10 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
By Hannah Healy
Updated June 28, 2018
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10 Ways To Use Apple Cider Vinegar. I’ve mentioned many times on my facebook page how great raw apple cider vinegar is for your health. However, almost every time I post about it, a reader asks how to use it. Apple cider vinegar can be used for so many things, find out the 10 best ways to use it….
It seems to me that a lot of people have heard that ACV is good for you, but they don’t quite know how to incorporate it into their lives. After all, it is vinegar, so you can’t just chug it straight from the bottle…yuk! This article will give you 10 different ways to use this miracle elixir!
The Many Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
But first, let’s talk about WHY you should be using apple cider vinegar. The benefits to raw apple cider vinegar are many. Apart from containing many beneficial vitamins and minerals, apple cider vinegar also contains acetic acid, potassium and malic acid. It can help regulate blood sugar, aid digestion, build muscle, clear skin, reduce bad cholesterol, prevent sickness with its antiviral properties, help remove toxins and aid in weight loss. It is also an alkalizing food, so it helps your body maintain good PH levels.
When choosing apple cider vinegar, you should always get raw (unpasteurized) with the mother like this one to ensure you will get all the benefits from it.
If you want even more ideas, this book is less that $4 and has a bunch of great tips on how to use apple cider vinegar for natural cures.
10 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
1. Drink 1-2 tablespoons ACV diluted in a glass of still or bubbly water with a teaspoon of raw honey like this (optional). You can also buy ACV drinks at some health food stores, I love this brand with added cinnamon–it tastes like apple pie in a bottle and it’s good for you too!
2. Use ACV in place of balsamic vinegar in salad dressing.
3. Add 1-2 teaspoons ACV to your morning smoothie. Start with one teaspoon and work your way up to 1 tablespoon. It is vinegar and can have a strong flavor, so be careful not to start with too much.
4. Use it as a facial toner to improve complexion and restore skin’s natural PH.
5. Use it to naturally treat dandruff.
6. Heal your sunburn quickly and naturally.
7. Use ACV as an all purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and ACV and add 2-3 drops essential oils like thieves (thieves is great for cleaning and can kill bacteria) or tea tree.
8. Use ACV to soak your beans, legumes or grains to reduce phytic acid and make them more easily digested. Simply cover a pot of dry uncooked beans with filtered water. The water should come well over the top of the beans (they will expand), then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of beans to the water. The acidic medium helps reduce the anti-nutrients in beans that block absorption of vitamins and minerals. To learn more about how to properly prepare beans, legumes and grains and for healthy recipes, check out my ebook Gluten Free Vegetarian.
9. Use ACV in your bath. Add ½- 1 cup to your bath water along with epsom salts and lavender essential oil for a relaxing and detoxifying bath.
10. Help treat yeast infections by adding 1 cup ACV to your bath or by adding 1 tablespoon to your water in the morning.
11. BONUS! Use it to help with heartburn. Contrary to popular belief, heartburn is a result of too little stomach acid…not too much. Many people find relief from their heartburn from having 1-2 tsp of ACV in a small glass of water right before eating.
It’s good to know that you can add cinnamon to apple cider vinegar and make it a drink. My mother asked if I could get her some more of this sometime this week. I didn’t know why she used it, but after reading this article I can see why it would be helpful.
Gets rid of sore throat almost immediately.
Hi. I know that I am tardy to the party, but I wanted to ask a question. I keep hearing about adding lemon to your water in the morning for great health benefits and now you’re saying do ACV. Is it okay to do both lemon and ACV in my water or is that too much acid and it might do more harm than good?
I’m not sure if both would be too much. I like to put lemon essential oil in my water (which is not acidic because it’s cold pressed from the rind, but you get the same benefits). I only use young living though because store-bought brands are not for internal consumption.
I got a really narley sinus infection last week. Bright yellow mucous and sinuses full and post nasal drip. First day I used OTC meds that didn’t help. I drank a cup of warm water with a tablespoon of acv and teaspoon of honey twice the next day. I also flushed with a netty pot twice. On the third day I woke up and 80 percent relief! Just the sinuses draining at that point. I kept it up on the third day and was cured by the fourth. That is a new record for me. Normally my sinus infections last 2 weeks but not with acv and sinus rinse! Please try it next time you get a cold! So much cheaper than day-quil that doesn’t work toward a cure.
I also use acv on my horses as a fly spray and when they have any issues with their skin too
Most of my family raves about ACV for a multitude of ailments, I recently posted apple cider vinegar detox recipes on my blog. Making an ACV detox daily is as easy as brewing a cup of coffee or tea and gives you an amazing energy boost!
I use acv every day in green tea. It thins the mucos membranes. It works so much better than mucinex for this purpose. Started using it when I was sick and now use it every day/