The Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a great natural remedy that’s been in use in folk medicine for hundreds of years. It has been prescribed by both Western and in Chinese doctors. Hippocrates treated patients with apple cider vinegar over 400 years ago, and the Bible mentions vinegar to treat infections and wounds. Easy to come by, and inexpensive to use, apple cider vinegar treats many ailments, from the digestive system to skin and hair. It has also been utilized to treat allergies, acne, flu, and dermatitis. Apple cider elevates pH levels, causing increased alkalinity in the body. It is anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal.

Apple cider vinegar contains over ninety different nutrients. It is high in potassium, and many other minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, chlorine, copper, iron, fluorine and sodium. Apple cider vinegar also includes two ketones, thirteen types of carbolic acids, trace minerals, and amino acids. It also has fiber in small amounts as apple pectin. Apple cider vinegar contains large amounts of Vitamin C and smaller amounts of Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6 and E. Acetic acid is one of the main ingredients and is responsible for releasing energy from fat and carbohydrates, which is why some have touted vinegar as an aid to weight loss.

In New England, where apple orchards dotted homesteads, apple cider vinegar was frequently used as an aid for digestion. Apple cider vinegar increases the acidity of the stomach, which assists in the digestion of protein, and other foods that require a more acid environment to digest. For people with low stomach acid or sluggish digestion, apple cider vinegar provides a simple and easy to use digestive aid. Add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water, warm or cold, and sip with each meal. Some prefer to add a teaspoon or two into a large container of water and sip it throughout the day. This keeps the body’s pH in an alkalized state all day long. To treat sinus infections, including allergies, sipping small amount of apple cider vinegar breaks up mucus and clears the sinuses.

Apple cider vinegar can also be used to clean your hair and provide a balanced pH to promote hair growth and scalp health. Because the vinegar is high in alpha-hydroxy acids, it removes old skin cells from the hair follicles and the scalp. The pH of the apple cider will neutralize the pH of the scalp and also remove residuals left from other hair care products—such as shampoos and conditioners. It will also de-tangle hair and reduce frizz. Apple cider vinegar will also help heal dandruff and other scalp conditions by correcting the scalp's pH. Some commercial products use apple cider and apple cider vinegar as their base.  Mixed with other ingredients in shampoos and conditioners, apple cider and apple cider vinegar will also help hair and scalp health, but not to the degree that the fresh, unadulterated, apple cider vinegar will do by itself. 

Apple cider vinegar can be made at home. Just as with other vinegars, a “mother of vinegar” is added to apple cider and left to ferment. The “mother” is actually a form of bacteria that turns the alcohol into acetic acid. The best apple cider vinegar is from naturally aged from organic apples. Vinegars that have been processed and distilled are stripped of the health-giving nutrients. Look for a cloudy vinegar that may have sediment on the bottom—a residue left from the “mother."

Apple cider vinegar is inexpensive, easy to obtain, easy to use, and has no side effects. It has marvelous healing abilities.  It’s an old-fashioned remedy right out of grandmother's kitchen that brings its time-honored tradition of health to modern times.