Apple Cider Vinegar
Health Benefits

Apple Cider Vinegar: 2026 Research, Community Uses, and Safety Protocols

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.
Apple Cider Vinegar Tips
Posted by Bonnie (Stroud, Glos Uk) on 09/13/2009

I have discovered a great way to take apple cider vinegar with no taste. I bought some empty caplets 00 size off the internet.If you google empty caplets a whole list of companies come up. Then i use an empty dropper and fill them up and take them like that with plain water to swallow them. The kind of dropper i use is the sort you get for putting drops in your ears for ear wax etc as i have not seen any to buy . Taking them this way also protects the tooth enamel as it doesn't touch your teeth. I know you can get apple cider pills but there is a big question as to how much apple cider vinegar is actually in each pill and what do they do to it to get into the pill state. The empty caplet way is a sure way of getting pure apple cider vinegar in a tasteless way.You have to make them up fresh or they dissolve but it takes no time at all. I take 5 at a time as this is about a teaspoon full on the 00 size caplets

Sinus Infections and Sinusitis
Posted by Bobby (Glasgow, Scotland) on 06/02/2009
★★★★★

Having suffered sinus problems.. 4 operations..pills.pills and more pills. for over 30 years. pain killers.. anti biotics.. i was desperate.. pains from teeth, ears, jaw neck .. i tried acv.. within 20 minutes the pains had eased off...to a gentle ache.. and slowly disappearing 2 table spoons of acv with some lukewarm water did the trick... i also used acv (straight not dilluted ) on a wart on my eyebrow.. and it turned black and came off.. wonderfull juice

Website Articles
Posted by R (South Florida, FL, USA) on 06/03/2009

I have been using Apple Cider Vinegar for a few months for GERD and weight reduction. After reading Dr. Mercola's report on ACV, I checked my blood glucose level from my recent lab report. I went from 97 to 62! My husband's has remained in the 80s. I read on the internet that levels below 70 are hypoglycemic. I have lost 21 lbs while on ACV and eliminated sugars from my diet. Has anyone else experienced this? I eat plenty of fruit. Thank you.


Recipes
Posted by Nichole (Stanton, CA) on 11/26/2008
★★★★★

...Also a quick recipe to get kids to take ACV is to add a couple tablespoons to a bag of sliced apples, allow to sit for at least a day in the fridge and the kids gobble them up!


Hair Conditioner
Posted by L (South Portland, Maine) on 05/24/2008

I put two glass jars in my shower. One filled with a mix of borax and baking soda. (More borax for dry hair...more baking soda for greasy... half and half for normal.) I get in the shower and sprinkle approximately 2 tablespoons in the empty jar and fill it with water and shake it around. I then dump that over my head and rinse it out. I keep a bottle of ACV in the shower as well and pour approximately 1/4 of cup into the now empty jar add water pour over my head and rinse. The drying process looks a little funky but my hair is clean, shiny, flake free and dare I say fabulous. I'm actually a little dismayed that I have spent so much money over the years on toxic products that didnt make my hair look half as good. I switched to white vinegar for a week once and my hair became much blonder. The ACV brings out more amber highlights. Good Luck.


Brands of Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Juli (Socorro, NM) on 03/17/2008
★★★★★

...a tip about acv: if you buy the expensive mother vinegar, save a couple of tablespoons and pour it into a gallon of the cheap store brand. Soon, the cheap stuff will be growing the mother, and you will have a re-usable, active culture very much like a sponge for making bread.

EC: Organic and unpastuerized ACV with the mother seems to be popular with people in the United States, but there are many, many more to try. We suggest you try them all and see which one your body responds best to. We do not suggest drinking acv bought at the grocery store EXCEPT in the event of food poisoning. We have no validating studies to back this up, but we think grocery brands like Heinz are far more acidic and as such can kill off the bacteria causing the poisoning more quickly. Well, that's our experience at any rate. Read more about food poisoning and acv here.

Children and Infants
Posted by Pauline (Port Townsend, WA) on 03/16/2008
★★★★★

I read Dr. D.C. Jarvis's book about folk medicine around 1960 and began to give my children apple cider vinegar whenever they got the stomach flu. It always worked. I believe he was the one who said that the vinegar changed the ph balance in the intestinal tract so that the virus couldn't live and reproduce.


Cough, Chronic
Posted by Flint (Austin, TX)
★★★★★

I have 2 children that have never been immunized for whom I have made all medicines for at home all their lives. My 2 year old was suffering from a chronic cough. It lasted 5 months and none of my syrups, oils, tinctures etc were eliminating it. One day I was eating salad with a vinaigrette. He asked specifically for the dressing and drank 2 oz straight!! He continued to ask for it daily since and has seemed to have cured himself! The cough has subsided and I feel that it is due to the apple cider vinegar! What a smart guy!

EC: Read many more testimonials and cures here.


Hair Conditioner
Posted by Marcie (Dallas, TX, USA) on 09/27/2008

i am anxious to try using ACV as a rinse for my hair to see if it can help with hair loss. will the ACV lighten the hair at all? i have very dark brown hair that i LOVE ( my natural hair color) and am afraid that the ACV will make it lighter. i plan to use it about 3 times a week as a rinse after the shampoo part and use a conditoner on top of that.

can anybody tell me if it's safe for me to use? i DON'T want to bring out highlights or anything i just want to keep my color as is.

thanks in advance!!


High Cholesterol
Posted by Susan (USA)
★★★★★

One reader found success in lowering her high cholesterol by diluting ACV with a small amount of grape juice; she also drinks close to 80 ounces of water daily.

EC: Click here to many more testimonials and remedies to cure high cholesterol!


IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Posted by Karen (Salt Lake City, NV)
★★★★★

Have had years of trouble with irritable bowel syndrome and, more recently, gallbladder problems. Since drinking ACV (even during an attack) I find relief from these conditions and I now have only 1-2 gallbladder attacks per year after only 1 year of ACV. I previously had 1-2 attacks per month and was considering surgery.


Parasites
Posted by Heather (Napa, California)
★★★★★

I have been doing research on parasites and have found that if you take 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar morning and night, in a week you will pass parasites!

Ulcers
Posted by William (Las Vegas, NV)
★★★★★

It just stopped the the abdominal pain caused by my stomach ulcer. I thought I might have to go on antibiotics. I guess I won't.

Varicose Veins
Posted by Catherine (Nairobi, Kenya)
★★★★★

[she has, to her amazement, found her varicose veins disappearing after taking apple cider vinegar daily!]

Varicose Veins
Posted by Elma (UK)
★★★★★

After having my children 'I had a distended vien between my legs, to one side. I suddenly noticed it had gone after taking cider vinegar for about three months, twice a day.

EC: Click here for more varicose vein cures.


Warts
Posted by Jim (Youngstown)
★★★★★

I have only taken apple cider vinegar for two month, 3 tablespoons in morning, and 3 after work. Warts on my finger completely disappeared and I tried commercial removers. I had them for many years, so I believe the vinegar is responsible.

EC: Click here for more warts cures.

Apple Cider Vinegar and pH Balance
Posted by Lynn Greene (Canada) on 05/28/2023

Yes. I have had gut problems for over 15 years. I started taking apple cider vinegar and got worse, instant diarrhea, stomach pain - very terrible. I ordered the book: The Bloated Belly Whisperer by Tamara Duker Freuman, MS. RD, CDN (Crazy title name, for sure). She recommended NO vinegar, and soluble fibre (acacia -) and had lots to say about many gut problems. I have no association with her or her books. Her suggestions helped me a great deal.


Apple Cider Vinegar and pH Balance
Posted by Bill (Norton, Va) on 11/10/2012

I am writing to clarify some statements broadly made on this site. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is composed of 5% acetic acid with a pH of 3 clearly making vinegar acidic rather than alkaline. The pH would need to be higher than 7 in order for the vinegar to be alkaline and then it would not be vinegar, it would be sodium or potassium acetate and would likely do little for those of us taking it other than possibly elevating blood pressure that might be caused by the increased levels of sodium.

Application Tips
Posted by Haines 2154 (Chicago) on 08/16/2023
★★★★★

Starting today using ACV on my back probably 20-25 spots all over….figured out an easy way to reach those unreachable spots!

I used a long handled “ baby bottle brush”…the wire kind with the stiff bristles at the end. I wrapped a cotton pad around the bristles and you can just dip the cotton pad into the bottle of ACV and apply! So easy!

Hoping it works!



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