Apple Cider Vinegar: Benefits, Uses, Risks, and Dosage

What Is Vinegar?

Vinegar is a sour liquid containing acetic acid that is made via fermentation from a vast range of ingredients. You can find vinegar in the cuisines of a wide variety of cultures. Many groups around the world make some type of vinegar, either to use as a condiment or to help preserve other foods.

To make vinegar, a sugar source like apple or barley is fermented and turned into alcohol. The liquid is then fermented again, which converts the alcohol into acid. The result is a sour and sometimes sweet product that helps flavor food or preserve it from bacteria.

What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a type of vinegar made with crushed apples, yeast, and sugar. It’s used as an ingredient in foods like salad dressings, pickles, and marinades.

For many years, people have also used it as a home remedy for everything from fighting germs to preventing heartburn. More recently, research has shown that apple cider vinegar might have some real health benefits, such as helping to reduce blood sugar levels and aid weight loss.

While there’s not a lot of evidence for these benefits, ACV is generally harmless – as long as you use it correctly.

What Are the Types of Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is made through a process called fermentation. The yeast in the mixture digests the sugar in the apple juice, turning it into alcohol after a few weeks. Then, natural bacteria break the alcohol down into acetic acid, which gives vinegar its tangy taste and odor.

Most ACV you find in the grocery store is the clear, pasteurized, and filtered type. But you can also buy raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar that contains a cloudy sediment. Called “the mother,” this substance is made up of settled bacteria and yeast.

Some people give the mother credit for ACV’s health benefits. And it’s thought to contain small amounts of probiotics, healthy bacteria that are good for gut health. But research hasn’t shown that the mother offers any particular health benefit.

The acetic acid in ACV is also thought to be at least partly responsible for any health benefits it has. But other types of vinegar contain acetic acid as well.

You can also buy apple cider vinegar pills, powders, or gummies. But there’s been little research into whether these supplements have any effect. And because the FDA doesn’t regulate dietary supplements, you can’t be sure exactly what’s in them.