Give It A Try – Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted on February 4, 2009 by
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is often touted as a miracle substance that can be used for everything from warts to preventing intestinal stones in horses. So when I read that adding some ACV to my daily diet could help me shed that annoying extra five pounds, I decided to give it a try.
I used added 2 tablespoons of ACV to a glass of water and drank before meals. I love drinking water loaded up with lemon juice, so I figured I wouldn’t have a problem with a little vinegar. I was horribly, horribly wrong. I’m not a big fan of the smell of vinegar, and I just couldn’t get over the gagging feeling that I got every time I drank my vinegar water. I read somewhere years ago that it takes 14 days to get used to a food you hate, and I kept that in mind. But 14 days later, I was still gagging.
According to Apple-Cider-Vinegar-Benefits.com:
“No one is really sure how apple cider vinegar works to promote weight loss, but there is no shortage of theories.”
After more than two weeks of gagging down vinegar water, I didn’t lose a pound (or even half a pound, or a quarter of a pound, or an eighth of a pound . . . ), even though I kept my eating in check and maintained my usual activity level. Furthermore, the acid from the vinegar made my teeth ridiculously sensitive (I don’t even want to think about the damage to my tooth enamel). So, I think if I ever try another “lose weight without altering your diet or exercise” plan, I’m going to need more than a surplus of theories as to how it might work. But honestly, it’s just easier to eat my veggies and hit the treadmill. We all know that works, and neither make my teeth hurt.
I’ll save the ACV for cooking and cleaning.
Have you tried using ACV to lose weight? Any luck?
I tried it — not for losing weight, but for clearing up my skin (another of ACV’s supposed miracle effects). I loved the taste, but it didn’t make a bit of difference for my skin, and I was anxious about my teeth. I still drink a glass occasionally, just because I like it.
Darn. I have a whole lot of ACV in my house after buying it for a recipe. I have no idea what to do, but I think I’m not going to start drinking it any time soon.
I haven’t tried it, but I love it in salads. I also use in on my skin (mixed with crushed aspirin and mineral water).
They do sell it in pills, that would be much easier to swallow!
I’ve never heard of it being a weight-loss supplement! A lot of the vegan recipes I have call for apple cidar vinegar and they’re all great. I just can’t imagine trying to drink just the vinegar though!
I’ve heard celebrities say that they drink water with a little bit of lemon or vinegar to curb snack cravings. I think the lemon would be the tastier option there! You’d think you’d at least lose a little bit of your appetite from all that gagging and end up eating less. Oh well!
I do like ACV in salad: shred some napa cabbage, make a vinaigrette with some toasted sesame oil & ACV, toss with sliced apples. Yum!
I’ve also read that ACV good for worts but hurts like the dickens. I haven’t tried it myself.
acv + H2o? ick. you’ve gotta add some local honey in there, girl. 1 tbsp acv + i tbs honey + cup hot water = acquired taste, but the honey definitely takes the edge off.
it’s a must for allergy /flu season here – the acv changes the body’s pH so that viruses have a hard time thriving, the local honey is delicious homeopathic help for local allergies & it all helps keep the mucus at bay. this is according to my chiropractor and acupuncturist, but there’s some stuff on the ole internet too.
i had read that it helps with weight loss, but i wasn’t tracking & there’s no obvious change.
another bonus – it’s supposed to help with sore muscles. something about releasing the lactic acid contained in the muscles, similar to the benefits of massage. wish i could remember off the top of my head where i read that.
one note – definitely brush your teeth afterward, because the acid ? i think? will wear down enamel. along the lines of the strawberry-toothwhitener cautions. might help with the tooth pain.
good for you for giving it two weeks. i hope the next time a cold comes on, you’ll think of trying the hot water/honey/acv.
sorry for writing a novel
I’ve been doing the ACV thing for weightloss too. I haven’t noticed much of a difference, I don’t know why I keep taking it. It tastes like vomit. It does seem to help keep me regular though.
I read that John Travolta loses weight by sprinkling ACV on everything he eats. I believe it works, because it probably just makes his food taste so bad that he doesn’t eat it!
I did use ACV while I was pregnant to help treat a case of thrush. It helped quite a bit, but I wouldn’t say its a cure all.
If you put some in your hair like a rinse after conditioning, and then rinse it out with luke warm to cool water, it does make your hair super shiney. You can also use it like a toner on your skin for acne, and I’ve found that works pretty well.
I used to take ACV tablets, but switched to the real stuff after I had my son because I had heard that it worked better. I was able to maintain my weight and lose weight pretty easily before I was pregnant, but I was taking a wide range of supplements then, and any one of them, or a combination, could have been responsible. I ditched all my supplements when I got pregnant and while I’ve been nursing because I didn’t know if they were safe or not. Now that I’m starting to wean, I’m thinking about reintroducing them.
I have been putting 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinager in crystal light twice a day. The vinegar has to be organic and not filitered. (the difference amazing)I use a straw so that my teeth have little contact. I dont know if its working I have lost 3 pounds but, feel so much beter.
is ACV safe to keep you regular during pregnancy????
Hi LizaJane,
I don’t know anything about ACV and pregnancy. You should probably talk with your OB about the best ways to keep things regular.
I have read about ACV helping with kidney stones and as i have been battling a lidney infection for the last week and have a congenital kidney abnormality anything to improve kidney health seems worth a try. Any weight loss will be a bonus. Immediately after drinking it I began to feel better and now 6 hours and 2 doses later I’m off too bed ( after I clean my teeth ) without the burning need to urinate worrying me. YAY I love the taste a teaspoon in water doesn’t seem too bad at all – having used it for years in salad dressing and when i make hummus. I stumbled upon it’s health properties today on the web and dug in the back of my cupboard to find the bottle. This will be a daily tonic for me now I think.
ACV is a must in my daily water supply. I don’t buy bottled water so it makes the water more thirst quenching. PLUS, ACV nutralizes the Ph (or acid content) in your stomach…works better than soda water.
I am on ACV for Kidney stones bought the ACV book and there is a heap of remedies for nearly everything but as a kidney stone sufferer i am going to post it because as people like me who suffer kidney stone pain it’s about 15 on the pain level here is what it says.
Get acv organic with the Mother
3rd of a teaspoon in 8oz of water 8 times a day.
you can sweeten with pure honey but it’s not bad normal (Breaks down the stone due to acidity)
also drink heaps of unsweetened cranbberry juice can add some honey also as this helps inflamation and (Removes Toxins and restores Minerals)
the last remedy is watermelon for 2-3days eat watermelon and swallow seeds also this also helps kidney stones as it’s a kidney flush give it a go
I am into day 2 of just ACV and water seeing how this just goes first, i also do the cranbberry juice and the watermellon i will try next week i have 2 stones 1 in each kidney the biggest being 4.8mm so hoping this all works.
I have been reading a lot about the benefits of vinegar, I should imagine that trying to drink it would be quite dificult
ACV can harm tooth enamel. That’s probably why your teeth became sensitive. You will want to rinse or brush your teeth after drinking ACV.