For daily maintenance, weight loss and pH balancing, we now suggest the following:
We suggest 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 16 ounces of water that you'll sip throughout the day, rather than drinking the whole concoction at once 3 times a day. You will be keeping your pH in a constant, alkalized state by sipping this highly diluted dosage. Usually 1-2 tall glasses of the concoction are all you'll need each day.
If you drink a lot of water throughout the day, consider adding just a splash of apple cider vinegar to your glass/container each time you fill it up, rather than drinking the one, 16 oz glass of acv and water mentioned above.
Replied By Kristen (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) on 04/15/2009
I have a question. Why do you NOT recommend putting any sweetener in the apple cider vinegar (ACV)? I was taking 2 tablespoons in a bottle of water for my allergies for the last 2 days, and could barely get it down. While my allergies went away (amazing!), I do not think I can make myself drink this every single day without something to help the taste. Today I started with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 16 ounces of water, as you recommend, but I added a tablespoon of organic Grade B maple syrup, which helps a lot. Is there anything you DO recommend that helps the flavor, without detracting from the benefits? Thanks so much for this extremely helpful website."EC: Just trying to avoid adding more sugar to one's diet! However, most readers on this site seem to add one kind of sweetener or another.
Replied By Walter (Baltimore Maryland) on 10/23/2013
When taking apple cider for what ever ailment I have found mixing it with apple juice makes it much easier to take rather then mixing it with water.Replied By Chocolate Lady (Anisland, Ak) on 12/26/2013
I and my 15 year old son are new to this type of treatments. We have tried apple cider vinegar three days in a row now and each time we both seem to get a headache within an hour after drinking the concoction. The first day we drank 2T of ACV and 2T of honey in about 8oz of warm water. The second day I reduced the ACV to 1T and 2Tof honey-we still got a head ache. Day three we drank 1T of ACV, 1T honey and 1T lemon juice-still got head aches. It helped his cough and generally he seemed to feel better, but I seemed to be MORE bloated, head achey and had night sweats, and constipation! I understand I may have multiple issues going but, I didn't have a cold like my son-I drank the concoctions to help my stomach but just wound up uncomfortable even more :( Help!!! I think ACV has great healing properties, is this a common side effect in the beginning?Replied By Caitlin (Florida) on 01/29/2014
Your body is detoxing. The beginning symptoms include everything you mention - the bloating, night sweats, etc. Eventually the constipation will clear as well. It took me about 2 weeks to completely free myself of the 'detox sickness.' Look those up and you will see that they are common in any detox program. Couple this with a healthy diet (I mean raw, organic as much as possible) and you will see the symptoms disappear faster.Replied By Elaine (Kansas, US) on 01/25/2015
I use two TBS of Vinegar, Two TBS of Honey. 1 TBS lemon juice, and add a cinnamon to taste. Is great, can make this; add 16 oz water and sip on it, tastes great.Replied By Decembersun (Shepherd, Texas) on 07/25/2016
Good article, and this is one of my favorite drinks, and the best way to start the day. I've tried variations with honey as well as maple syrup, and also toggled between lemons and limes for variation. I'm curious now, after reading some reviews, to try a little baking soda at some point.Replied By Blkhillsbagger (Rapid City, Sd) on 04/14/2017
As a diabetic and recent devotee to ACV Tonic, I didn't want to introduce sugar to it. I started out using the baking soda right away. I can say that it really makes the drink very tolerable. I'm amazed at what ACV has done to help my blood sugar numbers. I drink the tonic 1/2 hr before breakfast, and again at dinner. I put a tbs or so of ACV in my work out drinks in the afternoon. I'm in debt to y'all for maintaining this site and the users providing their input and experiences.