APPLE CIDER VINEGAR HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES

Apple cider vinegar liquid and apples sitting on a table.

In this tutorial, I will share the health benefits and uses of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and a Bragg’s inspired organic apple cider vinegar and honey blend drink recipe.

I am a huge fan of Bragg’s ACV beverages, but unfortunately, not all grocery stores carry the magic elixir, so I decided to try my hand at making my own.

My recipe is perfect for when I am traveling and can’t find the beverage at a local grocery store.

The healthy drink takes less than five minutes to make and will give an added boost to your immune system.

While I like healthy drinks, I confess I absolutely hate the smell of ACV and probably the only one that feels this way.

The honey and optional spices of cinnamon or pumpkin spice mask the acidity and after taste.

My apple cider and honey drink recipe will make you forget you are drinking actual apple cider vinegar.

I will share the recipe towards the end of the post.

Since pumpkin spice contains pumpkin puree, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon, there is no guilt in drinking to your health while keeping your mind alert, improving circulation, and melting muscle pain away.

Check out these seven pumpkin spice health benefits.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR HEALTH BENEFITS

    ACV Health Benefits

    The saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away isn’t too far off.” Apple cider vinegar is an ancient folk remedy with all sorts of health benefits to:

    • help maintain normal blood sugar levels
    • ease heartburn and acid reflux
    • reduce the overgrowth of candida due to leaky gut
    • aid in digestion and ease irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms
    • treat thrush
    • help chronic fatigue
    • ease seasonal allergy symptoms
    • help increase hair growth
    • help lower cholesterol, and
    • help treat ovary cysts

    Apple Cider for Weightloss

    I hesitate to mention weight loss due to a lack of research to prove the claims, but there is one fact. Increased inflammation in the body is associated with weight gain.

    My theory from personal experience who has experienced changes in my body after reducing inflammation is this.

    Consuming ACV can help to reset your taste buds resulting in reduced salt and sugar cravings. Over time, specific food cravings go away. The result may be weight loss due to reduced salt and sugar intake.

    Since drinking apple cider vinegar, my weekly run to fast food places has reduced to every couple of months. Eating out less was not my goal. Over time, I naturally didn’t feel the urge to eat out.

    I found myself intermittent fasting on a daily basis without any effort. I no longer wake up starving, full of energy, and my recent labs show my blood sugar levels are back to normal.

    When I drive past a fast food place, I still roll down my window to take in the yummy smells but am not tempted to stop.

    I owe my reduced stress and emotional junk food eating to drinking an eight-ounce apple cider vinegar and honey drink once a day.

    Natural Remedy for Ovarian Cysts

    Ovarian cysts are common and normally go away on their own without treatment. Most ovarian cysts do not cause any symptoms and are usually harmless.

    One theory on how ovarian cysts are caused is due to a lack of potassium, which leads to potassium deficiency. While most cysts go away on its own, ACV and molasses is a popular natural treatment by alternative medicine advocates for cysts on the ovaries.

    There is no scientific proof to support the health claims at this time.

    Apple cider vinegar contains potassium and can aid in treatment for ovarian cysts by helping to shrink cysts and encouraging ovaries to heal. The healing process can take one to three months.

    Molasses contains iron which is perfect for treating low iron level symptoms. Iron deficiency anemia is when the body doesn’t have enough iron in the body.

    The mineral is important because iron helps blood to carry oxygen throughout the body.

    Add one tablespoon of ACV and one tablespoon of molasses to an eight-ounce glass of warm water and consume once a day.

    Apple Cider Vinegar and Local Honey for Allergies

    When I was visiting Indiana this past summer, my allergies were off the charts. It was so humid; you could cut the thick air with a knife. My nasal spray was ineffective and stopped working altogether.

    I was using the neti pot two times a day.

    A fellow colleague recommended buying local honey from the farmer’s market. I was skeptical but gave the potential for allergy relief a try.

    Consuming one tablespoon of unprocessed honey near where you live daily can help with experiencing fewer seasonal allergy symptoms by ingesting local pollen in the area.

    Within a week, my immune system improved. My symptoms of itchy, watery eyes and nasal congestion were greatly reduced.

    To this day I still consume one tablespoon of local honey.

    Since ACV is a natural remedy for allergy relief, honey and apple cider vinegar are the perfect immune-boosting combination to enhance your overall health and combat those seasonal allergies.

    Hippie Food to One is a Health and Healing Crusade to Another

    My favorite brand is Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider. I buy the 128-ounce gallon for cleaning, drinking, in food and drink recipes.

    Having a bottle of apple cider vinegar on hand saves a trip to the grocery store, along with not having to worry about hidden chemical preservatives.

    The only ingredients in Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider are certified organic raw apple cider vinegar and purified water.

    When I bought my first bottle of Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider, as I got to the end of the bottle, I would dump the dark and mysterious dark matter down the sink.

    Little did I know, I was throwing away the best part. The friendly bacteria that gives a murky or cloudy appearance is called “The Mother.”

    Sometimes it works to read the bottle first!

    These strands are the most nutritious part of the apple cider vinegar filled with abundant enzymes and protein along with essential vitamins and minerals: potassium, magnesium, and some fiber.

    Additional Health Benefits:

    1. Supports a Healthy Immune System

    Due to the high concentration of vitamin C, fiber, and acids, drinking apple cider vinegar boosts the immune system to prevent and shorten the length of colds and breaks up mucus.

    ACV makes a tasty and healthy salad dressing. A great way to get those vitamins and minerals!

    2. Restless Legs Syndrome

    Do you experience nighttime leg cramps, twitches, or restless legs? It could be a sign that you might have a vitamin deficiency with low levels of potassium.

    Processed or packaged food contains a lot of sodium. When sodium levels are high, potassium levels change, resulting in levels going down. Many people do not know that they lack potassium.

    Since ACV is high in potassium, drinking it each day can ease muscle cramping and increase potassium levels in the body.

    Drink some apple cider vinegar before going to bed. ACV has 5% acidity and should be diluted with water before drinking.

    Drinking it undiluted can lead to tooth enamel erosion.

    3. Hair Rinse and Hair Loss

    Scratching the scalp from the build-up of dirt, sebum, and hair products can increase thinning and hair loss.

    If you are experience hair thinning or loss, the vitamins and minerals found in apple cider vinegar can promote hair growth by cleansing your hair and scalp by balancing the scalp’s pH level.

    The acidity can help your scalp for the occasional itchy scalp like dandruff or psoriasis. Rinsing your hair with apple cider vinegar washes away the build-up of hair products that can make hair lifeless and dull.

    After shampooing and conditioning your hair, mix a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with water. Work into your hair and scalp.

    Let the apple cider vinegar hair rinse sit for a couple of minutes before washing out.

    4. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

    Can apple cider vinegar help with IBS? Absolutely! ACV contains prebiotics, which increases the acidity in your stomach and aids in improving digestion and reducing gut inflammation.

    Combining ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar helps to heal your gut by removing toxins, reducing inflammation and increasing the elimination of waste from the body.

    Learn how to make my gut healing elixir here.

    Before taking apple cider vinegar as a treatment for a symptom or condition, always consult your doctor first to discuss the pros and cons of contradictions to prescribed medications and your current health.

    Apple Cider Vinegar Uses

    There are many uses for ACV, such as being a natural alternative to eliminate bad smells in the house by acting as a deodorizer to remove direct and bacteria from surfaces.

    If you are trying to go green and switch from conventional to DIY household cleaners, apple cider vinegar is an excellent disinfectant. Mix one cup of water with half a cup of ACV for a natural all-purpose cleaner.

    Braggs apple cider vinegar gallon jug.

    Instead of buying expensive fruit fly traps, try this inexpensive option. Add a few drops of dish soap to the bottom of a small cup or mason jar and pour some ACV.

    Dish soap traps the fruit flies by sinking them to the bottom of the container.

    Did you know that vinegar is a common ingredient in many cuisines to flavor and preserve food?

    The smell may not be entirely appealing, but adding ACV to smoothies, drinks, and food can mask the smell and taste.

    Now that you know the health benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar, I hope this healthy tonic helps you to reap the benefits of more energy and maintain optimal health.

    As promised, here is my Bragg’s inspired organic apple cider vinegar and honey drink recipe.

    Bottle of apple cider vinegar

    Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Drink Recipe

    Honey and apple cider vinegar are the perfect immune-boosting combination to enhance your overall health and combat those seasonal allergies. You will quickly forget you're drinking a healthy elixir.
    Prep Time 1 minute
    Cook Time 5 minutes
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine American
    Servings 1 person
    Calories 21 kcal

    Equipment

    • Blender

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 tbsps apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
    • 1 cup water
    • 1/2 tsp buckwhear honey (or your favorite local honey)
    • 1/8 tsp 100% monk fruit powder (or your favorite sweetener like stevia)

    Instructions
     

    • Mix all ingredients in a blender for 10-15 seconds
    • Enjoy right away over ice or combine all ingredients in an eight-ounce glass or mason jar.
    • Let the liquid steep overnight in the fridge.

    Notes

    Take your ACV drink to another level by adding 1/8 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon with the above ingredients. 
    Keyword apple cider vinegar, helthy elixir, honey, pumpkin pie spice