clean with a bar of mild soap and water.
How This Works
The vinegar, being acidic in nature, helps in balancing the pH levels of the skin and exerts an antimicrobial effect at the site of application. It also removes toxins from the pilonidal cyst and reduces the swelling
Apple Cider Vinegar Precautions
- Vinegar should be diluted. Its high acidity can damage tooth enamel when sipped “straight” — consuming it as a component of vinaigrette salad dressing is a better way.
- It has been reported to cause or worsen low potassium levels. That’s particularly important for people taking medications that can lower potassium (such as common diuretics taken to treat high blood pressure).
- Vinegar can alter insulin levels. People with diabetes should be particularly cautious about a high vinegar diet.
