If you’ve spent any time on social media the last sesveral years then chances are you’ve seen apple cider vinegar pop up a few times.
Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar that’s made from fermented apple juice. This vinegar is not only popular as a salad dressing but also in the health benefits it can bring. Apple cider vinegar is one of the most known go-to for home remedy needs.
In this guide, we are going to talk about the benefits of ACV, when the best time to take apple cider vinegar is, and some of the top brands you should try out.
Let’s get started!
6 Benefits Of Apple Cider Vinegar
ACV is hailed for its numerous health benefits. Many wellness junkies and health and fitness gurus claim that taking ACV can give your health a boost. But what exactly can apple cider vinegar give you? Below are some of the health benefits you can reap by adding ACV to your diet.
1) Aids In Weight-Loss
There is a reason why fitness junkies and health gurus love apple cider vinegar – this vinegar can help you lose weight.
To begin with, apple cider vinegar contains a very low-calorie count per tablespoon (3 calories per tablespoon only), it can increase your satiety or feelings of fullness, and it can even lower your blood sugar levels.
There is one study where 175 people with diagnosed obesity took ACV daily for three months. The results? Those who took 1 tablespoon of ACV lost 2.6lbs while those who took 2 tablespoons lost 3.7lbs.
I know, the results were not impressive considering that this took three months just to lose 2-3lbs. However, it still shows that ACV can help lose weight. Besides, regular exercise and eating a healthy diet is still the key to long-term weight and fat loss – not just taking ACV every day!
2) Great For The Heart
Apple cider vinegar is shown to reduce triglycerides and cholesterol levels. This makes the vinegar good for the heart.
Simply put, when cholesterol and triglycerides are raised to unhealthy levels, it can hurt your heart and cause other cardiovascular diseases. This is because high cholesterol can form fatty deposits into your blood vessels, making it difficult for your blood to flow. On the other hand, high triglycerides levels can harden your arteries, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Aside from lowering your cholesterol and triglycerides levels, ACV contributes to heart health simply because it can help you lose weight – and the more you lose weight (but not too much), the better it is for your heart!
3) Aids Indigestion
To understand how apple cider vinegar can help us with our digestion, we need to understand how digestion works.
Proper digestion relies on proper or enough acid levels in our stomach. This makes our body properly digest the foods we ate and absorb any nutrients we can get.
When there’s not enough acid or if we eat too much than our body can digest, our body can’t simply break down the foods properly. This results in digestive problems we face after a meal.
Apple cider vinegar can aid in our digestion simply because it is acidic itself, and hence it can increase acid production, which our body needs when breaking down the foods we chowed.
However, although digestive problems don’t normally pose serious health threats – and drinking ACV together with not overeating next time can dramatically help – in instances where your digestive problem start to become a pain in your daily life, consider consulting your doctor as your digestive problem could be a symptom of an underlying serious health problem.
4) May Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Apple cider vinegar can also help you in lowering your blood sugar levels.
ACV is shown to reduce blood sugar levels by 31.4% even after eating 50g of white bread. It is also good for your insulin as ACV is also shown to improve our insulin sensitivity for up to 19-34%, that’s even after eating a high-carb meal.
That being said, ACV can be very helpful to those who have pre-diabetes and diabetes. However, it is not a substitute for proper medical attention and medication. If you are diabetic and you consider using ACV to manage your condition, consult your doctor first to ensure it will not interfere with your medication.
5) Kills Bacteria
As a vinegar, ACV is known to kill bacteria and other pathogens. This is why ACV can be used as a cleaning tool as well – although regular vinegar will do the work, too.
Vinegar’s bacteria-killing effect is known as far back as Ancient Greece. Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine, was said to use vinegar to clean the wounds of his patients.
Simply put, vinegar-like ACV can kill bacteria. If you want to preserve food, you can use ACV for that as well.
6) Contains Nutritional Properties
Finally, apple cider vinegar contains some healthy and nutritional substances. While a regular ACV may not compare with an actual apple as some of its nutrients are lost in the fermentation process, ACV still retains some nutrients and other nutritional content such as:
- Iron
- Potassium
- Fiber
- Antioxidants (flavonoids and polyphenols)
An ACV’s nutritional content depends on the brand that you’re using, so some may contain more than the ones in the list.
Best Time To Take Apple Cider Vinegar
There is no single answer to this, so let’s take a look at the suggested “best time” when taking ACV.
- Morning – some believe and testify that taking ACV in the morning is the best time because it boosts their overall energy and helps them in losing weight.
- Before a meal – some say that taking ACV before a meal helps them feel fuller, hence helping them lose weight by keeping them from going back to the fridge again and again.
- Before bedtime – some believe that drinking ACV before bedtime is the best time as you can get most of its benefits by this time.
However, current research shows that taking ACV at a certain time of the day does not boost its benefits. In other words, you can take ACV in the morning, before a meal, or before bedtime as you wish.
As for taking ACV before going to bed, the researchers noted that it lowered fasting blood sugar for some people, but it didn’t do anything much after that.
Recommended Apple Cider Vinegar Brands
While you can get the benefits of ACV from any ACV brands, here are some of the notable ACV brands on the market today. If you are new to ACV, we suggest that you start on one of these.
1) Essential Elements Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy
One of our top picks for apple cider vinegar supplements has to be Essential Elements Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy. These vitamins come in an easy-to-take gummy form and use pure apple cider vinegar from “The Mother”, which contains proteins, enzymes, and beneficial bacteria. In addition to the apple cider vinegar, Essential Elements Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy contains the essential b-vitamins B6, B12, and B9 (folic acid) as well as iodine.
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2) Fairchild Organic Apple Cider Vinegar With The Mother
This brand is simply the best overall! It is notable for its 100% organic apple content, giving it more apple flavor than other brands in the market.
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3) Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies
Maybe gummies are more your style? Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies are designed to make it easier to take your ACV! These gummies use the same ingredients as regular apple cider vinegar mixtures with no reduction when it comes to effectiveness. Ingredients of Goli include beetroot, B9, B12, apple, pomegranate, and citrus. They provide benefits such as supporting digestion, improving complexion, supporting weight loss, boosting heart health, and more.
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4) Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother
Bragg is noted to be a great option when using it for cooking purposes: salad dressing, marinades, etc.
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Should You Add Apple Cider Vinegar To Your Daily Drinks?
If you read through the benefits of apple cider vinegar and found that they resonated with you then adding some to your day-to-day rituals could be beneficial. One easy way to add it to your diet is by making a tea with it. By simply boiling hot water, adding lemon, honey, and about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, you might start to see benefits. Give it a try!