Apple Cider Vinegar (often abbreviated to ACV) is exactly what it sounds like – vinegar made from apples – but it has some surprising health benefits.
Celebrities like Miranda Kerr and Megan Fox swear by Apple Cider Vinegar for their health, but how can this humble vinegar have so many benefits?
One of the most common claims made about ACV is that it promotes weight loss, but how does apple cider vinegar pills help with weight loss? If it sounds too good to be true, it often is, so what makes apple cider vinegar more than a simple vinegar?
What is Apple Cider Vinegar?
ACV is made by fermenting apple cider (unfiltered apple juice for you Europeans) until it grows sour and acidic, in much the same way that other vinegars are made. However, Apple Cider Vinegar is often sold unpasteurised and unfiltered, complete with mother of vinegar which sets it apart from the regular vinegars available in shops.
NOTE: The “mother” is just a name for the cloud of yeast and bacteria that turns apples into vinegar which looks like a film or sediment, though it’s completely harmless.
Its supporters will tell you that a small dose of ACV a day will transform your health, so we’re here to provide some unbiased answers to questions like does apple cider vinegar pills help with weight loss. Whether or not you believe the hype, this tangy salad topper is packed full of healthy bacteria and beneficial compounds, especially if you pick the stuff labelled “unpasteurized” and “unfiltered” or “raw”.
What is Apple Cider Vinegar Good For?
Although apple cider vinegar has been around for centuries, its modern day use as a health tonic can be linked to Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health, published in 1958. Written by DeForest Clinton Jarvis MD, Folk Medicine recommended a mix of apple cider vinegar and honey (also called “honeygar” and “switchel”) for various ailments though the logic behind this drink is questionable at best, as Jarvis claimed that:
“Vinegar, he explained, ‘by basically maintaining the body reaction acid instead of alkaline,’ could relieve a host of health problems from shingles and burns to varicose veins.”
Fry, Ann Lyons (2003). The Vermont Encyclopaedia. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England. p. 170.Whether it was down to Jarvis’ authority as a doctor or how easy it was to make honeygar, his advice really caught on, and he sold over a million copies of his book. Over 30 years after Folk Medicine was published, people are still taking ACV in liquid and pill form, even if they’re still debating does apple cider vinegar pills help with weight loss.
We cannot condone using honeygar as a cure for arthritis, varicose veins, or shingles like the good doctor did, but there is good evidence for many of ACV’s other health benefits.
