How Apple Cider Vinegar Can Change Your

Life
By Dr. Mercola
Vinegar is said to have been discovered around 5000 BC, when unattended grape juice
turned into wine and then vinegar. Originally used as a food preservative, vinegars
medicinal uses soon came to light.
Hippocrates used vinegar to manage wounds, while medical practitioners in the 1700s
used it to treat everything from poison ivy and croup to stomach aches. Vinegar was
even used to treat diabetes.1
Vinegar, which means sour wine in French, can be made from virtually any
carbohydrate that can be fermented, including grapes, dates, coconut,potatoes, beets,
and, of course, apples.
Traditionally, vinegar is made through a long, slow fermentation process, leaving it rich
in bioactive components like acetic acid, gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, caffeic acid,
and more, giving it potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and many other beneficial
properties.
As reported in Medscape General Medicine:2
The slow methods are generally used for the production of the traditional wine
vinegars, and the culture of acetic acid bacteria grows on the surface of the liquid and
fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of weeks or months.
The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a non-toxic slime
composed of yeast and acetic acid bacteria, known as the mother of vinegar.
Mother of vinegar, a cobweb-like amino acid-based substance found in unprocessed,
unfiltered vinegar, indicates your vinegar is of the best quality. Most manufacturers
pasteurize and filter their vinegar to prevent the mother from forming, but the murky
kind is best, especially if youre planning to consume it.
Vinegar is not only useful for cooking, its useful for health purposes, cleaning, garden
care, hygiene, and much more. In fact, a jug of vinegar is easily one of the most
economical and versatile remedies around. I recommend keeping it in your home at all
times

Health Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

There are no official guidelines concerning taking vinegar internally. Some people take
one to two teaspoons a day, mixed in a glass of water, before meals or in the morning,
and report benefits from doing so. The risk of taking small amounts of vinegar is low,
and research suggests it may have some real health benefits.
Diabetes
Vinegar is said to be anti-glycemic and has a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels. Its
thought that the acetic acid in vinegar may lower blood sugar by preventing the
complete digestion of complex carbohydrates, which is accomplished either by
accelerating gastric emptying or increasing the uptake of glucose by bodily tissues. 3
One theory is that vinegar might inactivate some of the digestive enzymes that break
down carbohydrates into sugar, thus slowing the conversion of complex carbohydrate
into sugar from a meal into your bloodstream.
This gives your body more time to pull sugar out of your blood, preventing your sugar
levels from spiking. Quite a bit of research supports the use of vinegar as a diabetic
treatment as well.
One study found that vinegar treatment improved insulin sensitivity in 19 percent of
individuals with type 2 diabetes and 34 percent of those with pre-diabetes.4
Yet another study found taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegarbefore bed
lowered blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes by up to 6 percent by the
morning.5
Heart Health
Vinegar supports heart health in multiple ways. As explained in theJournal of Food
Science:6
Polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid, which is present in high levels in apple cider
vinegar, could inhibit oxidation of LDLs and improve health by preventing cardiovascular
diseases.
One study showed that vinegar could lower cholesterol in laboratory rats, 7while another
study on rats found their blood pressure could be lowered by the acetic acid in vinegar. 8
Vinegar has also been found to decrease triglyceride levels and VLDL levels (the
damaging form of cholesterol) in animal studies.9
Weight Loss

Vinegar may help you lose weight, as it appears to have an anti-obesity effect by
increasing satiety and reducing the total amount of food consumed.
For instance, when volunteers consumed a small amount of vinegar along with a highcarb meal (a bagel and juice) they consumed less food for the remainder of the day. The
reduction equated to about 200 to 275 calories a day an amount that would result in a
monthly weight loss of up to 1.5 pounds. 10
In addition, separate research found taking vinegar along with bread not only lowered
glucose and insulin responses, but also increased levels of satiety. The rating of satiety
was directly related to the acetic acid level in the vinegar.11
Sinus Congestion
Apple cider vinegar helps to break up and reduce mucous in your body, helping to clear
your sinuses. It also has antibacterial properties, making it useful for infections.
Sore Throat
The antibacterial properties in apple cider vinegar may be useful for sore throats as
well. Gargle with a mixture of about one-third cup of apple cider vinegar mixed with
warm water as needed.
Digestion and Acid Reflux
Acid reflux typically results from having too little acid in your stomach. You can easily
improve the acid content of your stomach by taking one tablespoon of raw unfiltered
apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water daily. The pectin in apple cider vinegar may
also help to soothe intestinal spasms.
Skin Irritations
Apple cider vinegar works for a variety of skin ailments, from bug bites to poison ivy to
sunburn. You can either apply it directly to the irritated area or try soaking in a bath with
about one cup of vinegar added.
Warts
Topical application of apple cider vinegar may help remove warts, likely because of the
high levels of acetic acid it contains.12 You can try soaking a cotton ball in vinegar and
applying it to the wart, covered, overnight.
Energy Boost

Apple cider vinegar contains potassium and enzymes to help banish fatigue. Plus, its
amino acids may help prevent the buildup of lactic acid in your body, further preventing
fatigue.13

Apple Cider Vinegar Around Your Home

Generally, you can use distilled white vinegar for household use and the cider vinegars,
made from fermenting fruits such as apples, for consumption. However, if you prefer
you can use apple cider vinegar around your home as well.
Natural Cleaning
Vinegar is one of the best natural cleaning agents there is, and this is largely due to its
antimicrobial properties. When added to food, the organic acids in vinegar (especially
the acetic acid) pass into cell membranes to kill bacteria. Foods fermented with vinegar
have a natural arsenal of antimicrobial organic acids, including acetic, lactic, ascorbic,
citric, malic, propionic, succinic, and tartaric acids. One study found acetic acid to be
lethal to even E. coli O157:H7, while other research has shown substances such as
acetic acid, lemon juice, or a combination of lemon juice and vinegar to be effective
against salmonella.14
Weed Killer
Vinegar is very effective to control weeds in your garden. Howard Garrett, also known
as The Dirt Doctor, shared his recipe for vinegar-based herbicide (this spray will injure
any plant it touches, so use it only on those you want to remove):
Herbicide Formula

1 gallon of 10 percent (100 grain) vinegar

Add 1 ounce orange oil or d-limonene
Add 1 tablespoon molasses (optional - some say it doesn't help)
1 teaspoon liquid soap or other surfactant (such as Bio Wash)
Do not add water

Neutralize Odors
Apple cider vinegar in a bowl will help to neutralize odors in your home.
Fruit and Veggie Wash
Vinegar is one of the best natural agents for removing certain pesticides and bacteria
from your fresh produce. Try a solution of 10 percent vinegar to 90 percent water as a
bath to briefly soak produce. Just place your veggies or fruit in the solution, swish them

around, and rinse thoroughly (dont use this process on fragile fruits like berries since
they could be damaged in the process or soak up too much vinegar through their
porous skins).

Hygiene and Beauty

You might even want to keep some apple cider vinegar in your bathroom cabinet
Hair Rinse
Apple cider vinegar helps remove product build-up and balance your scalps pH level.
Try a weekly rinse of one-third cup of vinegar mixed with four cups of water. For
dandruff, try spraying your scalp with equal parts vinegar and water (mixed), wrapping a
towel around your head, and leaving it to sit for an hour. Then, wash out and repeat up
to twice a week.15
Facial Toner
Diluted apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball makes a simple facial toner and cleanser to
help prevent breakouts. It might even help bruises to fade faster.
Deodorant
Apple cider vinegar helps kill odor-causing bacteria, so dab a bit under your arms for a
natural deodorant.
Oral Health
Gargling with diluted apple cider vinegar can help to eliminate bad breath and whiten
teeth. Keep in mind, however, that apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. The main
ingredient is acetic acid, which is quite harsh, so you should always dilute it with water
before swallowing. Pure, straight apple cider vinegar could damage your tooth enamel
or the tissues of your mouth and throat. (There is, in fact, one reported incident of longterm esophageal damage to a woman who got an apple cider vinegar supplement
capsule stuck in her throat.)
Foot Odor
Wiping your feet down with apple cider vinegar can help to eliminate odor-causing
bacteria and smells from your feet.

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar in Your Cooking

There are many creative ways to use apple cider in cooking. Try it in homemade
marinades and sauces, soups, or even smoothies. You can even add it to baked goods
(it will add extra lift) and, of course, use it in salad dressing (try it mixed with olive oil,
garlic, and mustard, for instance).16 Vinegar is good on fish as well and serves as a
great tenderizing marinade for meat, giving it a good bit of zing. And its tasty drizzled
over cooked greens or as a base for a cucumber salad. You can also try your hand at
pickled vegetables using vinegar.
Vinegar is also a vital addition to homemade bone broth. When it comes to making
broth, the vinegar helps leech all those valuable minerals from the bones into the
stockpot water, which is ultimately what you'll be eating. The goal is to extract as many
minerals as possible out of the bones into the broth water. Bragg's raw apple cider
vinegar is a good choice, as it's unfiltered and unpasteurized. If youre consuming
vinegar for therapeutic reasons but dont enjoy the flavor, you can alternatively consume
other fermented foods to get the beneficial acids. This will then also help to recolonize
your gut with beneficial bacteria. However, vinegar is easier and certainly safe to use,
so you can certainly include it in your diet if you enjoy it.

Choose Your Vinegar Wisely: Avoid Distilled Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar is excellent for cleaning and laundry, but for health purposes
youll want to avoid the perfectly clear, sparkling clean varieties you commonly see on
grocery store shelves. Instead, you want organic, unfiltered, unprocessedvinegar, which
is murky. As mentioned, that murkiness is caused by a cobweb-like substance called the
mother, and it is indicative of a high-quality product. Finally, if you are considering
taking apple cider vinegar medicinally, long-term excessive use could conceivably
cause low potassium levels and can adversely affect your bone density so moderation
is important.
In addition, apple cider vinegar could theoretically interact with diuretics, laxatives, and
medicines for diabetes and heart disease. If you are under the care of a physician and
you want to try a course of apple cider vinegar, talk to your physician first to make sure
it wont interfere with any of the medications you are currently taking.

Advanced Added Bonus for Even MORE Benefits

You can consider using fermented vegetables. Like vinegar, it is a mild acid but instead
of acetic acid like vinegar, it has lactic acid. In addition to being useful for many of the
items above, properly fermented vegetables will provide you with two major benefits,
they will help to replenish and improve your gut microbiome, and if a high vitamin K2

starter culture is used they will also provide you with useful doses of vitamin K2, which
is every bit as important as vitamin D and works synergistically with vitamin D.