5 Proven Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

When we talk about home remedies, apple cider vinegar is one of the most talked-about ingredients. Everyone seems to discuss the benefits of apple cider vinegar and share their experience. But is apple cider vinegar worth the hype or just an emerging health trend? Let’s know more about apple cider vinegar in this article.

What is apple cider vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is a centuries-old medicine or cooking essential. Many people claim that it can help in weight loss while many others advocate the use of it as a cleaning agent. I came to know about apple cider vinegar when my mother was diagnosed with gallstones a few years ago.

We took her to a renowned hepatologist in Rawalpindi. Apart from the doctor’s treatment, someone suggested her to take apple cider vinegar to treat gallstones. When I began searching about apple cider vinegar, I was amazed to see the information available on the internet.

I did thorough research and found that there was a lot of wrong and right information in this context. I thought to write this article to provide some authentic information about this magic ingredient. If you are also wondering what the health benefits of apple cider vinegar are true or not, read the following article.

Health benefits of Apple cider vinegar

1- Plenty of healthy substances

To understand the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, first, you need to understand how it is manufactured and what it contains. Let’s begin with the manufacturing process.

First of all crushed apples are subjected to fermentation by adding yeast to the solution. The yeast ferments the sugars present in apples converting them to alcohol. Then, further bacteria are added to this existing solution to further ferment the alcohol into acetic acid. The acetic acid is the main active ingredient of apple cider vinegar.

Apart from acetic acid, it also contains small amounts of potassium. Some brands can artificially add amino acids and some antioxidants to it during the manufacturing process. All these ingredients particularly, acetic acid is responsible for the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.

2- Antimicrobial properties

The use of apple cider vinegar as a cleaning agent is not new to anyone. For hundreds of years, people are using it for cleaning and disinfection purposes. It is proven that apple cider vinegar has antibacterial properties that can kill harmful bacteria on the surfaces. Due to its antibacterial properties, the use of apple cider vinegar for the following purposes makes sense.

Cleaning surfaces

To treat bacterial acne

Food preservation

Clean wounds

3- Regulating blood sugar levels

Among all the recommended health benefits of apple cider vinegar, controlling diabetes with it sounded like the most powerful claim. But is there any truth behind the claim? Let’s know more about it.

Consumption of apple cider vinegar on a regular basis is known to combat the problem of insulin resistance which can be responsible for diabetes. Apart from consuming apple cider vinegar, monitoring your sugar and carb intake can also help to efficiently regulate blood glucose level.

I remember this case when my aunt used to consume apple cider vinegar thrice a day just to prevent diabetes. Months later she ended up in emergency at Jinnah Memorial Hospital in Rawalpindi, due to the severe stomach pain. This stomach pain was later diagnosed as a stomach ulcer formed by overconsumption of acetic acid.

4- Weight loss and apple cider vinegar

One of the most suggested uses of apple cider vinegar is for weight loss purposes. Research suggests that apple cider vinegar can aid the weight loss process, let me explain how!

Weight loss is indeed dependent upon your calories intake. Consuming fewer calories can make you lose weight and that’s where apple cider vinegar plays the role. Drinking diluted apple cider vinegar can create the feeling of fullness which automatically reduces your calorie intake.

5- Skin health

Other than heart health and weight loss, apple cider vinegar is also associated with the improvement in skin health. As already discussed, it has antibacterial properties that can kill harmful bacteria making it a useful anti-acne agent. Apart from this, vinegar is considered as non-irritant for eczema skin which can be adversely affected by alkaline soaps.

Conclusion!

Benefits of apple cider vinegar are not new to us and science supports many of these observations. However, before adding it to your diet and excessively using it for any health purpose, make sure you discuss it with your physician to avoid any complications.