12 Amazing Uses For Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is getting more and more common in kitchens around the world.
It is a tasty edition to homemade pickles, marinades, and salad dressings. But has is ever occurred to you to keep a jug in your medicine cabinet? Perhaps it should!
Though with the size of bottle I buy I’m content to keep mine in the pantry.
I’ve put together a list of twelve reasons every home should have a bottle of apple cider vinegar on hand.
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Natural Mouthwash
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a natural antibacterial. When diluted with equal parts of water, ACV ‘kills germs that cause bad breath and the gum disease gingivitis’.
Gargling the same solution eliminates excess bacteria in the throat as well, which may help prevent infections such as tonsillitis or strep throat.
Reduces Swelling
A gargle of ACV can help ease the inflammation and discomfort of a sore throat.
Simply mix 1-2 tablespoons of ACV with warm water and rinse your mouth and throat up to once an hour as needed.
As a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, I find you can also swap one tablespoon of ACV for honey in the same mixture and sip slowly for sweet relief.
Helps Regulate Digestion
By drinking 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in warm water three times a day, you can help regulate your digestion by reducing harmful bacteria in the intestines that can cause digestive problems such as diarrhea.
If you suffer from indigestion, try my sweet mixture of one tablespoon each of ACV and warm water about 30 minutes before you eat. This especially helps when you are expecting to eat something a little outside your normal comfort zone.
Also, though you wouldn’t think an acidic liquid like ACV would help with something like acid reflux, it actually can ease the symptoms. Just take 1-2 tablespoons of it either alone or mixed with water.
Increases Oxygenation
Apple Cider vinegar helps maximize the digestion process through its natural acidity.
ACV helps break down the food you eat and release more iron into your blood stream than you would normally process.
This extra iron draws extra oxygen into your blood as well, helping everything from cell generation to skin health.
Hair Care
Apple cider vinegar is a natural cleanser. It can balance oil production of the scalp and help remove environmental contaminants and dead skin.
It can also help prevent or eliminate dandruff when used properly. Simply use a rinse of apple cider vinegar in water for a healthier head of hair.
Hic, Hiccups
I’m always interested to hear home remedies for hiccups. For some it’s drinking water while plugging your nose, while others say you need to scare the daylights out of somebody when they are having hiccups.
I’ve never had a great deal of luck with either of those, other than comedic value.
However, I have personally tried a spoonful of apple cider vinegar when the spasms started and had success.
Feel free to tell me if it works for you as well, but if it doesn’t, at least you didn’t look silly or get scared half to death by a friend.
Balances Blood
Good news for those of you who need to need to closely watch your blood glucose levels.
While this effect is still being studied, I’ve heard two tablespoons of diluted ACV before bed can help to regulate blood sugar as much as 6 percent overnight.
Hormone Health
Much the same as ACV draws more iron from food you eat, it also helps your body maximize the effects of proteins by breaking them down into amino acids.
Amino acids are an essential part of a great number of processes in the body, including building hormones that affect mood, focus, and even weight loss.
To draw this benefit, the same diluted apple cider vinegar solution should be drank thirty minutes before meals.
Curbs Cravings
Apple cider vinegar is a natural source of a soluble fiber called pectin. Pectin has been shown to aid in digestion in many ways, including increasing the viscosity of the intestines and decreasing the uptake of cholesterol.
Pectin can also help you feel fuller after a meal through the same mechanism, thus, decreasing your desire to snack or overeat. Try adding a little ACV to your salad to help control hunger.
Or have a little bread sprinkled in ACV before a meal. Another alternative is again to drink a glass of water with 1-2 tablespoons of ACV before a meal. Any of these will naturally help improve digestion while making you feel fuller faster.
Dials Down High Blood Pressure
Though humans have thus far escaped long-term scientific studies, ACV has been shown to not only reduce cholesterol but also improve circulation in animals.
Because apple cider vinegar has no negative side effects when used in moderation, try ingesting 1-2 tablespoons here and there throughout the day to help maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol.
Soothes Sinuses
Try adding 2-3 tablespoons of unfiltered ACV to hot water or tea. When taken three times a day, this mixture will help thin excessive mucus, helping relieve sinus pain and pressure.
You can also mix it with lemon and honey to change it up a bit.
Insect Repellent
I saved the best for last. ACV can actually be used to make a very effective and all-natural bug spray!
This takes a little dedication, however. The recipe is two tablespoons each of dried sage, rosemary, lavender, thyme, and mint to 32 ounces of raw apple cider vinegar.
Seal the container and shake it up once a day for three weeks. After three weeks, strain the herbs out and put the liquid into spray bottles.
Shake it up before using, and word to the wise, it will smell a little like vinegar initially when sprayed onto the skin but the odor fades as it dries.
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