‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'
We all know that. What if we could concentrate the goodness of apples into a tablespoon and add some more befits to it? Wouldn’t that be magical? Yes, we are talking about Apple Cider Vinegar.
The health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar are yet unaccounted for. Once you have started integrating it into your daily diet, you will begin to rip the results for yourself and your family.
To understand Apple Cider, we must first learn how it is manufactured. I’m not suggesting that you make it at home (although you can if you want to). It’s a lot easier just to buy it at a grocery store.
We won’t deny you the pleasure though. Here is a link to ‘How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar at Home.’
How Apple Cider Vinegar is Made
It takes about a month to produce Apple Cider. It is a two-step fermentation process.
- First, apples are crushed and yeast is added to the mix to aid the fermentation. Here, the yeast converts the natural sugar present in apples into alcohol.
- Some bacteria (Similar to the ones in yogurt) are added to the second stage. These bacteria convert the alcohol into acetic acid (the main ingredient in all types of vinegar). This gives the cider its sour taste.
How to use Apple Cider Vinegar
There are plenty of ways to include Apple Cider Vinegar into your meals. You can also use it externally for other purposes. Here are a few:
- The best way to use Apple Cider Vinegar is to mix one tablespoon in a glass of water and drink it straight. For optimal results, drink one glass in the morning (on an empty stomach) and another at night before you go to bed.
- You may add it to your salad dressings. As a matter of fact, this is the most common use.
- You may add it to the marinade mix for meats (before barbecue).
- Apple Cider may be used as a natural preservative to make other fruits and vegetables last longer (the pickling process).
- Vinegar is a natural cleanser. You can add it to some water to give your kitchen and the utensils a wipe. It kills bacteria and pathogens on the surfaces and discourages insects like flies to get near the kitchen.
- Some also use it in warm water to wash their faces. However, we cannot confirm the health benefits of such use. We shall, however, discuss the effects of Apple Cider Vinegar on skin improvements in the Health Benefits Section.
10 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Here are 10 potential health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar. Some are scientifically studied and found to be true. Some are traditional benefits that we know of since vinegar has been part of our lives for centuries.
1. Cleanses the Digestive Tract
Acetic acid is a natural cleanser. As it is on the outside, so it is on the inside. It kills the bad bacteria in the stomach and the digestive tract. As mentioned earlier, you should take one tablespoon mixed in a glass of water in the morning and one at night, and this is the reason.
In the morning, before you start consuming food, you can give your digestive system a thorough cleansing. This improves the functions of your tract and aids digestion.
At night, before you go to bed, one glass more will give the system another cleansing after you have consumed different types of food all day. This also aids in weight loss as we will discuss later.
2. Cleanses Blood
Apple Cider Vinegar detoxifies and cleanses the blood in many ways. One of the most interesting things is that it can reduce blood sugar and cholesterol. Pretty good if you ask me. It also reduces acidic elements in the blood.
When mixed with digestive enzymes in the stomach, the acetic acid in Apple Cider Vinegar turns into alkaline byproducts. They get distributed through blood all over the body and restore the PH balance.
3. Aids in Weight Loss
This is probably the most interesting benefit of Apple Cider Vinegar, and it’s backed by scientific research.
A study conducted on 10 patients suffering from obesity shows that 5 of those, who took Apple Cider Vinegar for 3 months lost 31.7% more fat than the other 5 who didn’t.
There are two ways cider helps in this regard.
- When it cleanses the digestive tract, it doesn’t allow the oil and fat to stick to the inner walls of the big and small intestines so they exit the body at a much faster rate.
- The alkaline behavior metabolizes the cholesterol and sugar in the blood converting them into energy fast.
4. Aids Prevent and Alleviate Diabetes
Diabetes is an insulin issue. In type-2 diabetes, a patient’s body cannot produce enough insulin to process sugar. Since Apple Cider Vinegar aids in metabolizing blood sugar, it can be an excellent help for those suffering from type-2 diabetes.
Those who have a diabetic heritage (Mother or father has it) are like to be diabetic at an old age. A person can prevent that from ever happening if he/she starts taking some Apple Cider Vinegar from an early age.
5. Aids Prevent Acid Reflux
Acid reflux is a condition when gastric acid flows backwards to the esophagus and causes heartburn. Aside from having a painful chest from time to time, if not treated, frequent acid reflux can lead to other stomach issues such as ulcers.
Although an acid itself, acetic acid turns into an alkali in the stomach. This means that it can neutralize acid reflux almost immediately. If you have drunk too much coffee or had an oil-rich meal and are experiencing heartburn, a spoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in lukewarm water can neutralize the gastric acid and reduce heartburn within 3-5 minutes.
6. Improves Skin Conditions
If you use Apple Cider Vinegar regularly, it’ll definitely improve your skin condition. Our skin gets in trouble in two ways:
- If the body is acidic, it welcomes bacteria to make a home under the surface of the skin. Eczema is caused this way.
- If there’s too much fatty acid and cholesterol present in the blood, they come out through the pours and create a thin layer. Pimples are caused this way as a result of oily skin.
Apple Cider Vinegar can prevent those from happening. As mentioned earlier, Apple cider cleans blood (reduces fat) and can restore the PH balance throughout the body. That includes the skin. Apple Cider can improve skin conditions and give you a younger and radiant look.
Here is where some make the mistake when they use Apple Cider in water and wash the infected skin areas. This doesn’t help. Remember that the vinegar is still acid. It needs to interact with digestive enzymes before it turns into alkali.
That means that you should drink the vinegar with water and it’ll do its job from the inside of the body. Applying it on the outer surface of the skin doesn’t really work.
7.Improves Metabolism
In general, Apple Cider Vinegar helps activate and enhances the activity of the set of genes that are responsible for metabolism. Young people don’t have an issue with that, but as we grow older, our metabolism slows.
Apple Cider Vinegar can improves the functions of those genes and increase metabolic rates in older people.
8.Promotes Youth and Longevity
If you combine all the functions mentioned above, you will see why two spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar a day can promote longevity and youth. As we grow older, our metabolism slows, the level of blood sugar increases, fats start to get stored in the body, and the rate of new cell generation lowers.
Apple Cider Vinegar can reverse all of those processes. Together with a healthy diet and exercise plan, you may remain young and live a longer life.
9. Promotes Heart Health
If your blood is clean and the level of cholesterol is down, automatically, it’ll strengthen the heart. And when the heart is healthy, it’ll reduce all the other risks such as blood pressure, hypertension, anxiety, and depression.
10. Improves Sexual Performance in Both men and Women
I bet you didn’t see this one coming. As you can see, Apple Cider Vinegar improves heart health, increases metabolism, detoxifies and cleanses the blood, and promotes youth.
All of those are connected to sexual health. In both men and women, sexual arousal happens when a huge amount of blood flows to the genital areas- no blood, no arousal.
Therefore, it can be concluded with absolute certainty that Apple Cider Vinegar can improve sexual performance for both men and women. There hasn’t been a study done on this, but why bother?
The Takeaways
In our series on healthy foods and drinks, this will be one of the most important articles. Apple Cider Vinegar can be considered one of those superfoods. As more and more people become aware of their bodies and health, Apple Cider will become a welcoming addition to their daily diet.
I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.