A drawing made for this site. Drag it to turn it.

Apple cider vinegar

Acetic acid

Supplements. Modern nutrition and Folk & home remedies.

Also called ACV, Cider vinegar

Pinyin: píng guǒ cù

Spanish: Vinagre de sidra de manzana

Erodes teeth and irritates throat

Vinegar made from fermented apples, drunk diluted or taken as capsules for blood sugar and weight claims.

Did you know? Apple cider vinegar is made in two steps: yeast turns apple sugar into alcohol, and bacteria turn that alcohol into acetic acid.

What it may help, and how strong the proof is

Blood sugar. Small short trials show a modest drop in blood sugar after a high-carb meal. Effects are small and the studies are few.
Early proof
Weight. A few small trials show a tiny weight drop over several months. The effect is small and not proven for long-term weight loss.
Traditional proof
Cleansing & detox. The popular claim that it detoxes the body has no good evidence. Your liver and kidneys do that job.
Not supported

Parts of the body

Pancreas & blood sugar, Energy & metabolism, Liver, Kidneys & bladder

Traditional use

Vinegar has been used for food, cleaning and folk remedies for thousands of years. Folk healers have long promoted apple cider vinegar as a tonic.

How it is classified

Herbal actions: Hypoglycemic, Antimicrobial. Energy: neutral.

How people take it

Studies used 15 to 30 mL (1 to 2 tablespoons) a day, usually diluted in a large glass of water before meals. Undiluted vinegar can burn the throat and wear enamel.

Food and capsule.

Where to get it

Made by fermenting crushed apples, and sold in grocery stores as raw, unfiltered vinegar with the cloudy 'mother.' Gummies and capsules are also sold.

Be careful

Vinegar can erode tooth enamel and irritate the throat or stomach, especially if taken undiluted. It may lower potassium, which is riskier with diuretics or insulin, and it may slow stomach emptying in people with gastroparesis.

Avoid if: low potassium; stomach ulcers; gastroparesis.

Mixing with other things

Works well together
Honey and vinegar drinks are a long-standing folk tonic.
Use caution
Water pills (furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide)
Can lower potassium more when combined with diuretics (water pills).
Use caution
Diabetes medicine (metformin, insulin, glipizide, Ozempic)
May add to blood sugar lowering and to low potassium risk with insulin. Check levels closely.

Adds up with others that may lower blood sugar: , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 39 more.

Found in these formulas

Fire cider (Folk), Four Thieves vinegar (Folk)

The honest take

Small, short trials show modest blood sugar effects, and weight claims are weak. The detox claim has no good evidence. Vinegar is safe in food amounts, but drinking it undiluted is a risk for teeth and the throat.