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Discover the Best Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Have you been constantly hearing about apple cider vinegar but don’t know what in the heck it’s actually good for? I remember hearing about it from all sorts of health gurus and having absolutely no clue what it was, looked like, or how it could help me. So I looked into it and found the great health benefits it can have on our bodies.
It went from something I had heard about to a staple in my everyday life! So I am excited to share with you a list of benefits apple cider vinegar has for your body and how you can use it in your daily life.
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar With the Mother (ACV)?
Apple Cider Vinegar is made from fermenting apples in water at room temperature. What this does is allow the sugars to be released from the apples and create ethanol. Most ACV has 5% acidity and what is called “the mother.”
The mother is the process of bacteria converting ethanol into acetic acid. Honestly, it looks like snot floating in the vinegar, which is not appealing, but it’s a big part of what makes this liquid so beneficial for your body.
Benefit #1: Can Apple Cider Vinegar Stabilize my Blood Sugar?
Yes, there have been several studies that show taking ACV before a meal can lower your blood sugar by 36% within 90 minutes of the meal. This helps bring your blood sugar levels back to a normal range after eating, and you can avoid the overproduction of insulin.
It is water-soluble and fat-soluble, which allows it to infiltrate many areas of the body.
Since it’s also fat-soluble, it can break down triglycerides in the blood as well, which aids in lowering cholesterol. While this shouldn’t be the only way to decrease your cholesterol, it certainly can be beneficial.
Benefit #2: Apple Cider Vinegar Helps Acid Reflux
The acidity of ACV is also healthy for your stomach since it is a very acidic organ. If you suffer from acid reflux, you know that awful burning sensation when your stomach acids start to get into your esophagus.
While it’s common to think that happens from high stomach acid production, it’s usually the opposite. Low acid production can lead to acid reflux more often than not.
Therefore, by giving your gut ACV, it’s supplementing acid in the stomach to help with digestion and will signal your body to increase production.
Benefit #3: Apple Cider Vinegar for Gut Health
We have millions of bacteria coursing through our bodies and most prominently in our small intestines. While we typically think bacteria is a bad thing, we actually need certain bacteria in our systems to help with everyday functions. Bacteria helps your immune system, heart health, weight, and brain functions.
Antibiotics, alcohol, genetically modified foods, and wheat can all remove good bacteria from our gut. To ensure we are stocked full of the right stuff, taking ACV with the mother can help create a healthy gut full of the right bacteria.
Benefit #4: Apple Cider Vinegar is Good for the Skin
This was a surprising benefit I had no idea about! Apple cider vinegar has great health benefits for your skin without the high ticket price of most skincare products. Some of the many benefits include smoother skin, exfoliating the skin, skin tag removal, skin lightening, and anti-aging properties.
Smoother Skin
The pH of ACV works well with our skin allowing it to balance out oil and acne production.
ACV Exfoliant
ACV contains malic acid, which is known for quite a few benefits to the skin, such as skin appearance, texture, smoothness, moisture, wrinkles, and exfoliation. It can also unclog pores and treat acne-causing bacteria.
Skin Tag Removal
If you have benign skin tags on your body that you want to go, look no further than apple cider vinegar. It works great to remove the tag without irritating the skin around it.
Simply soak a cotton ball in vinegar and squeeze out the excess liquid. Apply it to the tag and put a bandage over it for 10-15 minutes each day until the tag falls off. Much easier and cheaper than making a doctor’s appointment.
Benefit #5 Can Apple Cider Vinegar Help Lose Belly Fat?
Studies have been done on rats and humans that consumed small amounts of ACV before each meal and found more weight loss than the group that did not drink ACV.
Apple cider vinegar is said to prevent fat deposits and increase metabolism also. While it certainly can’t hurt to take some apple cider vinegar before each meal, please don’t use this as your only weight loss method and hope to see results.
How Can I Use Apple Cider Vinegar Daily?
Since there are so many great benefits to apple cider vinegar, here are some ways you can use it in your daily life and how it has helped me.
Drink Apple Cider Vinegar in the Morning
The first thing I do to start my day is take my probiotic, and an ACV shot. I pour a very small amount of ACV into my shot glass, fill the rest with water and drink it.
You could do as much as half ACV and half water, but it’s very tart, and if it’s on an empty stomach, it may make you feel sick. You could also do this shot method before each meal to help blood sugar and weight loss.
Add Apple Cider Vinegar to Recipes
If you don’t like taking a shot of ACV, why not add it to your meals? It can be made into a great salad dressing, marinade, or masked into a smoothie. I use it as a refreshing salad dressing with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. Or sometimes I add a teaspoon to my morning smoothie.
Use ACV as a Skin Toner
I created my own toner using 1 part ACV and four parts water to help with all the skin benefits discussed above. I apply it to a cotton round and apply it after I wash my face. Also, I have used it on my boyfriend’s skin tags (I don’t have any, thankfully!) and have been successful at removing them.
Apple Cider Vinegar Bath
I buy gallon-sized bottles of ACV because I started using them whenever I take a bath. I mainly do this to help with yeast throughout my pregnancy (it’s also an antifungal and can help treat yeast infections), but it’s also great for the whole body.
I always come out of the bath feeling smoother. If ACV is good for my face, why not use it everywhere? I put two cups of ACV into the bath and let it soak into my skin for all its wonderful benefits.
What Ways Will You Use Apple Cider Vinegar?
There are so many ways you can incorporate apple cider vinegar into your daily routine. From a morning shot to an apple cider vinegar bath, you can find a variety of solutions by using ACV.
I hope this helped you realize how great apple cider vinegar is for you and how you can utilize it in your day-to-day life. If you have been using ACV for a while now, what are some other ways you use it that’s helped you? If you try any of these methods, let me know how it worked for you below!