Looking for Faster Weight Loss and Shiny Skin? Try Apple Cider Vinegar

What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple Cider Vinegar (or ACV or sweet cider vinegar) is a natural laxative that improves metabolism and reduces indigestion. It provides a therapeutic and healthy defense against many ailments, besides maintaining blood sugar and blood pressure levels. You can also count on it to reduce your insulin sensitivity and cut down on your belly fat and lose weight faster.

This is why healthcare experts recommend taking a teaspoon or two of it with warm water every day. ACV is gaining popularity in the fitness world as many kinds of research, as well as at-home experiences, show that adding it to your routine may aid in weight loss.

Tip: Consuming it in excess may cause health risks related to heart and digestive disorders. It may also leave your digestive system and heart prone to high acidity.

How Is It Made?

Apple cider vinegar (or soft cider) is the fermented juice of crushed apples. It is prepared by adding yeast that turns the cider’s sugars into acetic acid with a pungent odor. It is used in salad dressings, marinades, vinaigrettes, and food preservatives.

Tip: The sharper its odor is, the better quality of vinegar it is.

This probiotic is the blob or cobweb-looking substance in ACV that forms during the fermentation process. You may note that different qualities and varieties of vinegar may have different ingredients. For example, white vinegar is made from alcohol, white balsamic vinegar is made from grapes, and malt vinegar is produced from barley kernels.

Nutrition Table of ACV

The above values are taken from Wikipedia and are verified by USDA.

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss?

Soft cider vinegar has been used as a medicinal tonic across many cultures, dating back to many centuries. The benefit of the vinegar variant’s high acidic content is that it has no ‘expiry date’, provided the bottle is stored in a cool and dark place.

Studies show that not only does ACV help reduce weight, but it also lowers body fat and the agents causing obesity. One may mix a tablespoon of this vinegar in a glass of (warm) water and have it early in the morning to start melting some extra flab.

Tip: It is important not to sip the liquid undiluted because it can cause a burn sensation in your throat.

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV):

Sweet cider vinegar is a probiotic. It contains gut-friendly bacteria that help support a healthy digestive ecosystem. You can also expect it to have a decent amount of antioxidants, those helpful little molecules that negate free radical damage, thus helping you look younger.

Those lowered triglyceride levels also cut down your risk of heart disease and diabetes. They also help you stay more resilient against sudden stomach upsets or instances of acidity.

Here are some other benefits of consuming this pungent and tart liquid every day:

Suppresses appetite

Having a glass of water with a teaspoon of ACV before your meal can help you reach satiety sooner. Since you would eat a little less than you usually do, you can count on a lesser calories intake. A study said that people who eat bread with vinegar experience satiety earlier than those who eat only bread.

Stabilizes blood sugar levels

The dramatic spikes in your bloodstream after a meal may lead you to some nasty uncontrollable cravings throughout the day. This tart liquid helps you control those sugar spikes and thus curb your sugar cravings between meals.

Also read: Try fiber to get rid of Diabetes and a pot belly!

Stabilizing your blood sugar levels is a surefire way of sticking to a proper diet plan with set meal times. Another study claimed participants showed lower blood glucose levels following the bread and vinegar meal as well.

Detoxifies the body

ACV helps flush toxins out of the body, thereby helping it perform better, particularly in its digestive and metabolic processes. This ensures that it absorbs the maximum amount of nutrients from food. This takes a lot of load off your kidneys and liver so they can do their routine tasks of filtration better.

Tip: Also check out this free resource to know how natural detoxification or detox can help you!

Prevents fat buildup

ACV speeds up your metabolism and helps you burn fat much faster. Since this tart liquid is rich in enzymes and organic acids, it increases the fat burning rate. It may also help bring down your cholesterol level with prolonged use too.

How to Drink Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss or to Lose Belly Fat?

It is best to introduce ACV slowly to your diet. You could start with having a teaspoon of it in a cup of water once a day. As you get used to it, you can increase it to two teaspoons per day. Remember not to go overboard with this dosage.

If you frequently experience heartburn or other digestive symptoms, consider having less than 1 tablespoon per cup of water in a day. We would suggest that you stop taking it altogether until you have consulted an online nutritionist.

How to Drink Apple Cider Vinegar in the Morning (Empty Stomach)

The best time to consume ACV is in the morning, preferably as the first thing every day. Persisting with this tart but medically useful mixture over many days would help you regulate your gastrointestinal juices and have better satiety.

Our healthcare experts advise taking one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the early morning (on empty stomach) for maximum health benefits. You can also have it half an hour before eating anything, be it in the morning or evening.

How to Choose the Best Type of ACV?

You could find yourself confused in a supermarket after seeing several types of ACV bottles on different shelves. Here’s how you can find out which variant is best for you:

Go for the darker mixtures:

A clear and transparent liquid being sold as ACV (or sweet cider) is mostly fake, spurious, and has little to no medical qualities. Go for a darker mixture of this vinegar and that too from a reputable brand.

Read the labels carefully:

You should go for the “Mother” variant. It is the best quality of apple cider vinegar and can be identified from other similarly placed vinegar solutions by the labels. It would be expensive too.

Stay away from artificial vinegar:

Buying vinegar made of spurious concentrates or using poor-quality ACV substitutes is a surefire way of getting ill. If you consume them for longer times, you could even damage your liver beyond repair.

No chemical treatment:

Like artificial or fake vinegar, going for the chemically-enhanced variants of ACV is also bad for your health. While they do cost cheap, they would cause multiple health issues.

It should be unpasteurized:

Pasteurized ACV is made by heating the mixture to kill the bacteria and other impurities. The issue is that it also removes several beneficial bacteria and other useful properties, and this makes the mixture harmful.

It would be advisable to go for ACV that is being sold in glass bottles instead of plastic bottles, and is certified by a trusted medical agency.

Other Uses:

Using apple cider vinegar for acne

ACV works well for treating skin-related issues too and can be a smart alternative to those costly skin creams that are sold in medical stores. One may dilute vinegar and then apply it topically on the acne or other skin-related infection and then let it dry for a few minutes before washing it off.

However, you should note that it can sting you a little. It might also take some time to show some effect.

Using apple cider vinegar for heartburn

Heartburn or acid reflux is caused by a weaker digestion system. Left untreated, it can cause multiple health disorders in a short time. Apple Cider Vinegar can work as a good household remedy for it but you should still check with a healthcare professional for the best results.

If you are suffering from any of the several Gastroesophageal Reflux Diseases (GERD), you can take one to two tablespoons of ACV with a glass of water. It is advisable to have it at least half an hour before eating anything. However, be sure to not take it again if it worsens the situation.

Side effects of apple cider vinegar

There are several situations in which you may not get adequate results from consuming ACV. For example, you could be allergic to it, there could be suffering from an advanced stage of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), or you might have consumed it in excess.

Here are some side-effects of consuming apple cider vinegar:

1. Nausea, bloating, and belching

2. Tooth decay and erosion of enamel

3. Reduction in potassium levels in the body

4. Lower blood sugar levels

5. Digestive system disorders, irregular bowel movement

6. An excess could even hurt your liver and kidneys

7. Could trigger or worsen acid reflux

8. Dried mouth and stingy throat

Consult a healthcare expert to know how you can include ACV in your daily diet

The benefits of apple cider vinegar come at a lower cost than most of the other expensive health supplements. There’s plenty of reason to believe that it can help you burn some unwanted flab faster and make your metabolism faster. An apple a day may not always keep the doctor away, but a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar might just do it.

We welcome you to consult a wellness or healthcare expert online to know of any GERD issue that you might have and how you can treat it at home. You may also ask them to prepare a personalized diet chart for you that you could use to lose or gain weight and be more amazing every day!