How Much Apple Cider Vinegar Should You Drink A Day? Benefits & Dosage

The saying that variety is the spice of life stands true for apple cider vinegar. For centuries, the staple kitchen companion has been a popular home remedy commonly used in cooking and medicine. 

You must’ve come across a range of answers with a loud elogium for apple cider vinegar. It seems to be what everyone is talking about, and it looks like all love it. This must-have raised genuine concerns about what apple cider vinegar is about, if it is for you, and if it is all people say it is.

Apple cider vinegar has been identified with tons of outstanding health benefits, as well as other beauty, household, and cooking purposes.

This fermented apple juice has a strong, sour smell and flavor, and it contains zero calories per teaspoon, as well as no fat, fiber, or carbohydrates. This makes it a readily available flavor to food without adding extra calories or sodium from salt!

In this article, we will address the benefits of apple cider vinegar, discuss its possible side effects, and provide insight into the appropriate dosage consumption.

What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?

As the name implies, apple cider vinegar is a vinegar made from the fermentation and oxidation of natural apple juice. It is generally a great way to make the most out of your apples. The nutritional value of the apple juice blends into its rich content of acetic acid, proteins, enzymes, and healthy bacteria. 

In making apple cider vinegar, crushed or cut apples are exposed to yeast and a bacteria called acetobacter. This causes the natural sugar in the apple to be turned into alcohol. The resultant product is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds rich in acids, minerals, and live cultures, giving it its strong antifungal, antimicrobial, acidic, and disinfecting properties.

Benefits Of Apple Cider Vinegar

Weight Loss

Several studies show that the use of apple cider vinegar can be advantageous in weight loss. Acetic acid, which is its most active ingredient, promotes this by lowering blood sugar levels, decreasing insulin levels, and improving metabolism. 

Apple cider vinegar contains very little to no calories, and this has been a strong indicator of its use in weight loss. It also has appetite-suppressing effects; it promotes fullness by delaying stomach emptying, thereby leading to a decreased intake of calories. This, in turn, facilitates weight loss by creating a negative energy expenditure – it burns calories.

The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar has been shown to reduce the accumulation of body fat in studies. In a specific study,^[1] it was observed that people who consumed acetic acid-rich vinegar were said to experience a reduction in body weight, body mass index (BMI), visceral fat, waist circumference, and blood triglyceride levels. 

Drinking apple cider vinegar daily for several months may be useful in weight loss for overweight people.

Blood Sugar Management 

Apple cider vinegar is nature’s way of preventing prolonged high blood sugar and the damage it could cause your nerves and organs. It is often recommended as a natural means to manage blood sugar levels, especially in people with insulin resistance.^[2] This is achieved by slowing the rate of stomach emptying, thereby preventing large blood sugar spikes and improving insulin sensitivity. This also means it makes your cells more susceptible to insulin and facilitates the movement of sugar from your blood to the cells for storage. 

An apple cider vinegar drink containing four teaspoons of apple cider vinegar diluted in water before meal consumption has been noted to be efficient in reducing blood sugar levels after meals. You can also incorporate apple cider vinegar into your anti-diabetic diet, but it shouldn’t replace your regular medications.

Cholesterol And Blood Pressure Control 

Apple cider vinegar has been identified as useful in lowering blood pressure^[3] and reducing cholesterol levels through the hormone renin. This hormone, which is produced by your kidneys, is responsible for constricting and dilating the blood vessels. 

The blood pressure rises when the blood vessels are constricting. Apple cider vinegar helps keep the vessels relaxed, preventing blood pressure from rising.

Drinking apple cider vinegar before a meal lowers cholesterol. Studies have shown that apple cider vinegar reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels due to its natural antioxidant benefits.

Aids Digestion 

Taking apple cider vinegar is a great way to improve digestion. It does this by helping get rid of heartburn, reducing bloating, and more.

A proper digestive process implies optimal acid levels in the stomach so the nutrients in food can be absorbed. When the acid is insufficient, food is not appropriately broken down, and the nutrients are not absorbed, resulting in the aforementioned digestive issues.

Drinking apple cider vinegar boosts acid production, thereby facilitating the digestive process.

Helps Protect Against Infection 

There are reasons to believe that apple cider vinegar can inhibit and kill the overgrowth of bacteria and yeast in the body. The antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties of the unique vinegar, which have also turned out with positive results from laboratory research, show it potent in resisting candida species and dental stomatitis – a yeast infection in the mouth. 
It has also been found that ACV can have numerous antimicrobial impacts^[4] directly on microbes like E-coli, S. aureus, and C. Albicans, making it a strong therapeutic aid in managing conditions involving them.

Apple Cider Vinegar Dosage

A simple addition of apple cider vinegar to your meals while cooking or to foods like salad dressing and mayonnaise is a great way to consume it. It could also be diluted with water and consumed as a beverage. 

Proper dosages per day range from one to two teaspoons (5-10 mL) to one to two tablespoons (15-30 mL) mixed in a large glass of water. The dosage could also be in line with a specific purpose of usage.

Side Effects Of Apple Cider Vinegar

Delayed Stomach Emptying

Apple cider vinegar intake may cause delayed gastric emptying. This implies the rate of the movement of food from the stomach to the lower digestive tract is slowed down or stopped. This can slow the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream

Tooth Enamel Erosion

Constant exposure of tooth enamel to acidic foods and beverages results in damage. The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar with a pH of 2.7-3.95 classes it in this category. It may weaken the tooth enamel and lead to mineral loss and tooth decay. The tooth enamel gradually begins to weaken and erode with time. This can bring about a host of dental issues like:

• Tooth sensitivity to hot or cold.
• Yellowish discoloration.
• Damage to dental fillings.
• Increased risk of cavities.
• Tooth loss.

A great way to curb this is to consume apple cider vinegar mixtures with straws and avoid allowing it to stay in your mouth for too long.

Throat Burns

Its strong acidic nature tends to cause esophageal burns when you consume apple cider vinegar a lot. It can injure the tissues of your esophagus and induce stomach distress. This can, in turn, lead you to have nausea, pain, and discomfort.  

The Bottom Line

Apple cider vinegar comes with several benefits, yet moderation is necessary for the safety and prevention of side effects. You must carefully monitor your intake of apple cider vinegar, as taking more than the recommended amount may cause more harm than good.

Because of this, you may find it beneficial to speak to specialists before you venture into using apple cider vinegar. Though you may not need to avoid apple cider vinegar altogether, taking special care in usage is key to making the most out of it.

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