Apple Cider Vinegar
Health Benefits

Apple Cider Vinegar: Uses, Health Benefits and FAQ

Apple Cider Vinegar and Probiotics

Posted by Margie (Springville, Utah) on 10/27/2010

I just wanted to say that if you take probiotics with the mothers apple cider vinegar it helps a great deal with acid in your stomach to settle down and your tummy will be able to handle the mothers apple cider vinegar. Its also great for your intestines and helps put good bacteria back into your body, which if we have too much bad bacteria it can make us extremely ill. I'm now trying the vinegar and pray that it does work. I to have been dizzy and have high blood pressure often and need to keep it under control. So will get back to let you know if it worked for me.


Apple Cider Vinegar and Probiotics
Posted by Pat (Athens, Al, Usa) on 05/15/2010

Can ACV and probiotics be taken together or would the ACV override the probiotics? Or can I take both as long as there is a space of time between the two? Currently I'm doing both with no ill effects I'm just wondering if one is canceling out the other or if they both are "doing their own thing" in harmony??? Thanx in advance for any input.

Replied by Lisa
(Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa)
05/15/2010

Hi Pat,

Actually, acv is a prebiotic which is what probiotics feed off of. These two work well together. Still, personally I would give a space of time between the two. I find that my body handles things better if I keep it simple. In the early morning I usually take a glass of water with either fresh lemon, acv or baking soda added to it. Awhile later, I have my young coconut kefir which is loaded with enzymes and probiotics. Then after that I have a green smoothie which takes me to lunch.

Anyway, they definitely do not cancel each other out but rather work synergistically. Peace, Lisa


Apple Cider Vinegar and Refrigeration

Posted by Jimmy (Nz) on 01/13/2012

Is it okay to make up a 4L bottle of 1:3 ACV and water and store it in the fridge? Does keeping it in water have any negative effects? Quicker than measuring out a tbsp each time.

Replied by Sophie
(Dayton, Ohio, Usa)
01/13/2012

You may want to be careful what type of container you store your vinegar solution in. Vinegar is known to cause various chemicals to leech out of plastics and even glass. In fact, it is recommended that if you are going to drink from lead crystal that you soak it in diluted vinegar for 24 hours prior to use, in order to leech out the lead that would otherwise end up in your wine! Please consider using a lead-free glass pitcher with a lid, not plastic. You don't know what toxic chemicals may leech out of plastics.


Apple Cider Vinegar and Refrigeration
Posted by Giglez2u (Morrill, Ne, United States) on 10/03/2009

Okay, I'm reading various posts and I've come across the info that it is NOT supposed to be refrigerated. When I purchased the product, I was advised to refrigerate it. Now I won't, but since it's been in the cooler for this time, is it okay to do so? I won't have to throw it away will I? I love this stuff!! Also, I still haven't heard if it will destroy my enamal on my teeth. I'm trying not to drink too much of it, but I still worry.

Replied by Suzi
(Missoula, Mt)
10/03/2009

the organic ACV I buy with the mother, comes with a statement on the bottle to refrigerate after opening...these folks are the best and most consciencious(sp?)so I always place in frig and have all the marvelous benefits over the years...also use a straw to get it past your teeth....don't worry :)

Replied by Rachel
(Manassas Park, Va)
09/27/2010

The Br---s Kind says on their FAQ that it does not need to be refrigerated. But it does need to be kept in a relatively cool place, out of direct sunlight.


Apple Cider Vinegar as Panacea

Posted by Zachary (Norwich, Ct) on 05/06/2010

Hello,

I am a big fan of the site and consult it regularly for a variety of issues and have had success! For that, Thank you.

I am concerned about the recommendation of Apple Cider Vinegar for almost ever ailment in question. I did have success in treating myself with ACV but the frequency with which is appears as a remedy makes me wonder if the site is sponsored by _____ or something! haha. Just curious because I am considering using ACV in my hair and a daily routine but I am uncertain as to the objectivity of the site.

EC: Hi Zachary,

During Earth Clinic's first few years, we allowed brand names to be published on the site, not realizing the extent of fake product posts on the internet. Most of the feedback back then was about apple cider vinegar. Then we received an email much like yours in 2004 (or thereabouts), asking us if we were a front for the Bragg's company! It was a most excellent wake-up call and I am forever grateful for it. Shortly thereafter, all but a few product names were banned from the site. Bragg was the first brand name to be deleted from the site. Tis true, there are now thousands upon thousands of Apple Cider Vinegar posts on the site. However, most ACV posts arrive from different ip addresses from around the world, which is why we think most (hopefully all) are legitimate posts.

Deirdre

Replied by Debbie
(Tequesta, Fl)
09/23/2010

Zachary be careful using ACV on your hair. I have blond highlights in my hair and the ACV turned my highlights pink! I use regular white distilled vinegar on my hair every few weeks and it works just fine.


Apple Cider Vinegar Contraindications

2 User Reviews
5 star (1) 
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1 star (1) 
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Posted by Bodulica (Barrie, Canada) on 07/09/2021
★★★★★

ACV is the most popular remedy on this website. Yet, there are two condition when you shouldn't take it.

1. Stomach ulcer, 2. Low Potassium level.

ACV will additionally lower your potassium level.


Apple Cider Vinegar Contraindications
Posted by Aseembaba (New York, Ny, Usa) on 01/22/2010
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

hi!

im a patient of DVT and PE (twice) and im on blood thinners to maintain an adequate INR value. as most patients will know that green vegetable can lower the INR value due to the Vitamin K content in them but ACV does the same.

im an ardent fan of ACV since 1994 and have been using it regularly but have had to stop using it after getting DVT. i have monitored my blood INR before and after having acv many a times and every time just after having it for 4 days my blood INR dropped to 1.2 when the i should be between 2 - 3.

in other words avc tends to clot the blood so dvt, pe and all other patients PLEASE DO NOT HAVE ACV while on blood thinning medication.

im bitterly missing acv since i know how wonderful it is for so many problems.
hope this helps

EC: Acronyms

DVT = Deep Vein Thrombosis
PE = Pulmonary Edema
INR = International Normalized Ratio (for blood clotting time)

Replied by Sams
(Colorado)
10/08/2020

This was very helpful info as I am also on blood thinners because of a man-made aortic valve.

When I started using ACV, I did end up having trouble keeping my INR stable until I added more garlic as part of my effort to use minimal blood thinner and more natural blood thinners. It was very helpful to know what was causing the problem so thanks for your post (years ago by now).


Apple Cider Vinegar Ice Cubes

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
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Posted by Jack (Stockholm, Sweden) on 11/26/2011
★★★★★

I make tsp ice cubes (5 ml) out of ACV and swallow 3 X 3 in order to spare my enamel.


Apple Cider Vinegar Soak

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Posted by Deirdre (Earth Clinic) on 09/24/2009
★★★★★

I started soaking both feet and toes in about 1 inch of straight apple cider vinegar in a pyrex casserole dish (the same one I use for the magnesium oil soak) a few days ago to treat nail fungus and severe cracks in my heels, which I suspect to also be fungus related. Well, it seems soaking is a great way to get the benefits of acv without drinking it! You know the rosy, healthy glow you get after drinking apple cider vinegar in water? Well, it's happening after soaking. Also a great increase in energy. Too soon to say if I am losing weight with the soak.

I was finding that drinking apple cider vinegar lowered my blood sugar levels drastically at times, making me feel faint, but have not had any side effects from soaking thus far. The blood sugar reaction from ACV is a new thing. I had been drinking it regularly for many years before that without any problems.

I am using the organic brand of acv right now, even though you can buy a gallon of regular grocery store acv for the same price. I am thinking about ordering organic acv in bulk, since it takes up almost half a bottle of organic acv to fill the small dish with enough liquid to cover my toes. I must admit, right now I am re-using the acv a few times, otherwise it just isn't cost effective. But yes, I wash my feet before soaking them!

Sorry to say that I have had cracked heels for 11 years now (coincides with when I started training at the dojo). Only recently did it move into toenail fungus. Getting rid of it once and for all is long-overdue. Bad idea to have a fungal infection lingering on for years and years. I am determined to keep this up for months if necessary.

Replied by Tricia
(Ireland)
09/25/2009
84 posts

To Deirdre Re cracked heels. I have had great success with the following -

Before you put your feet in any liquids use an emery board to remove any dry flaky skin. Your feet MUST be dry for this. Wet skin will only move with the emery board not fall away. The type of emery board is important. Here we use the black style. The types for nails that come in different colors i.e. pink blue etc. The reason you don't want to use the metal ones or the one designed specifically for the feet that are like cheese graters is that they are too hard and pull too much skin at once from what is already a very dry area. Think of how they would leave the cheese looking. I always recommend that this can be done while watching the telly or listening to the radio cos you can't damage yourself with these as you can with the metal type. Try to get the hard bit on the edge of the cracks without making yourself sore. You will be very surprised at the amount of dust that you will see coming away from your skin but this is normal. The brown old fashioned emery boards are too gentle and the black ones are perfect. When the dust stops flying move to the next part. If you are getting sore at all you have done enough for the day. More will come off tomorrow.

Rinse that dust off your feet as while it is blocking your pores you will absorb nothing transdermally. And it should only be dust, if you see larger bits of skin the emery board is too strong for you. At this stage you can soak your feet in any liquid of your choice i.e. anti-fungal, vinegar, peroxide or oils or salts for as long as suits you. Doing this with a couple of sports clubs some of the men chose to do it with plain old washing up liquid (detergent). So it is a case of whatever suits you. Use antiseptics or peroxide if there is any chance of an infection or dirt being caught in the cracks as it may close over the dirt and cause a diferent problem.

Then this is most important. Pack the cracks with some kind of thick oil. Our choice at the time we did this was vaseline but some would not choose this because of the petrolatum issue. Whatever you use press it over the crack to ensure that it has gone in the full depth. These cracks cannot heal while they are dry. If you had an operation on your stomach and the skin dried out to the same extent it would not heal either. We usually put large medical issue bandages over them to keep the vaseline on the feet.This won't suit everyone so a cotton pair of socks will do. The people we did this with all had to walk home so bandages were needed to keep the vaeline well packed. Wash next day as normal and leave bandage off. You want your feet fairly dry to repeat the process the next evening.

Remember it will be easy to slip on the floor until this is washed off. Do the same the next evening and continue til necessary tapering the amount of times done as they heal.

This worked within 3 days for some and some took approx 2 weeks. But it makes sense that the hard skin needs to go and the skin to be wet for the cracks to knit together.

As for the fungal infection. Many people will only treat the area that they can see the infection on. The human eye cannot see all of a fungal infection so if it spreading nor can they see it when it is at the last stages of treatment so it is very important to treat outside the area and for a lot longer that you can see it or feel it. My husband picks up an athletes foot while he is travelling for business on a regular basis. He never feels it but we can see it between his toes. We only know he has it when I catch it because I get the itching and burning long before I can see it. We use a providone iodine antiseptic wash which is normally used for pre-operation swabs in a footbath then antifungal medicated creams. Because he gets the moccassin type we bathe and cream his feet up to the ankles. I only get the moccassin type around the toe area so I only need to cover the shoe area. This is a long winded way of telling you how to do it but it actually doesn't take long perform it. The longest part of it is how long you choose to soak you feet and it is our tried and tested method.

EC: Tricia - Wow, thank you so much for these detailed instructions! Much appreciated. I will start immediately.

P.S. Your feedback has been cross-posted to the cracked heels page.

Replied by Tricia
(Ireland)
09/26/2009
84 posts

One thing that I forgot to say in my previous post is to mark your nail file in some manner i.e. nail polish. Make it obvious so that you never use it on your finger nails or that somebody else might use it inappropriately. If you are carrying an infection of any kind (and most people do) it will be transferred to the fingers. The nail file can be cleaned with peroxide or rubbing alcohol but the dust is so minute and nail files are not easy to fully clean without a steriliser. So make sure it is kept for YOUR feet. As we say in Ireland "to be sure, to be sure".

Replied by Deirdre
(Earth Clinic)
10/07/2009

Not all apple cider vinegars are made alike.

Okay, yeah, I win this week's "ultimate dork" award. I have been faithfully following Tricia's remedy for cracked heels for days now. Yesterday, a dark and gloomy day in Atlanta, I proceeded with Tricia's remedy as usual and used a fine nail file on the cracked area of my feet and heels. Then it came to soaking them, and this is where I changed my protocol and decided to use cheap apple cider vinegar from Heinz that I bought at the store ages ago. Usually I use the organic, raw, decidedly more expensive ACV to soak my feet, but not this time. Heh heh. I filled up my casserole dish with 1 inch of apple cider vinegar (room temperature & undiluted) and then started soaking my feet as I worked at the computer. I lost track of time. Some time passed, maybe a lot of time. I came out of my Earth Clinic computer fog enough to register that my feet were FREEZING and that an hour and a half had passed. A trace longer than the half hour that I usually soaked. My feet did look pickled and prune-faced, but that didn't worry me. I went and rinsed off the apple cider vinegar. Heh heh. Then I sat down to apply the moisturizer, just as Tricia recommended, and that's when I saw my new feet. By new, I mean discolored, burned, orange-tinged feet with a dark line running across the bottom half of my ankle, showing where the apple cider vinegar stopped and the air began. They looked so ridiculous, the feet of a clown: half orange, half pasty white.

Confidentally, I was certain the new color scheme would fade within the hour. But they didn't. Or they haven't I should say. Time has passed, almost 24 hours, and my clown feet have not returned to their original color. Wish me luck.

Replied by Lisa
(Thousand Oaks, Ca, USA)
10/07/2009

You had me laughing out loud... Clown Feet! I can only imagine. And yes there is a difference in quality of ACV. When I first started trying ACV after coming to this site, I used Heinz since it was in my pantry and I was anxious to get started with ACV. It took me about 5 days to finally get to the health food store to get _____s- the one with the mother as they say. Without a second thought, I took a tablespoon of it as soon as I got home which was the night- about 8 pm. After going to bed I awoke about 3am with raging detox symptoms- sweating, chills, body aches which were excruciating and basically feeling sick. I rolled over and said to my husband that I felt really sick and he said," Don't you remember you took the ACV when you got home?" Never had anything with the Heinz. Big difference...

Replied by Anon
(Anon)
10/11/2017

You may wish to buy new shoes and socks, or treat the shoes and socks for fungus to prevent recurrence.


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips

Posted by Alice (Oro Valley, Az) on 03/18/2012

Soaking your feet in apple cider vinegar uses a LOT of vinegar.

I've been able to use way less vinegar by putting my feet into the gallon size zip lock plastic bags, putting the bagged feet into a rectangular dishpan from the $1 store, in case the bags leak or spill vinegar.


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Jeri (Macomb, Mi) on 01/12/2012

My doctor says to drink ACV solution with a straw. It by passes the teeth so they don't yellow from it or weaken them. It's easy to tell if its bad on your teeth, they will become more sensitive.


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Stanford (Las Cruces, Nm) on 02/03/2011

My wife and I use LOCAL organic honey... Helps get it down AND helps with allergies


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Naturally88uprisingstardyt (Dayton, Ohio, Usa) on 06/04/2010

Is there a way to "nuetralize" the smell of ACV? It is very strong and is not so pleasant to smell. Like an oil or something that would make it be less strong? I use the organic ACV with "mother". Thanx I appreciate any comments. I tried to add olive oil to it but i think it made the smell stronger if i remember correctly.

Replied by N
(Sea, Wa)
06/04/2011

the best way to get it down is to plug your nose and use a straw positioned farther back in your mouth and then after you're done lick a spoon dipped in a small amount of honey.


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Theresa (Zaklan, Or, Usa) on 01/24/2010

The first book on vinegar I read was by a Vermont doctor who did his studies in conjunction with the Uni. of Georgetown and and govt. agencies associated with their studies. He rcommended 1 tsp of acv with 1 tspn. of honey 3x's a day usually before meals or with meals because the trace minerals in the honey add to and complement those in the acv. For chronic conditions he upped it to 1TBSN of honey to 1 TBSN acv 3x's a day. He also reported on it's effective use with his patients who were having trouble staying pregnant or were having fertility problems. He got the idea from the local farmers who routinely used it to cure fertility problems with their cattle/dairy animals.


Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Speedy (Columbia, Sc) on 01/09/2010

Use a drinking straw aimed at the back of the mouth to drink the ACV water concoction. It gets the drink past the teeth and most of the taste buds. Goes down smooth (almost.) Love this site.



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