25 Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits & Uses

I never really knew much about apple cider vinegar until a few years ago, except for maybe cooking the odd recipe. After some reading, I learned apple cider vinegar is quite a healthy powerhouse food for relatively little cost. Here you will find a list of 25 apple cider vinegar benefits and uses.

My Apple Cider Vinegar Education

Personally, I had never really thought about vinegar one way or another until I started looking for a natural alternative to fabric softener for the laundry and found that plain, white vinegar worked.

Then I found a free Kindle book on apple cider vinegar. Good grief!!! Who knew?? It certainly opened my eyes!

After the fabric softener switch, I tried vinegar as a hair rinse (an alternative for commercial conditioner) and saw a dramatic difference immediately.

I initially used distilled white vinegar, really because I was ‘vinegar uneducated’, but after reading about all the beneficial qualities of raw, unpasteurized, organic apple cider vinegar, and the nutritional importance of the ‘mother’… I bought some.

Not only did I see a difference in my hair (it seemed even softer than using the white vinegar) but reading the label I found it was good to aid digestion and bloating. I tried that and although it took a little bit of getting used to, it really does work.

I knew the hair rinse use was from our grandmother’s and great grandmother’s time, but when telling a dear friend (who is old enough to be my mom) about the digestion use, she remembered her grandmother drinking a glass of water with apple cider vinegar every morning to ‘keep her healthy’! Apparently, using apple cider vinegar is a remedy that has been around for many years.

About Apple Cider Vinegar

Measuring ACV against traditional, FDA and USDA standards, ACV lacks measurable quantities of valued minerals, vitamins, amino acids, digestive enzymes and other nutritional elements.

More from Dr Mercola:

“Even though it is devoid of many of the traditionally valued nutrients, evidence of apple cider vinegar’s health benefits has been witnessed for hundreds — maybe thousands — of years.

So, what can explain this mysteriously beneficial elixir?

It could be partially related to the fact that vinegar is a diluted acid, specifically acetic acid, which is responsible for its sour taste and pungent smell. The pH changes it induces may contribute to some of its actions.

Some of the dramatic benefits may also be derived from yet-to-be-identified phytochemicals (beneficial compounds in plants) that scientists are now discovering in a number of different foods. In fact, many of your strongest weapons against cancer are the phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables.

One thing that apple cider vinegar is high in is acetic acid. Like other acids, acetic acid can increase your body’s absorption of important minerals from the foods you eat. Therefore, it is possible that drinking a mild tonic of vinegar and water just before meals might improve your body’s ability to absorb the essential minerals locked in foods. Apple cider vinegar might help you get more out of your leafy greens!”

Raw, unpasteurized, organic, with the ‘mother’ nutrients is what you want. Braggs brand is probably most well known, but there are other brands. Just make sure you look for the raw, unpasterized, organic, with the ‘mother’ qualities.

Two Main Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar- Eat or Apply Topically

Water is the easiest. Because of the acid content and possible damage to your esophagus, its not recommended to drink it straight. Mixing apple cider vinegar in fruit juice, or vegetable juice, with a splash of pepper sauce (vegetable juice) are other options. Put some in your water bottle and sip all day long is another option.

I was poking around on the Internet and found plenty of information. I also found a link to a copy of the Braggs health book. Seems like the uses are endless.

I definitely encourage you to read the Bragg Health Book ($2.99 for the downloadable version) to learn of more ways to use ACV to improve your health. It’s truly one of the simplest and cheapest ways to improve your health.

25 Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits & Uses:

From my internet research and the Bragg Health Book, here is the list I compiled.

1   Relief from bloating, indigestion, and heartburn – Drink some 30 minutes before meals for bloating and indigestion, when you feel heartburn coming on. 1 tablespoon in a glass of water. You can add 1 tablespoon of honey also if you like to make it taste better.

I have done this and LOVE it!  I definitely notice the difference when I don’t drink it.  I also put 1 tablespoon in my water bottle and sip it all day. Trim Healthy Mama has a Good Girl Moonshine beverage version of this using on plan sweeteners instead, and there are variations adding spices as well. I add pure stevia extract drops and have to say, it’s my new favorite drink!

2   ACID REFLUX – Now I know it sounds very illogical to use acid ti reduce acid. However, taking raw apple cider vinegar will not simply increase the amount of acid in the stomach but it will enable it to function properly. It regulates the stomach to produce a balanced amount of acid. This naturally eliminates acidity in the stomach. Here is an article link that provides more information.

3   Promotes regularity, which in turn promotes weight loss. Some say ACV promotes weight loss on it’s own. That may be. But consider this, and without getting too graphic here… your lower intestines normally can carry as much as 30 lbs of waste, depending on diet, regularity and such.

A system-cleanse of some sort now and then will cleanse your lower intestine. Consuming ACV daily promotes regularity and in essence, provides a daily mild cleansing effect.

4   Crohn’s disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Related to #3. ACV is a fermented food like kefir, kombucha, yogurt and fermented vegetables (think sauerkraut), etc. Because of their probiotic properties, fermented foods provide natural relief from these issues.

5   Bladder/Kidney – Mix one tablespoon each of raw manuka honey and organic apple cider vinegar. Eat twice a day. This mixture will reduce bladder inflammation and help cleanse the bladder.

Honey and ACV are both anti-bacterial which kills the bad bacteria and promotes the healthy ones. Manuka honey is recommended often for medicinal purposes because it is not dependent on the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide for it’s antibacterial properties to work.

6   Mouth thrush – 1 tablespoon ACV in 1 cup water. Gargle 3x day must dilute to reduce throat burn. Don’t use undiluted, It is also hard on tooth enamel. Don’t brush teeth immediately for this reason, too.

7   Bedwetting – Mix half a teaspoon of buckwheat honey with the same amount of ACV and take it before going to bed. This is very effective to reduce or even get rid of the problem of bed wetting.

8   Hair care – we’ve talked about this here. ACV is a mild clarifier, removes oil and dirt, the acidity balances your hair’s pH, helping to seal the hair cuticle. This gives your hair that smooth and shiny look and feel. Helps prevent dandruff, and soothe an itchy, irritated scalp.

Leave in if you can. The smell dissipates after it dries. For some, though it might leave your hair feeling crunchy if you don’t rinse it out. make a hair mask of ACV. coconut oil and vegetable glycerin. Cover with plastic bag or shower cap and towel for 20+ minutes for deep conditioner. Add a few drops of essential oils of choice in the coconut oil.

9   Hair Loss – Mix one tablespoon of cider vinegar with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil or other carrier oil of your choice. Add three tablespoon of water. Massage the solution to bald areas. In a few weeks time, you should see improvement.

10   Skin care – Blot on blemishes, use as a toner/astringent, Mask- make a paste of equal parts bentonite clay and ACV or ACV and water if you have sensitive skin).  To soak in a bath for skin conditioning, add 2 -3 tablespoons to bath water.

11   Eczema and Psoriasis – Dilute equal parts ACV with water and apply to affected area daily for 10 days. Only wash area with herbal soap or just rinse with warm water.

12   Skin sores – Poison ivy, poison oak, chickenpox, shingles, cold sores, genital sores: apply undiluted ACV to gauze and apply as needed.

13   Hemorrhoids – Soak cotton ball in undiluted ACV and apply.

14   Sunburn -For relief, spray undiluted ACV on affected areas. For a healing bath soak, pour 1 cup ACV in cool bath water. Let dry thoroughly and gently apply aloe vera gel to sunburn areas.

15   Bug spray – Put it full strength into a small spray bottle (2 oz or so) and add organic essential oils. Any mixture of eucalyptus, rosemary, sage, peppermint, tea tree and rose geranium at rate of 25 drops per 2 oz ACV. Rose geranium is reportedly most effective for repelling ticks. Spray on body, avoid eyes of course. Keep refrigerated in hot weather.  See the all natural bug repellent recipe to get you started!

16   Deodorant – Rub a bit on your armpit with a cotton ball or pad. ACV nutralizes stinky odors. Again, the smell will evaporate as it dries.

17   Promotes Alkalinity- An alkaline state in our bodies is an inhospitable environment for cancer and other diseases to occupy.

18   Wart and nail fungus fighter – Soak cotton or wool in undiluted ACV, put on wart and cover with bandage. Change daily for a week.

19   Athlete’s foot – Mix equal portions of ACV and water and soak foot in solution. Another option is to put a soaked cotton ball between toes (change daily). You can also spray the solution between your toes. Let your feet air dry between treatments. Spray your feet after every shower to keep it gone.

20   Corn and callouses – Initially do a 20 minute warm water soak with 1/3 cup ACV followed by a rub with a course towel, and then with a pumice stone. After this, put an ACV soaked bandage on the area overnight and repeat again for daytime use. Each day, rub with pumice stone and repeat until its gone.

21    Sore throat and laryngitis – gargle with 1 teaspoon ACV to 1/2 glass of water 3 times per hour until the throat feels better and then once every 3 hours after that. Spit out the ACV gargle mixture each time.

22   Leg and foot cramps, post workout recovery – very high potassium content.

23   Feminine hygiene – 1/2 cup ACV to 1.5 cups water. This will also help with yeast infections.

24   Eyedrops – I actually found this recommended in Modern Essential book (pg 185), which references The Master Cleanser. The original recipe is: 5 parts distilled water, 2 parts best grade of honey, 1 part pure apple cider vinegar – One drop each eye in the morning and at night.

This sounds totally crazy, but I was intrigued so decided to try it. It definitely stings, but my eyes felt refreshed afterwards. I diluted the recipe to a more comfortable formula: 5 teaspoons distilled water, 1/2 teaspoon honey and 1/2 teaspoon ACV.

25  Pets -dog, cat, bird. Can’t forget our furry friends, or furr-kids, as the case in our house! Put a tiny bit in their water bowl to help with urinary tract infection. Use a diluted rinse in the bath to condition skin. Dilute equal parts with water and spray on their coat for a natural flea repellent.

 

Whew…that’s quite a list!!!  And according to the Bragg Health Book, there are plenty more.

I counted up…I have used apple cider vinegar 9 of the 25 ways on this list…here’s mine:  1, 3, 8, 14, 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25.

How about you?   Do you have other suggestions we should know about?  I’d love to hear about them!

 

 

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