Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – who would have ever guessed that this natural and fermented liquid could be useful for a myriad of health issues?
Over the years, as I have learned more about this natural health aid, I have been amazed at some of the conditions it can be beneficial for. In fact, it is often touted as Mother Nature’s perfect food and is wonderful in helping to maintain the body’s vital acid-alkine balance.
Now, the type of Apple Cider Vinegar that I am referring to is the raw, organic, unpasteurized version that still has the “mother” floating in it, such as Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.
Only raw organic apple cider vinegar has the actual “mother of vinegar” that makes this vinegar so beneficial to our health. The “mother” is made up living nutrients and bacteria that you can actually see as they settle in the bottom of the bottle like sediment. The “mother” is believed to have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
What is in ACV to support it’s reputation for health benefits?
| Nutrients Available in ACV: |
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Are you ready to see list of potential health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?
| POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF ACV: |
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Here are 6 ways to EASILY add it to your diet (unless you are currently eating a diet that eliminates Vinegars):
| How to Add ACV into your Diet: |
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- 2 – 3 teaspoons Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- 16 ounces Filtered and Purified Water
- Raw Local Honey (to suit your taste)
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks (optional, but a nice flavor enhancer and stirring medium to keep the “mother” suspended)
Directions:
1. Mix ingredients together in a glass container and sip throughout the day. It is preferable to sip throughout the day, rather than drinking all at once, to help maintain a balanced alkalized state in your body. Always stir before drinking as the “mother” will settle.
Note: You can just barely warm this concoction on the stove if you would like to sip it warm, but do NOT allow to boil or even simmer. The point is to keep the Apple Cider Vinegar in the raw state.
Kim Maes, CNC, AADP, known as the Allergy Free Food Coach, is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and Certified in the Practical Application of Food Allergy Guidelines.. She is also the creator of the Cook It Allergy Free iPhone and iPad Apps and the Cook It Allergy Free website, where she shares her passion for teaching others how easy and delicious it can be to eat whole, pure allergy-friendly meals that the entire family will enjoy.
Since I am the first commenting, I am going to totally call you out. You’ve used that picture before. I remember because I thought the apples and pear look too perfect. Very professional. Anyway, I’ve drink this stuff off and on. But, I’m much more macho. No honey or cinnamon for me. I was drinking it like crazy when we lived at the “house”. Hoping to make me better.
xoxo,
Tia
I should have known it would be you that would notice I used the same picture again!! That’s why I love you!
And you are like my mom. She takes a straight shot of it every single night. I am not quite as macho as the two of you as I like to dilute mine with a bit of water, honey, and cinnamon!! 😉
xo
k
ACV must always be diluted with water if using it as a beveridge. Full strenth can burn your esophegus. It is acidic!
My favorite vinegar! I love ACV. And it’s even sanctioned on the anti-candida diet (by some practitioners, anyway!). 🙂
Thanks Ricki! I know that some doctors allow it on the anti-candida diet – my girlfriend was able to use it when she was on the anti-candida diet and she had amazing results with the diet. She is healthier now than she has ever been and she still takes in a teaspoon or two of ACV a day.
It is definitely one of my favorite vinegars as well. I use it all of the time and also use it in place of wherever I used to use balsamic vinegar. 😉
That’s interesting. I’ve been discovering the health properties of some herbs and spices since I accidentally discovered that tea made of licorice root tea and basil got rid of my lung infections.
I’ll have to add raw apple cider vinegar to my list of remedies to buy and try. Thanks!
HI Carradee! It is definitely amazing what can be done with natural remedies. You will have to give acv a try and see if you see any benefits from it! 😉
This is excellent info Kim. I had no idea acv was so powerful. We use it a lot in our salad dressings and in our dairy-free baking. I’m so glad to know about all of these benefits. Not sure I could drink it, but I’m willing to try 🙂
Thanks Maggie!! It is an natural health aid. I remember years ago when I was learning about it in one of my classes and I kept thinking that it had to be more complicated than just a bottle of acv. But I now know way too many people, including our own family, who see awesome results with it. And I keep learning more and more about the benefits. It really is not too bad to drink when you are only mixing a couple of teaspoons into 16 oz with a dash of honey! 😉
As a kid I used to sip all vinegars straight, so I know I could get into this! First, though, is trying to track down a raw ACV in Canberra…
Hanna, now that is impressive that you drank vinegar straight as a kid. I cannot get my kids to drink this unless i add it into apple cider. Good luck tracking down some raw apple cider vinegar. You could probably just order it online! 😉
I was just thinking about this the other day and again today! I need to get me some braggs ACV. I was reading the benefits it has on joints as well as for the immune system. Thank you for sharing this one! I will definitely get some this weekend and start drinking up!
Hi Sarena!! ACV definitely is known for helping with joint pain! And I make sure that we are all getting it all winter long to keep our immune systems in check! Glad that I encouraged you to start hitting the bottle (of the acv, that is)! 😉
Great post and that is a beautiful photo – worthy of being used twice or even three times! 🙂
xo,
c
Ahh! Thanks Carol. I made it work again (even if there is a pear in the photo along with those apples)! 😉
Funny coincidence….I am sipping it right now before I clicked on your post 🙂 I make ACV Lemonade with about 1 TB ACV, 1-2 TB lemon juice, 1/2 dropper sweetleaf stevia or 1/2-1 TB honey and ice/water. My kids will even drink it this way. So very good for you, gives energy boost and helps with seasonal sinus allergies in our house. Good post!
~Natasha
Natasha, that is a funny coincidence. I love your lemonade idea. I am going to make that today. I bet my kids would love it that way!! Thanks for that idea! 😉
Hi Lovie, I was delighted to see this posting. I have been mentioning ACV to Michael’s pharmacists and doctors at the hospital to let them know what I am giving Michael to rid him of Acid Reflux. He gets it especially in the middle of the night and I just give him a nice glass of filtered water with ACV. He is instantly cured! Most of the time I feel like I am educating people on ACV’s benefits, so now I can print your lists and hand it out. ACV sits on my counter for me to take frequently during the day. Now if you can find something to help with Michael’s nausea. . . Love Mom
Mom, you are doing such amazing things for him. You are teaching those docs a thing or two!! 😉
Love you!
When I was pregnant I craved ACV and would take big swigs from the bottle all the time. I haven’t found any with the mother in though.
Hi Intolerant Chef! You know what is funny is that I find that I crave it now and then too. It must be that when we are craving it, our bodies must need it the most! You can order the kind with the mother in it, in case you cannot find it where you are! 😉
Thanks for sharing your amazingness with the world..btw, threw some Braggs ACV in the seafood dish I made for the fam last night. DId not even think to add it AFTER cooking to retain the raw. Yet again, you are my hero!
Ahh, my sweet sweet neighbor friend. Love you!
xo
k
I drink apple cider vinegar just like you described, Kim, with the filtered water, our bees’ honey, and more often than not cayenne pepper (just a pinch) vs cinnamon. It’s amazingly good and so good for you. as youve shared!
Off to share on FB … xo,
Shirley
Shirley, you are awesome! Thanks for sharing my post! I am going to throw in a dash of cayenne next time. I like that idea! If I had your bees honey here all of the time, I would be in heaven (and even healthier, LOL)!!
xo
k
Awesome! I used to sip it in water every morning, but you’ve inspired me to start again! I had no idea it is so beneficial! Thanks for this Kim! (I’m going to try out your recipe right now).
Thanks, Lillian! So glad that you are on the ACV bandwagon. It has even more benefits than I listed, but I thought I should try and not go crazy!
Nice informative post – thanks for sharing this. When my son was at his worst earlier in the year, this concoction was suggested for him by a friend. I didn’t know what all the benefits were, but started adding this apple cider vinegar to soups, salad dressings, almost anything I could sneak it into.
Thanks Jeanette! I do the same. My kids don’t love to drink it so I just add it to anything i can think of that I can get away with.! 😉
Can’t wait to try this! I’m a huge fan of Bragg products. I make salad dressings with the bragg amino all the time. Thanks for sharing.
It actually grows on you really quickly. I find that i sort of crave it now! 😉
Great information Kim! Growing up if we had a stomach-ache or pretty much any complaint our grandparents would always say, “Go sip on vinegar water” My grandpa liked to add water, vinegar, and honey to a small glass jar and shake it up. As kids, we loved it, now though for some reason vinegar makes me feel tired. Even the raw kind. I still keep a bottle in my pantry for good measure though 🙂
Hi Melanie! I guess it would make total sense that your grandparents knew about all of the health benefits of vinegar. It seems that all of the things my grandparents told me to eat are the very things that get the most touting as health benefits today. 😉
I am wondering what it would be that would cause you to feel fatigued from vinegar. Hmmmm.
OK I don’t care about reusing photos, especially ones that great. Love the idea of making this into a drink. So what would happen if I added a litte rum or wine to this?
LOL! We could give that a try next week, Diane! 😉
I wanted to have some ACV the other day as salad dressing, but I didn’t know if I could have it when I was pregnant since it was unpasturized, is it okay?
Hi Virginia!!
According to the Bragg’s website: “Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar is safe to take during and after pregnancy. It helps to rid the body of toxins and may even help with any complications that may arise or have arisen with the pregnancy. It supports regularity and promotes digestion. “
I hope that helps. I have heard of, and know, many people that have taken this throughout their pregnancy to get rid of the heartburn. I just wish I had known that with my first son when I had terrible heartburn!!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! May you enjoy every minute of it.
Kim
Thanks Kim – I’m going to go home and have some tonight!
I have been using ACV for a little over a year now. I wanted to throw a warning out there since I saw you say your mom takes a “shot” every night – you should NEVER drink ACV straight.. it will eat your esophagus and stomach lining up. ALWAYS dilute or at least chase it with liquid/water.
Here is the “ACV cocktail” I drink 3x/day:
1 Tablespoon ACV
2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
8 oz filtered/purified water
SweetLeaf Liquid Clear Stevia to taste
Good point, Gretta. Just forwarded this on to my Mom. I know she chases it with water immediately following, but I will tell her to add it to it instead. 😉
One of my first “introductions” to ACV was at an initiation rite of passage into Senior High School. We had to dress up in weird costumes assigned to us by a committee of Grade 12’s, and they put us all through the most horrific tortures all day long. We had to literally bow to the grade 11 and 12’s, call them master and do whatever they said. The first thing I was made to do was drink a pint jar of vinegar!! I thought “They’re not going to beat me!” so I swigged ‘er down while holding my breath. After that, oddly, I liked vinegar dressings, drinks, etc.
Then I came across this book by a vet in the N.E. USA who said apple cider vinegar could actually be an antidote to food poisoning! So I drank some whenever I worried if some food was “off”. Never got food poisoning!
After all that, I wonder something: Since I also use vinegar to dissolve the calcium deposit build-up in my kettle, could drinking it actually leach calcium from my bones? Anyone know?
Tirza, that is actually a pretty funny story that it was an initiation! Little did they know they were doing you a favor! LOL
I, too, once heard that it is a remedy for food poisoning. I just think you have to be able to drink it before you start feeling too “off”. Otherwise I cannot imagine stomaching it once you are in the the throes of the sickness. 😉
And that is an interesting question about what it can do to the calcium in your bones. I do not imagine that it would likely do that since one of the nutrients available in the raw ACV is Calcium that is lending to help build the strong bones. I do not think you have to worry about that! 😉
this year I made my own fresh ACV, from the peelings and cores – having used the insides to make applesauce! this is a wonderfully simple method, as in this article. http://thenourishingcook.com/how-to-make-fruit-scrap-vinegar/
It is delicious, organic and local. Out of three 5-gallon buckets of apples, I filled 5 wine bottles with the finished vinegar, at NO cost! this after also cooking up 9 0r 10 quarts of applesauce. I picked the apples from my neighbor’s tree, and the scraps became compost after as they would have anyway!
Oh my goodness! This is a brilliant idea! I want to do that now!! I am going to read the post. And how lucky are you to be able to pick your neighbor’s apples. We can pick our neighbor’s oranges and grapefruits, but we only make juice with them! 😉 Thanks so much for sharing, Janet!
I hate to be the one to post something contrary, but for information sake…i work with a holistic physician and am not allowed to use ACV…upon researching it, I’ve found multiple article like this one below…that talk about the mold risk with apple cider vinegar that makes it not the best choice when it comes to vinegars…..always good to get info and decide for yourself..
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.yahoo.com%2Fapple-cider-vinegar-potential-health-risk-3914412.html&h=nAQErFTZ9AQHQraCQHGYKWHZU7a2_lxosNCWeSqOYbeiGfQ
here is a better one with more info
http://fyi.uwex.edu/news/2010/09/13/don%E2%80%99t-let-patulin-ruin-this-year%E2%80%99s-apple-cider/
I have a question. My husband just found out that he has high blood sugar. we are not working at this time and he needs to get his blood sugar down to get his cdl and get back to work. If i use regular apple cider vinegar and cinnamon to make a drink would it help bring his sugar level down? Also would this help with weight loss? I can’t afford acv or I would try some. Please help me if you can.
Not crazy about vinegar, but in this dish apple cider vinegar is absolutely YUM, and comforting. Put red swisschard in pot w/ 1/4 inch water, cubed firm tofu, sliced mushrooms, sliced fresh garlic — place cover, ring to slight boil. Shut off stove, add a bit of olive oil, bit of soy sauce. Ready to serve? Place in a bowl and add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon over the dish. The leftover water – yum – place in cup — put 1/4-1/2 teaspon in cup. Yum, again!
I would love to see a recipe for an ACV drink that one could make by the quart and sip throughout the day – – and not all this PC “raw” and esoteric “stuff” everyone insists on pushing. I LOVE Heinz ACV; it is hearty, yummy and just fine. I imagine something like an ACV lemonade drink, wherein one makes a simple syrup base – – maybe with honey, maybe with cane sugar (GMO Free) and adds lemon and ACV to it, maybe store it in the refrig and sip on for days. (Maybe add a bit of strawberry, raspberry or black cherry to this?). Also using tap water or bottled – – where does one EVER find “filtered water” and is it expensive?
I have food allergies, but I grew up eating cane sugar cooking, etc. and have seen too many who become ill eating “raw” things. Let’s be safe and happy, and make recipes that are basic, use traditional ingredients that are easily found, inexpensive and available, avoid all the PC trands and don’t contain elusive, expensive and esoteric ingredients. That makes for less stress, happier cooking and baking, and just-plain RELAXING experiences.
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Just diagnosed with diabetes. Am on BP meds.
Will acv help and not effect the meds? Petee
Hi There,
I drank 2 teaspoons with 8oz water of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar in the morning and started to feel ill throughout the day. It made may feel dizzy, panic attacks and feeling really tired as if I consumed large amounts of Alcohol. Is this a side effect of drinking it? I wont be in a hurry to try it again as the effects have put me right off it.
Thnx Valerie
Hi Valerie,
Apple Cider Vinegar can also act as a detoxifying process in the body as it helps you to remove stored toxins. I would imagine that the effects you were feeling were related to your body trying to remove some of these toxins from your body. If you do ever try it again, I would start then with only about 1/8 teaspoon per day in at least 10 ounces of water. If you can tolerate that, only then would I slowly add more in to your diet. I would add 1/8 teaspoon at a time if you think you could tolerate it. Hope this helps.
I just did my shot of ACV. I mix about 5 oz of it with water and down it goes. Another health benefit is that ACV helps dissolve kidney stones. I have used it for this purpose. My last one was big and after a week I remembered ACV. Took a shot and that sucker started moving. I also take it for sinus issues as well.
Oops, I meant 5ml not 5oz. I always say that for some reason.
Is it ok to drink it straight? I have been drinking it straight for a couple of days. Thanks
I have used Braggs ACV 3 times now and about a 1/2 hr. later I am throwing up. I have been drinking about a quarter or less a cup straight and then chasing it with water. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I tolerate 30mls 3 times a day straight.
Is it ok to take acv this way? I find it kèeps intergestion at bay.