Apple Cider Vinegar: Uses, Health Benefits and FAQ

I want to thank everyone for this site. I just discovered it last week and it is great. I started using ACV and I already see a big difference. My sinuses are better after being awful for over 20 yrs. I have had other symptoms no one could figure out and they haven't returned yet. I am so very thankful to God an to all who help this site. I read lots on this site now. I am telling lots of people about it to.

Side effect of ACV- I started taking a couple teaspoons of ACV in water to help with my TERRIBLE allergies (itchy eyes, sinus headache, etc. ) Before I began taking the vinegar, I had suffered from a yeast infection and later found out I was allergic to a certain brand of toilet paper. I lost the TP and the infection cleared. However, after taking the ACV, I got a bad rash again and the yeast symptoms returned very severely. The vaginal rash was red, raised, puffy, sore- gross. To treat the infection, I used sitz baths (as I usually do) using ACV, salt and sometimes peroxide. (Not all at once! In different baths. ) The ACV baths caused inflammation to the rash like I had not experienced before. Now I have stopped taking the ACV and the rash is slowly subsiding. I think I must be allergic to the ACV?! I feel like a lot of people who report negative side effects on here are shot down, sometimes quite harshly. The truth is not everything works for everyone. I can eat mango, while my friend will suffer greatly from it. But I would never say to him "how can you say mango is bad for you? Look how delicious it is for me!" In the same way, ACV may not work positively for everyone. I would love to hear back from anyone who has had a yeast infection CAUSED by ACV. I am not 100% sure of the correlation, but the evidence points to it. When I am free of the rash, I may try taking the ACV again, just to see if the rash comes back- then I would know for sure.

To address anyone who will say I eat poorly or whatever- I eat almost only whole foods, assorted vegetables, whole grains, organic egg for breakfast, very limited fruit intake, extremely limited dairy intake (only a little cheese sometimes), I take probiotics, and only a very occasional aspirin. I also run/walk/jog at least 40-60 minutes every day.

Thank you EarthClinic contributors... You have made me the happiest mom!!!

My eight year old daughter has had dense, curly hair since she was two. I have for six years of my life dealt with her screaming and crying while brushing or combing the tangles out of her hair. I literally had to chase her when she was younger and brush her hair while running. I only brush her hair when it's wet or it turns into a puff ball. I have tried every shampoo and conditioner you can imagine. Even special (expensive) products made for curly children's hair.

I read the posts here, washed my daughter's hair, then rinsed. Next, I mixed about 2 tbsp of ACV mixed with warm water in a 16 oz squeeze bottle. I applied it to her scalp and worked it down through her ends, then rinsed and towel dried. I applied a small amount of leave in conditioner and began brushing her hair with a special (expensive) brush made for curly hair.

As I brushed her ends, the tangles fell out with VERY little effort. I then brushed from scalp to ends... Completely dumbfounded. I finished in about one minute and she ran off to play with her sister. I stood there, paralyzed in amazement, on the verge of tears. I could not believe that 2 tbsp of ACV solved this long standing problem. I think of the time, energy, frustration and tears that have gone into brushing my little girl's hair over the last six years and all I can do is shake my head. Bless you all!

I have sinus polyps that clog my nasal passages especially in the colder months. After 6 months of clogged sinus I started taking apple cider vinegar (ACV) 3 times/day and after 1 week the congestion is nearly gone and I'm breathing through my nose.

Sorry I beg to differ while store bought ACV might not be AS effective as organic ACV with mother ive been using it for about two months now and my joint pain has lifted and my IBS has virtually disappeared plus my libido has returned after a bit of an absence. by all means use organic ACV but sore bought while it may not be the best is better than nothing.

I have been suffering from bronchitis- my face has several hard pimples, very hard, no pain it is just starts on my face. Help me as soon as possible I am 31 now.

Swishing with baking soda or another acid-neutralizer immediately after consuming ACV is the best way to protect your teeth. Brushing your teeth directly after acidic things have gone into or come out of your mouth can further the damage to enamel since enamel is softer then.

Hi to Anonymous from Grovetown, Ga - You're recipe sounds great, all except the microwave part. Microwave energy will kill anything beneficial in the food you "nuke". Please web search it. They kill all enzymes in foods. Better to use the stove....

I used to use juices and things to mask the taste of the ACV.... But now I just pour my ACV in a glass (1oz) add BS (1/2 teaspoon) and when the foaming is done, add 10oz water and chug (use a straw for teeth protection). It still tastes kind of bad, but works great. Totally worth it.

Please get rid of the microwave for things like ACV and VCO (my opinion) and you will find they work much better. I believe that others have posted on this in the past as well, so maybe search EC for more info.

Carly :-)

Recipe: fill coffee mug w water, warm in microwave, mix in 1 tbsp. Acv, 1tbsp honey, cinnamon and a little nutmeg... Has been 70 degrees in Georgia for most of the winter until last night.... Hot apple cider on a cold night... Very good!

Best kind of organic Apple Cider Vinegar is B______(there is a book available for it with the zillion of reasons why you should drink acv) and So____. Don't bother with Heinz - you want the organic acv. You want it slightly cloudy and with some residue at the bottom. I am currently looking for research regarding Apple Cider Vinegar and cancer. I would presume that taking Apple Cider Vinegar would be a good choice because it would neutralize the effects of sugar on the body.

Do not brush teeth after anything acidic!

It's correct that the acids weaken the enamel. Brushing immediately after will eventually brush away the tooth enamel. Not brushing right away lets the enamel strengthen again. You can rinse with baking soda and water before brushing your teeth, wait at least half an hour before brushing, or just use the apple cider vinegar after brushing your teeth.

The same goes after drinking cola, orange juice, or anything else acidic.

About 12 years ago, I read that taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and a teaspoon of honey in an 8 oz glass of water twice a day would help lower cholesterol... I don't know if that helped... but what I do know is that my heartburn and what I later found out was called gerd disappeared.

I could be having a severe attack of heartburn and take a teaspoon ACV in a half glass of water and it will immediately disappear.

If I take a teapsoon in an 8 oz or even smaller glass once or twice a day, I almost never experience either heartburn or gerd. I've recommended this to several friends, it has worked for most of them!

In regards to doctors and pharmaceutical companies and not recommending "home" cures (that may or may not work--I believe ACV works by the way) because there is no profit in killing cancer (or whatever), I came across a quote somewhere (maybe even here) that bears repeating:

A live sheep can be sheared many times, but you can only kill him once.

I had real bad acid reflux and heartburn I was taking two prilosec otc tabs a day! But still had that gnawing little pain rigth below the esophagus.. Then I tried ACV 4tbls a day mixed with water cured it all!! No more prilosec!!! AVC also cured my athletes feet and kept my feet much dryer. I'm a true believer!!

I had a wart bigger than a half of my heel. Little warts grew all over my toes. This was the result of yanking out the center of a small to medium size wart on my heel. It made those evil devils spread like wildfire. I put apple cider vinegar on a paper towel and I duct taped it to my heel. Making a shoe. By the time this was done the wart was throbbing in pain. I planned on doing my toes, but I couldn't handle the pain. I laid down but didn't sleep the whole night.

Next day, I feel like my heel was eaten away by acid.

I peeled of the duct tape, I put so much apple cider vinegar that it turn my skin yellow, and tiny bits came off with the duct tape. The wart was twice the size as before big white and puffy, but it had a little little BLACK center.

I knew it was working.

Three sleepless nights later, almost no outer layer of skin on my heel, but a half its normal size completely used car oil black wart is in the center.

No more vinegar, I needed to sleep.

One week later, the wart dries up, I just scratch it, and a huge chunk of black death easily peels out of my foot, leaving a crater twice as deep as wide. I peel the rest out, and I literally can see the bone of my heel through the transparent inner layers of my body.

Four weeks later, the hole COMPLETELY healed. All the baby warts in my toes fell out. Apple Cider Vinegar is sacred shit.

Delicious with tea. Works well with some teas, better with others. I have tried many.

MY FAVORITES: White tea with a little pomegranate juice; or raspberry tea. To either, add a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar actually ENHANCES the flavor of these two teas. Thats right, it makes them taste better. :-)

I have found it does not always taste well with green tea, however certain flavored green teas pair well. Such as the one I am drinking right now. It is called antioxidant max dragonfruit green tea. Made by Celestial Seasonings, the same brand that makes Sleepytime tea. It isn't organic and it does contain 'flavor' but it tastes great with the apple cider vinegar and contains more antioxidants than other green teas, so I will overlook that. As you get used to the flavor of ACV you can increase the amount in the tea without compromising your enjoyment.

I had warts, and tried the duct tape with the cotton balls with some success. I started taking a quick swig from the bottle at night and in the morning, and now my hands have cleared up. I have also noticed that when I do take it at night, I don't have heartburn. This is my exp. though.

What kind of Apple Cider Vineger is everyone using? I have a bottle that says Organic pasteurized Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar but I heard it's supposed to be raw for the affects? Does anyone know if that is true? Thank you.:)

I did the obvious: I mixed the apple cider vinegar (ACV) with apple cider. It gives the cider a great kick and makes it a fantastic drink, and you don't even notice the apple cider vinegar going down!

My 14 year old son has had severe breakouts on his face, back and chest. Last night I mixed up equal parts of ACV/water and we dabbed it on like a toner. This morning I was AMAZED at the difference. He has done this again this morning, and shockingly the acne and pimples are almost gone! Highly recommed this! It works! :0)

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.

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.

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.

Omg! I am a first-timer to this site, just stumbled upon it in when searching for some relief for my latest sinus infection. I am 30 years old and have gotten them chronically since childhood.

This one is particularly bad and it has come with the added bonus of sinus pressure-related tooth pain. It is about 4:00 am here and the pain and sinus pressure was keeping me and my poor, sympathetic husband, awake.

I was in so much pain and had taken a cocktail of over-the-counter pain relievers and sinus meds with still no relief. I had even spent the last hour alternating hot and cold compresses which I read can help with the pressure of compacted sinuses.

Nothing was helping. Then I found this thread about the ACV with honey and water mixture. I decided to try it, I figured at this point, anything was worth a shot.

I made the mixture and I also took a big swig of the ACV right from the bottle, just for good measure! Though the taste was a little off putting, the result was worth it!

In about ten minutes, the throbbing in my face and teeth began to subside, my sinuses began to clear and the pressure and pain was markedly subsiding.

I'm stunned. So stunned that I needed to post this response right away, even at 4:00 am! Thank you for this site! I have bookmarked it and am looking forward reading about other useful remedies!

Off to bed now for what may be my first congestion and sinus pain-free sleep in days!

Thanks again everyone! Cheers!

I am wondering if mixing lemon (1/2 of a lemon), 1 cup warm water and agave with the ACV is okay or does it dilute the benefits too much?

Hello, I've taken Apple Cider Vinegar for past 2 months never felt better.

Hi Lori!
I know this thread is super old, but I've been suffering from chronic yeast infections for over two years now and am recently getting bladder infections and UTI's which I had just thought i'd have to add to the checklist of ailments I've suffered from... I'm definitely planning to try this stuff.. Just wondering, is it still working for you?? Thanks!

I did ACV for a month.. And honestly I found things different.. I was drinking it daily.. Hourly.. And well.. I just think I got addicted to it.. I wasn't even wanting my morning coffee's no more.. Now that is a shock.. Being off it for 1 month now. I feel more bloated and more heavy in weight.. Seems odd but it is true. I am going to start this up again and the brand I enjoy is bought at walmart and a product of Germany. It tastes super with green tea and honey and well of course water. I have read the Blackstrap Molasses info as well and going to be getting that into our lives here.. Especially with my husband who has Pulmonary Fibrosis of lungs and myself a lot of joint pain. Will post in a month.. This all works as long as you are safe and feel good doing it. Good Luck Everyone.