Start typing apple cider vinegar into your search bar, and you will find all kinds of things: apple cider vinegar for weight loss, for hair, for digestion, for cleaning silver. Apple cider vinegar is popular among natural healers as a home remedy for a variety of ailments and has been used for centuries for healing, cooking, and household tasks.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a vinegar made from, you guessed it, apples. Crushed apples are exposed to yeast which ferments the sugars into alcohol. Bacteria continue the fermentation process turning the alcohol into acetic acid, which is the main component of vinegar.
When you buy apple cider vinegar in the bottle you can choose either pasteurized or raw. Raw is generally considered better for its health benefits. But there are other ways to take ACV, from pills to gummies. So let’s get into why people use it and what it can do for you.
Apple cider vinegar has been used as a home remedy for quite literally thousands of years. Today, it is still popular for treating a number of health conditions including dandruff, weight loss, and improving heart health. While many of its uses haven’t been studied or proven, there are studies that have verified its benefits.
A small study published by the American Association of Diabetes found that ACV lowered glucose levels after meals. Other studies had similar results. While it won’t cure diabetes, it could help manage glucose levels.
You may have noticed that some apple cider vinegar brands advertise “The Mother.” The Mother is the murky cloudy stuff that's floating around the bottle and usually settles at the bottom. The Mother is yeast, enzymes, bacteria. Because the Mother in apple cider vinegar is full of good yeast and bacteria, apple cider vinegar could be helpful for maintaining and achieving gut health, much like a probiotic.
ACV could help aid weight loss. Studies have found that people who take ACV with their meals lost more weight than those who were not taking ACV. Of course, this does not make ACV a magic cure-all. It cannot replace exercise or a healthy diet while trying to lose weight. However, as studies have shown, it could help you speed up the process a bit.
Apple cider vinegar is pretty easy to take. If you are new to apple cider vinegar and you are taking it straight from the bottle, start slowly, gradually working up to 30 mL per day (or two tablespoons) mixed with water.
Apple cider vinegar can also be taken in a pill or gummy form. There are definitely advantages to taking the gummy: first, it is far more gentle on the stomach and throat. It tastes a little better than vinegar and doesn’t leave you with vinegar breath.
There are definitely some side effects from drinking apple cider vinegar. It could affect people with low potassium, making the condition worse. For some people, the strong flavor and acidity can cause nausea and vomiting. It may also exacerbate acid reflux.
Apple cider vinegar can interact with some medications including insulin and diuretics, so make sure you speak with your doctor before starting anything new. Drinking too much vinegar straight could be potentially harmful to the esophagus and teeth enamel. Luckily, this can be alleviated by mixing apple cider vinegar with water.
Some people would have you believe that apple cider vinegar is the solution to every problem, And while it does have plenty of uses, it won’t fix everything. It will not replace a healthy diet and exercise, as we’ve said, and it also will not replace advice or medication prescribed by your doctor.
Many people claim that it is effective at lowering blood pressure. This is one area that you probably don’t want to mess around with. If you have high blood pressure there simply is not enough evidence to support treating it with ACV. So while you can go ahead and take it as a supplement, it should not replace medication.
We love apple cider vinegar, but we know that not everyone enjoys the flavor of vinegar. BUBS Naturals is here to help with our Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies. Our gummies are packed with 1000 mg of apple cider vinegar with the Mother plus vitamins B6, B12, folic acid, iodine, pomegranate juice, and beet juice. These gummies combine the age-old benefits of apple cider vinegar without the sour flavor with the fun of a gummy! Take two per day to get the most benefits!