What are the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?

Barnes Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother

Firstly, have you noticed a goopy, cobweb-like substance floating near the bottom of the bottle of your Apple Cider Vinegar? This is called “the mother.”

The mother is essentially a ball of acetic acid, cellulose (fiber), enzymes, and bacteria. In other words, it’s where all of the “good stuff” is concentrated. The mother is what gives ACV its murky, cloudy appearance.  If you want all the benefits from your Apple Cider Vinegar, than you want the unfiltered type, containing the mother.  

1. Powerful Antibacterial Properties
Acetic acid is powerful enough to kill off the mycobacteria that can cause tuberculosis. And mycobacteria are one of the most difficult types of bacteria to destroy. They are often referred to as the most disinfectant-resistant bacteria.

Based on these findings, studies suggest that acetic acid is powerful enough to kill other types of bacteria, which makes it useful as a non-toxic disinfectant for produce, as well as a good household cleaning agent to disinfect toilets, countertops, and other surfaces.

2. Promotes Natural Weight Loss
One of the biggest “hypes” about drinking apple cider vinegar is that it’s a metabolism-boosting, fat-burning weight loss tonic. And we won’t lie: It’d be nice if ACV alone was enough to melt off those unwanted pounds, especially after the holidays.

Unfortunately, the apple cider vinegar weight loss myth is very much a myth. However, the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar can help balance high blood sugar, which may promote slow, gradual body weight loss.

One study showed that acetic acid could help reduce the body’s insulin response to refined carbohydrates (read: less of a spike and crash), which is a primary mechanism that triggers fat storage. The people who participated in this particular study also said they felt more satisfied after meals when they consumed vinegar with white bread, compared to those who ate the bread alone.

This may also explain why vinegar tea is one of the oldest folk remedies for controlling diabetes, as insulin resistance is considered a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.

3. Reduces Sugar Cravings
One of the reasons we get intense sugar cravings is because of blood sugar spikes and crashes. Those crashes are often the result of eating refined carbohydrates, which cause a rapid fluctuation in blood sugar levels. Since the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar is shown to help balance blood sugar levels, if you drink apple cider vinegar with or before meals you may prevent sugar cravings throughout the day.

4. Helps With Nutrient Absorption
Tossing your greens in apple cider vinegar, or drizzling it over your veggies may help you absorb their essential vitamins and minerals in those foods easier. It’s said that acetic acid can help improve nutrient uptake, especially iron . This is a major health benefit for those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, as plant iron (non-heme iron) is more difficult for the body to absorb than heme iron, which comes from animal products.

5. Boosts Immunity
Some research shows that apple cider vinegar has antiviral, anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it a good natural remedy to have around during cold and flu season — both as a preventative measure and as a food to eat when you’re sick or have a sore throat .

6. Acts as a Natural Food Preservative
If you’re looking for an effective way to make your food last longer, adding apple cider vinegar may do the trick. One study found that acetic acid was effective for preventing the growth of food-borne pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella .

7. Makes Bone Broth More Nutritious
While apple cider vinegar is considered a superfood itself, it can also help make other superfoods more nutritious — especially bone broth. This is because the acid in apple cider vinegar has the ability to draw out minerals from the bones, such as calcium and magnesium .

If you’ve ever made bone broth before, you know that the 10 or more hours of simmering time for the bones and connective tissue is essential for extracting nutrients, such as collagen.

It’s these essential minerals that make bone broth one of the best foods to eat for energy, which is why we use apple cider vinegar as a key ingredient in our Kettle & Fire Bone Broth.

By adding apple cider vinegar to our broth as we simmer organic chicken or grass-fed cattle bones, we can provide you with a bone broth that’s bursting with nutrition.

ACV for Digestion: a Popular (But Unsupported) Claim
There are many acclaimed health benefits of apple cider vinegar consumption you’ll find online, but unfortunately, there’s limited research to back some of them up. One of the most discussed health benefits of ACV is that it improves digestion, especially when it comes to bloating, acid reflux, and chronic digestive conditions like candida .

What we do know, is that apple cider vinegar does contain pectin, which is a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic and helps keep your digestive system healthy. Some people also swear by using apple cider vinegar to help soothe acid reflux and to aid with protein digestion before heavy meals.

If you’re looking to use apple cider vinegar to improve your digestion, the best way to find out if it works is to give it a try yourself. After all, apple cider vinegar is a nutritious food that’s considered safe in small amounts (up to 1 to 2 tablespoons per day) with little side effects, so you don’t have anything to lose by giving it a try.

Cautions With Apple Cider Vinegar
We have one word of advice when it comes to apple cider vinegar: Don’t drink it straight.  Add it to some water. The acid in undiluted apple cider vinegar is extremely strong and can weaken your tooth enamel, leaving you more prone to cavities.

Examples of apple cider vinegar products