17 Jul 7 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

The question most of our clients have is – What is this Apple Cider Vinegar? We’ve heard so much of it but not sure – Why we should have it? What are the Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?

In this post we are going to explain you all the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar and the caution which you’ve to take before consuming it.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar, a vinegar made from apples, sugar and yeast. It is made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Bacteria and yeast are added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, and the sugars are turned into alcohol. In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria (acetobacter). Acetic acid and malic acid give vinegar its sour taste. Apple cider vinegar has been used as a traditional remedy over centuries.

7 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

1) Helps with Insulin resistance / Diabetes 2

Apple cider vinegar consist Acetic acid and it has properties to lower sugar abnormalities in Diabetes 2 patients.  The clinical trial performed on 10 diabetes patients including non-diabetic subjects who were either insulin sensitive or Insulin resistant, were not taking any diabetes medications. They all consumed the vinegar (20 g apple cider vinegar, 40 g water and 1 TSP saccharine) and after 2 mins they had a test meal includes white bagel, butter and orange juice (total 87 g carbohydrates). After 1 week of this trial, the blood samples were collected at fasting and 30 and 60 mins post meal for glucose and insulin analysis. The results showed that the whole body insulin sensitivity during 60 min post meal in insulin resistant subject raised 34% and in type 2 diabetes subjects raised by 19% compared with placebo.

2) Lose Weight

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid which helps to regulate sugar level and increase metabolism . Insulin is one of the most powerful hormones in our body which causes fat storage. Daily consumption of Apple cider vinegar reduces body weight and obesity by regulating blood sugar and insulin.

3) Lowers the bad cholesterol

A study showed that Apple cider vinegar intake reduces the body fat, body weight and blood triglycerides in obese Japanese people. Triglyceride is a type of fat (lipid) found in our blood, which can clog the arteries if the level is not normal. Triglyceride is a unhealthy fat which can cause coronary heart disease. Apple cider vinegar increases the production of BILE and support your liver in creating, processing and breaking down cholesterol.

Before you read next benefits, I want you to learn a little bit about pH. pH stands for power of hydrogen, which is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in the body. The total pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, with 7 considered to be neutral. A pH less than 7 is said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline.

4) Improve calcium absorption

Our normal stomach PH is mostly Alkaline (pH more than 7), thus our body is not able to absorb calcium from the food we eat. Which can cause soft tissue calcification result in to body stiffness, arthritis, neuritis, kidney and gallbladder stone. Apple cider vinegar helps stabilize stomach PH which helps our body to absorb minerals form our diet and prevent the above medical conditions.

5) Retains Potassium

Alkalosis is the condition where our body start losing potassium, which can cause high blood pressure, fatigue, irregular heart beat and constipation etc. Apple cider vinegar helps to retain potassium in to our body by regulating the stomach pH.

6) Boosts immunity

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid which is full of vitamin C which help to prevent and treat common cold, fever and viral infection. Apple cider vinegar’s potent malic acid is a strong antiviral and one reason why many people who drink Apple cider vinegar daily feel their immunity is boosted as they do not experience as many colds or other viral infections.

Apple cider vinegar is rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes all of which are beneficial to the body. As your gut flora is imperative to maintaining a healthy immune system, using apple cider vinegar to promote the growth of good bacteria could just improve your overall immunity.

7) Improves digestion

Apple cider vinegar is apple juice which is fermented to make vinegar which becomes rich in probiotics and enzymes. Organic, raw, unfiltered Apple cider vinegar which contains “Mother” is full of Probiotics which has healthy gut bacteria.

A Word of Caution

A word of caution on using apple cider vinegar. More is definitely not better, using too much can burn your throat. Not diluting it enough or not rinsing your mouth with water afterwards may cause your teeth enamel to weaken over time. Also since it has the potential to lower your blood sugar levels if you are diabetic we would definitely monitor your condition very closely. Ingestion of the acetic acid in vinegar could possibly injure soft tissues of the mouth, throat, stomach and kidneys.

Please consult a health professional, if you have any doubt about usage of it.

What do we use?

Just to be clear, we do not consume Apple Cider Vinegar to manage any health related illness or for weight loss purpose. For us it is like – Prevention is Better than Cure. We know there are thousands of products out there and choosing one is very difficult. We use Bragg’s Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. It is Unfiltered, with the ‘Mother’ (this is important). It is also Naturally Gluten Free  and Certified Non-GMO. It is also USDA verified product. We are not associated with Bragg in any way.

Before you go and order?

As soon as we see a video promoting a miracle cure to obesity or any health condition, we are in rush to buy it. To be honest with you there is no one size fits all solution or a silver bullet to fix all your health worries. Apple cider vinegar will help you expedite with your healthy living efforts, just drinking it once a day is not going to solve all your worries though.

As we say to our clients, to become really healthy you need to focus on Meal, Mind and Movement, all three components simultaneously. Just focusing on one and ignoring others will not give you the lasting healthy living most of the people seek.

If you are really looking to know more about healthy living for life, get in touch with us and learn more about our Habit Based Nutrition Coaching approach.