Often Dubbed “The Golden Liquid” by health enthusiasts, raw apple cider vinegar is one of the best and cheapest health secrets that you can incorporate into your health routine. Starting from as little as 5 bucks, raw apple cider vinegar boasts an astounding number of health benefits ranging from improved weight loss to seasonal allergies. In fact, it is said to effectively treat over 70 different ailments…that’s pretty amazing!
Raw apple cider vinegar (yes, you need to find the RAW version with the "mother" to get any of the benefits) is safe to take as a daily tonic for a nice boost of energy or when you're in need of some mental clarity. In fact, I often make an apple cider vinegar drink when I need a quick pick-me-up.
10 Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits You Need to Know!
Here are a few of my favorite health benefits of apple cider vinegar:
1. It’s Highly Nutritious
First and foremost, raw apple cider vinegar is jam-packed with nutrients including important vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. It also contains live enzymes, apple pectin, and essential amino acids which are important for optimal digestion and energy.
• Vitamins
Raw apple cider vinegar contains Vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B6, E, and Beta Carotene.
• Minerals and Trace Elements
Raw apple cider vinegar also contains Potassium, Calcium, Sodium, Sulfur, Chlorine, Copper, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Iron, Silicon, and Fluorine.
It’s important to buy apple cider vinegar RAW! This is because raw apple cider vinegar contains a group of live probiotic bacteria and nutrients called the “Mother”. She’s the one that gives the vinegar its nutrients and beneficial bacteria, not to mention all of its health benefits.
If you buy conventional filtered apple cider vinegar, you’ll find that it has been stripped of nearly ALL of the nutrients that it used to contain before processing. You’ll basically just be buying the flavor, which more than likely, isn’t going to be natural at all. A lot of the time, these vinegars will just be white vinegar with apple flavoring and added coloring. I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t sound appealing at all!
Live, raw, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar is what you want. The best brand that I have found is Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. This stuff is amazing! And for just about 7 bucks, you could use it twice a day and it will last for at least a month. Try comparing that price to all of the popular superfood elixirs out there, like Goji Berry, Acai, Mangosteen, and Noni Juices. These can easily retail over $50 for a 1 month supply, depending on where you get them. For 1/7 the price of these juices, you can reap the SAME benefits and then some!
Apple cider vinegar also boosts digestive health by delivering a host of beneficial bacteria to the gut. This further enhances your body's ability to absorb more nutrients from your food, so not only is apple cider vinegar nutritious in and of itself, but it also makes your food more bioavailable and therefore more nutritious as well!
2. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Helps Clear Acne and Supports Healthy Skin
Who knew you could use apple cider vinegar for acne!?
One of my go-to remedies for acne breakouts is using raw apple cider vinegar as a toner. I did a video about this on how to make your own, and it’s super simple. Be sure not to apply it directly to any open skin as it REALLY burns. You can apply it using a Q-tip on unopened acne legions as a simple spot treatment. You can even apply it to a cotton ball on use it as a toner on acne-prone areas to help clear the skin.
The vinegar acts as a disinfectant, balances the pH of your skin, and brings down inflammation without chemicals. It may smell potent at first, but the vinegar smell will go away in about 10 minutes, so don’t worry!
On top of that, raw apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, and citric acid which are all known to inhibit the growth of acne-causing bacteria.
It is also beneficial to drink apple cider vinegar daily to help with hormonal acne caused by poor digestion. Raw apple cider vinegar contains a lot of apple pectin, an essential form of water-soluble fiber that speeds up the elimination of waste, toxins, and chemicals from the body.
To make an apple cider vinegar drink, all you need to do is mix 1 TB of raw apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of filtered water. Drink before meals to help support healthy digestion or drink when you need a boost in energy. It's one of my favorite apple cider vinegar uses, aside from using it as a toner.
RACV is also a wonderful treatment for sunburn!
For more acne related articles look here:
Effective Natural Acne Spot Treatments
How to Get Rid of Acne Scabs
How to Clear Acne in 6 Easy Steps
3. Candida, Fungus, and Body Odor
So this stuff can also help you balance out your candida overgrowth! One of the biggest benefits of apple cider vinegar is it's very alkalizing for the body, making it difficult for candida to thrive (it loves acidic environments). Taking RACV will also help your digestive system recolonize itself with beneficial bacteria needed for balancing hormones, good digestion, and energy.
Creating a more alkaline body will also eliminate other troubles with bacterial overgrowth like fungus and body odor. You can even apply raw apple cider vinegar to the area itself with a cotton ball. Dilute the vinegar if necessary if it’s too strong to apply to the skin. You should be able to apply it straight to nail fungus without any issues.
I recommend applying the vinegar at least twice a day to the affected area. To up its effectiveness, try drinking it diluted in water at least once a day to restore your body’s acid balance. I like to put my RACV in my water bottle for convenience.
The ratio I use st 2 TB of raw apple cider vinegar to every 8oz of water. If this is too strong for you (I love vinegar!) you can just use 1 TB. Be sure to shake up the vinegar first so you don’t miss out on any nutrients that may have settled at the bottom.
4. Colds and flu
Raw apple cider vinegar is one of the best home remedies for colds and flu. It breaks up chest and sinus congestion, especially when taken warm, and nourishes a tired body when food isn’t wanted.
You can take RACV as a simple tea with manuka honey or raw local honey, and a slice of fresh ginger to ease coughs and sore throats. Be sure not to add the vinegar when the water it too hot, or the beneficial bacteria might be killed on accident. This tea will also help relieve digestive upset like bloating, diarrhea, and nausea.
Simple Cold and Flu Tea Recipe
• 1 TB or more if you can handle it stronger of raw apple cider vinegar
• Boiled spring water
• One thick slice or more of chopped ginger
• 1 TB raw local honey or manuka honey
• A squeeze of fresh lemon if desired
• A nice big mug!
Boil the water and then pour over the fresh chopped ginger in your mug of choice. Cover the top with a plate to keep its essential oils from evaporating. Once the ginger tea has cooled to a comfortable drinking temperature, add the squeeze of lemon, the honey, and the raw apple cider vinegar and stir. This tea can be potent! So experiment and find out what works best for you. Sip the tea slowly while still very warm.
I find that this tea is an excellent after-meal digestive and helps prevent bloating, gas, and other intestinal distress after eating hearty foods.
For more cold and flu article look here:
The Best Remedies You Can Buy for Colds and Flu
Preventative Cold and Flu Remedies
Natural Cold Remedies
5. Allergies
Did you know that raw apple cider vinegar is also a natural antihistamine? When taken daily, it can reduce or eliminate common allergic reactions like:
• Sneezing
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Itchy throat and nose
• Nasal congestion
• Runny nose
This is one of my favorite ways to use raw apple cider vinegar since I’m a sufferer of chronic hay fever. All I can say is that this works wonders! Instead of waking up with continuous sneezing, my sinuses will be clear and I won’t be feeling miserable and drowsy like I would when taking over the counter meds like Benadryl.
To help prevent seasonal allergies, simply add 1-tsp-1TB raw apple cider vinegar to your daily water as a refreshing and effective allergy tonic.
For more on allergies look here:
How to Treat Seasonal Allergies Naturally
Himalayan Salt Lamp Benefits
6. Enhances Weight Loss
A recent study suggests that consuming just 2 TB of raw apple cider vinegar a day over a 12 week period resulted in 4 pounds of weight loss without any other lifestyle or diet modification.
It is believed that this is due to ACV's ability to increase satiety and help decrease daily caloric intake by up to 275 calories.
7. Helps Regulate Blood sugar
Apple cider vinegar has been proven to reduce blood sugar levels by up to 31 percent and has shown a remarkable list of benefits regarding insulin levels.
In fact, RACV can help improve insulin resistance by 19-34% when eating high-carb meals and significantly lowers blood sugar levels and insulin response.
It has even been shown to reduce morning blood sugar levels by up to 4% when taken (2 TB) before bedtime.
8. Lowers Cholesterol
High cholesterol is one of the leading causes of cardiac health problems in the western world. It builds up in the arteries, strains the heart, and can be life-threatening if allowed to progress.
Apple cider vinegar has been shown to help control high cholesterol by reducing bad LDL levels and raising good HDL levels over a four week period.
9. Relieves Heartburn and Acid Reflux
This apple cider benefit was a real surprise when I first heard of it, but it really does work!
Believe it or not, heartburn and acid reflux are often caused by too little stomach acid.
Studies have shown that stomach acid secretions decrease with age while the occurrence of GERD and acid reflux increase with age. 90 percent of the time, this is because there is inadequate acid production in the stomach.
I encourage you to read about how to treat heartburn with raw apple cider vinegar here and here.
10. Diversifies Gut Flora
Taking true raw apple cider vinegar with "the mother" (like Bragg's) is a great way to boost and diversify the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Consuming even just 1TB in water per day can help enhance digestive health, support immunity, and increase the absorption and assimilation of nutrients from our food.
What's The Verdict?
You may be wondering how long you may have to take RACV, but honestly, the benefits are endless and it has become a daily routine for me. I can tell when I haven't had my vinegar in a few days. It's really amazing what a difference it makes.
So, next time you're wondering "Is apple cider vinegar good for you?", you can confidently say YES!
You may also enjoy reading:
How to Detox Your Underarms and Why You Should!
Detoxifying Charcoal Lemonade Recipe
How to Detox the Liver Using Essential Oils
How to Detox the Lymphatic System Using Essential Oils
28 HEALTH AND BEAUTY BENEFITS OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
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The health benefits of raw apple cider vinegar
Cindee says
Love the blog Tash!
Does raw acv degrade the integrity of essential oils or vice a versa? I know they both have antimicrobial factors? I use them together for cleaning and beauty tinctures.
Tash says
Hi Cindee!
As soon as the essential oils are out of the bottle, they begin to lose some of their properties due to evaporation, but that really can't be helped. As far as ACV goes, the oils can affect the beneficial bacteria in the vinegar but if you're using them together for cleaning purposes, that won't matter. As for skincare, I think if you make everything fresh, your formulas will work just fine 🙂
Joy Bumgarner says
Do I need to shake up the acv to mix the mother in before I measure it out into the water?
Tash says
Hi Joy!
Yes! Shake it up to you get the benefits from the mother as well. It's what makes ACV so amazing!
Jack says
I've been drinking apple cider vinegar in my morning tonic for years and can really notice a difference on the days I forget like low energy and brain fog.