Why You Should Use Apple Cider Vinegar (For Pretty Much Everything)

Get the scoop on the uses and benefits of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and the very common, avoidable mistakes you should know about. By now, most people are aware of all of the amazing health benefits of apple cider vinegar. It’s used to promote shiny hair, cure a sore throat, and maintain good overall health. 

What is apple cider vinegar, exactly?

It’s all very simple. Vinegar is formed when yeasts ferment natural food sugars into alcohol and acetic acid bacteria convert alcohol to acetic acid. As acetic acid bacteria grow on the surface of a liquid (like apple cider) and ferments, a “mother” forms, which is that gunky goodie stuff that floats around in the bottle. Although it looks like an ugly booger, it’s actually an amino-rich substance – a clear sign of an unpasteurized, high-quality, apple cider vinegar that contains antioxidant and antimicrobial rich properties.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) isn’t a new fad. It has been around since like…the beginning of time. God invented apples, and then he invented Adam, and then he told Adam to be fruitful and make some apple cider vinegar.

Okay, that’s probably not exactly how it happened, but we do know that apple cider vinegar has been around since the time of the Babylonians, and that Hippocrates used it in 400 B.C to cure-all sorts of things from ulcers and sores, to coughs and infections. And let’s face it, that guy knew what he was talking about. 

What’s so awesome about it?

Apple cider vinegar isn’t just your average vinegar … it’s down right medicinal. ACV contains acetic, caffein, and gallic acids, catechin, epicatechin, and other properties that push it into the “super awesome for you” category, like enzymes and prebiotics that feed beneficial bacteria in the gut that power your immune system.

Even though it’s acidic, apple cider vinegar leaves an alkaline ash after it’s digested and restores the pH balance of the body. This is why people hail ACV for all things stomach, digestion, bacterial illness, diarrhea, yeast, and urinary tract infection. (Lemons are another example of something super awesome acidic that leave an alkaline ash….and we use those for everything too.)

What is apple cider vinegar used for? (Pretty much everything.)

You could just showcase a bottle in your kitchen so you look like you’re “in the know,” but I suggest actually opening the bottle and trying it out on at least 23 of the 1,000 things you can use apple cider vinegar for:

1. Gas, Upset Stomach, and Digestive Issues
Take a teaspoon before meals to prevent indigestion, gas, upset stomach, and food bourne illnesses.

2. Foreign Travel / Food Poisoning 
Pour some apple cider vinegar into a travel-size container and take a teaspoon before your meals to prevent food poisoning.

3. Diarrhea 
If your diarrhea is caused by a bacteria, apple cider vinegar may help. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 4 ounces of water, and down it.

4. Cold Prevention
If you feel a cold coming on, take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar three times a day until your symptoms disappear, or to keep them from coming on in the first place.

5. Sinus Drainage
Need a booger buster? No worries. Grab a teaspoon of ACV and a warm drink of water and…BAM! Acetic acid kills bacteria and potassium thins the mucus.

6. Diabetes
Studies show that two tablespoons a day can help prevent hyperglycemia, is beneficial for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and can improve insulin sensitivity.

7. Ulcers and Wounds
Hippocrates used apple cider vinegar to treat wounds and ulcers … and that’s good enough for me.

8. Weight Loss 
Taking apple cider vinegar before meals has been shown to suppress appetite, decrease body fat, and make you feel fuller faster.

9. Oxidative Stress and Cancer Prevention
Apple cider vinegar contains polyphenols, which combat oxidative stress. Studies show that ingestion of polyphenols reduces the risk of cancer.

10. All Things Cleaning
You know how people love them some Clorox? Apple cider vinegar is like the Clorox of crunchy people who clean green. Spray it on your surfaces, use it in your bathroom, and switch out your expensive toxic products with something non-toxic that works better.

11. Cooking
Apple cider vinegar can be used in soups, salad dressings, sauces, juices, and baking and is an amazing natural preservative.

12. All Things Hair 
If you want shinier, smoother, flake-free, and tangle free hair, add 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray your hair after shampooing, massage into your scalp, let sit for a few minutes, and rinse.

13. Odor Neutralizer
Place apple cider vinegar in a bowl near the stink to get rid of it.

14. Tiny Insect Killer
If you can’t get rid of those annoying gnats that think your fruit belongs to them, put a tiny squirt of dish soap in a bowl with a few tablespoons of water, add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and watch the magic happen. It’s like a sticky trap … for gnats.

15. Teeth Whitener
Mix one part apple cider vinegar and two parts water. Swish for one minute to kill the bacteria and whiten your teeth. You can also create a whitening paste by mixing 2 teaspoons of ACV with 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

16. Energy Booster
Next time you’re drinking your “lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne water” … add a teaspoon (or two) of apple cider vinegar for a caffeine-free pick-me-up.

Have you ever MADE YOUR OWN!?

Yep. We tried. Starting with our organic apples from our favorite Market – Cliff’s Country Markety Caldwell has organic apples CHEAPER than the low-spray the they carry as well. We got us a couple big boxes. Kids learned to peel and core and consumed the insides and saved the outsides and cores for our vinegar!

This is how easy it is to make it.