Apple Cider Vinegar
Health Benefits

Apple Cider Vinegar: Uses, Health Benefits and FAQ

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Guilda (New Zealand) on 11/04/2005
★★★★★

Have just finished reading an old book on molasses and it contains not only most minerals our body needs but also all Vit.B complex properties and it is B2 to stop greying hair. Extremely beneficial for good health. Apple cider vinegar is another everyone should drink it is also a skin rejuvinater, just a tad in the morning wash however I believe that is it rejuvinates the skin and the skin being our biggest organ then it must have the same affect on our internal organs, it is also a blood cleanser and flushes our organs, builds up white blood cells which fight infection. Softens arteries lessing the risk of clotting, and it also prevents heart burn, 1-2 drinks a day, 1 tablespoon in a cup with a teaspoon of honey (manuka if possible) put cold water on top and then hottish water on top of that and drink once stirred. Very refreshing. It is also a neutrilizer so if you're scratching, chicken pox or measles flea bit just dab vinegar on and it will stop immediately, there is over 100 different benfits of applecider, however a short mention on lemon juice, liver loves sour, {if you have a crook liver it doesn't like grapefruit),our liver needs sour to function fully as it works overtime and our diets are full of processed flours and sugars etc.one lemon drink in the morning will alkalize your body for the day and prepare it for its acidic onslaught. It has to be before you have anything to eat or drink. Give it half an hour before breaksfast. Please place cold water on top of the lemon before adding the hot to protect the properties, especially Vit.C as it is destroyed with heat. Add a tsp of honey. Honey is also good for sore throats, 1 tsp of honey on a spoon also does wonders for us. Good health to you all.


Sinus Infections and Sinusitis
Posted by Bnna_b (London, Uk) on 10/18/2012

Looks like it does matter what sort of cyder vinegar you are using. I tried this generic one, from Sainsburys, didn't to much, it did not hurt, made the whole wart swell up a bit, and when I soaked my feet in it, the skin started peeling from my sole. When I visited my parents, I had to buy a new bottle of vinegar, and it was pouring rain, so I went to the whole foods shop next door, and bought one of their ridiculously expensice fancy oranic cyder vinegars. That night I soaked a cotton ball in it, and bandaged it to my feet, and the next morning the wart was throbbing with pain so much I could barely stand on my feet. The middle has blackened, and as I continued treating it with the vinegar, peeled off in a few days. Once I had to wake up the middle of the night to take the bandage off the vinegar was hurting so much, but I kept a few days off between treatments, and it was not so awfully painful. About two weeks later the wart is almost gone, in fact I think it is gone, only the skin arond the hole is still hardened and whiteish. The winning vinegar-formula is from "bionic" ulfiltered and unpasteurised. I had the idea from Earth Clinic, thank you Earth Clinic so much!!!!


Acid Reflux
Posted by R (Madison, Ohio) on 02/16/2009

I can see this to be true if and only if using the proper acidity. By adding acid you are throwing your pH balance completely out of whack and causing your body to try balance it. You body doesn't necessarily do that for acid reflux as it doesn't find acid reflux as a strong thing that it needs to release a base to neutralize. If acv is too acidic though, your body will not be able to neutralize it and you will be left in pain.

EC: Read this interesting thread for more information about acidity and apple cider vinegar, starting with James' NAY post on down....


Recipes
Posted by Lara (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
★★★★★

I took Apple Cider Vinegar with a shot glass of Welches Grape Juice. It tastes a lot like wine to me this way. Much easier to take this way. I have a lot more energy already and I have only been taking it a few days.


Recipes
Posted by Shawn (Boulder)
★★★★★

Mixed with ginger ale and white grape juice, ACV tastes terrific. Very similiar in taste to Kombouchu tea.


Recipes
Posted by Patch (Sarasota, Florida, United States) on 06/26/2012

Hi I must add my voice to the crowd of people who find the taste of pure ACV to be absolutely unpalatable at best, nauseating at worst. That said, I have an interesting anecdote to report: I recently finished a bottle of very old ACV that had been sitting virtually untouched for 2 - 4 years (no kidding). It was never refrigerated, and for the last few years wasn't even properly closed (the cap broke). What happened is that it turned a very dark color, and the "mother" was so fully developed that it looked like kombucha starter, if you've ever seen that. I'm talking about large brown gelatinous masses rather than small filaments. Here's the most interesting part: it tasted great! It definitely had the right acidity and "kick" but there was no foul odor (excuse me if you're a fan), and no strong after taste at all. It was a very clean taste. It seems that ACV only gets better with time (and maybe even more healthful), like a fine wine, so if you ever see a long-neglected, dark colored bottle with well-developed "mother of vinegar, " snatch it up!


Recipes
Posted by Carmel (Clacton, Essex, Uk) on 06/26/2012

Very interesting. I bought a large bottle of this months ago and was told when I bought it that it had the mother in there. I was naive, had never bought this stuff before. When it was delivered and I looked for this fascinating mother I had read so much about I could see just a few bits in there, like grains of pepper. It tasted horrible so I decided to put it to one side while I had a think. A month passed and the few grains had become more and yes like kombucha. Still have not drunk it. Am contemplating doing so to help with my sinuses and blocked ears but hate the taste.


Recipes
Posted by Patch (Sarasota, Florida, United States) on 06/26/2012

Carmel, here's another "recipe" tip in case your batch is still foul-tasting. I'm from Russia and I usually drink my current bottle (still young, light colored, and quite gross) the way Russians drink cheap vodka. Pour yourself a shot with 2 tbsp ACV. 1/4 tsp baking soda is a good idea to neutralize the acid. (Other stuff is optional, cayenne pepper, honey, etc.... )

The real key is breathing properly:

1) Inhale
2) Exhale fully
3) With no air in your lungs, drop the whole shot with bravado
4) Inhale (if the stuff is real bad, then take the first inhale entirely through the mouth)

If you want to be on the safe side, you can take a few more breaths through your mouth before inhaling normally.

Chasers help too, even plain water...

If you have an old bottle of spirulina capsules, try emptying one in the shot. It won't make it taste any better, but it will turn it a neat radioactive green, and you can pretend you're about to turn into the incredible Hulk.


Dental Enamel Issues
Posted by Terri (Prospect, OR)
★★★★★

I just want to let you know that I agree with the dentist. I started drinking vinegar water 3 years ago all day long like you, and my teeth start going bad, since then I drink a glass in the morning as tea and then brush my teeth no more problems with my teeth.


Acid Reflux
Posted by Rasheeda (Arlington TX)
★★★★★

I had a very bad case of acid reflux. No over the counter medicine worked. I then remembered an article I read that apple cider vinegar cures acid reflux. I took two tablespoons 3 times that day and the acid reflux went away.


Acid Reflux
Posted by Angela (Des Moines, WA)
★★★★★

I was just diagnosed with acid reflux and was prescribed Aciphlex. I hate taking all of those new medications out there, they create more problems in other areas. After talking to many people and doing lots of research online, I decided to try vinegar. I first bought Heinz apple cider vinegar. Then I read that Heinz was not real vinegar and that I should try [an organic brand]. I actually did not have to go to a health food store. I bought it at Safeway. My throat was raw, but it made it feel better within the first half and hour.

'

EC: Click here to read ALL of emails that we've received about apple cider vinegar (ACV) curing Acid Reflux, including hundreds of other recommendations to cure Acid Reflux, Gastritis and GERD.


Allergies
Posted by Joanie (Akron, Ohio)
★★★★★

My cousin's doctor recommended ACV for gout, she passed this website on to me, so I've only been using ACV for about 3 weeks now, and no migraines, no sinus headaches (northeast ohio weather horrible), allergy symptoms have all but disappeared, and FEWER HOT FLASHES (am 47), I don't understand why more physicians don't tell us about this miracle cure-all!

'

EC: Read many more testimonials and cures here.


Acne
Posted by Rasha (Pune, Maharashtra, India) on 09/05/2011

Has anyone noticed darkening of skin colour after using ACV (undiluted) directly on skin ? I am asking this, because I have used ACV during the day on several occasions and 1-2 hrs later my skin appears darker I get a lot of sun in through my window, but my skin appears darker after using ACV. Does ACV make the skin photo-sensitive?


Burns
Posted by Stacey (Seattle, Washington)
★★★★★

My best friend's mom swears ASV works on burns. When I recently burned my thumb on the oven I immediately poured some in a small cup and soaked my thumb in it for awhile and sure enough!.....no burn pain, no scarring!


Burns
Posted by Linda (Little Rock, MS)
★★★★★

If you burn yourself, put ACV on the burn. The burn will stop burning quickly and will not blister as bad, if at all.

EC: Read many more testimonials and cures here.


Depression
Posted by Patch (Sarasota, Florida, United States) on 06/27/2012

(I'm pretty sure you want to brush your teeth *before* not afterwards... Acids weaken the enamel, and brushing then damages it / wears it away. If you brush before, it's not such a big deal. That's my current understanding of it.)


Fever
Posted by Ratazayah (Newark, NJ)
★★★★★

When I was an infant the Dr's told my mom I was going to die, due to a particularly high fever. She was told by an elderly friend to soak a wash cloth in acv and place one on my forehead and one on my stomach, while it smells like all get out, my mom was able to check me out of the hospital and from that day onward, it's literally been a life saver to all the children in our family with high fevers. It takes about an hour to break the fever.

Fever
Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 05/26/2008 490 posts

To the Siberian Wolf on his "Whoa" on fever Hi Siberian Wolf, I agree with you onleaving the fever alone to let it do its job of fighting off infection. However, I noted that only one of those who wrote in said it failed to reduce the fever and that none of those who said it worked mentioned having to repeat the egg whites later. So I have come to the conclusion that the next time me or my loved ones have a fever, we'll give it a try and see if it works. Just think of the wear & tear on the body and the misery you could avoid if using egg whites one time removed the fever and it didn't return. I would have to say that obviously those egg whites delivered nuclear bomb to my soldiers fighting the infection and they wiped the enemy out!! Of course some of those who succeeded with egg whites could write in and let us know if the fever return and they had to repeat the egg whites. It would be helpful to all of us to know.


Foul Smelling Stools
Posted by Susan (USA)
★★★★★

Regular ingestion of ACV with water helps to reduce the incidence of foul-smelling stools. My wife was amazed!


Hair and Scalp
Posted by Tina (Sunnyvale, California) on 05/27/2008

The ACV may work on dandruff but boy it smells horrible. I tried the lime juice (yes, fresh squeeze lime juice) and it does clean my scalp like nothing else. You may want to apply the juice on your scalp for 20 minutes and then rinse it off with a little bit of shampoo. I've been doing this once every week now.


Interstitial Cystitis
Posted by Sunny (South Gate, Ca, United States) on 04/12/2013

How have you been doing with the ACV? Any long term improvements cure? I have been wanting to try it, but I was worried because it's a vinegar and I know vinegars burn? Did u find it to "flare you ever"? Thanks!


Interstitial Cystitis
Posted by Sunny (South Gate, Ca, United States) on 04/12/2013

FYI baking soda works too :)


Joint Pain
Posted by Flo Clark (USA)
★★★★★

I've been drinking 3 TBSP. in 2 cups water everyday for 2 years now. My joints don't squeak anymore and I have never been so healthy. I've been informing everyone from my town and they too now drink the same dosage. God Bless organic apple cider vinegar!

EC: Click here for more knee pain remedies.
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Nail Fungus
Posted by R Moore (Cincinnati, OH)
★★★★★

had fungal toe for years, could not take the huge green pill, so tried ACV and have been free of the fungus for 10 years. I stopped taking ACV and within a week the fungus was back, so now I take a shot in the morning and at night.

EC: Click here for many more nail fungus remedies.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Posted by Jessica (San Diego)
★★★★★

ACV cured my sinusitis - caused from living in polluted California. Even better, I had adhesions from having a c-section with the birth of my son. The doctors, over and over, had stated it was Irritated Bowel Syndrome and gave me a pill and sent me home. I was constantly constipated and feeling ickie. I NO LONGER HAVE THESE PROBLEMS..

HERE IS WHAT I DID - they (the adhesions) went away after 1 week.

Every morning - prior to eating anything:
5 glasses of good water
(with the last glass)
1/2 shot (use a shot-glass) of ACV & 1/2 water (in shot glass)

DOWN that shot with the last glass of water. You will never be constipated and as far as sinisitis... takes a while to get use to the taste, but now I like it.. PAIN IS GONE! woooo hoooo


Parasites
Posted by Dan (Myrtle Beach, Sc, Usa) on 01/03/2011

How can you tell you've passed them?


Parasites
Posted by Sunny (Ca) on 11/07/2013

Heather from Napa, California: Do you dilute the apple cider vinegar, or take it straight?

Pass love forward - Sunny


Acne
Posted by Francoise (USA)
★★★★★

As soon as I feel I'm about to have a pimple, I dab the spot (priorly cleaned), with a Q-tip dipped into organic apple cider vinegar before bedtime. I smell like salad dressing for a few minutes, but the next day it's gone. I tried it on my very skeptical and slightly vain fiance; he could not believe it when in the morning he could not find any blemish on his face! Vanity is everything!

EC: Click here for hundreds more acne remedies.



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