A few years ago when I wasn’t feeling very well my now father in law told me his secret to feeling great- drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV). I was skeptical, but I tried it. Every morning that school year (I was a teacher at the time) I put a few cap fulls of apple cider vinegar into 2 32oz water bottles and masked the taste with lemons, which also provide health benefits (see yesterday’s blog). I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not, but I never got sick that winter. Now that I am way more conscience about my health and fitness, I decided to do some research into why that may have been. Here is what I found.

ACV can be used to relieve a cold and a stuffy nose. The potassium in the ACV thins your mucus and the acid reduces the bacteria in your nasal cavities. So if it can be used to treat a cold, why not use it to prevent one to start with?! Think of how much money you will save on cold medicine! And now you don’t have to worry about all the side effects that come with it.

AND you can also use it to cure a sore throat. I can vouch for this first hand because I do it and it works. It tastes extremely nasty, I won’t lie, but it feels great afterwards! The acid in the apple cider vinegar kills the bacteria that causes the sore throat. I have been gargling with straight ACV all these years, but I just read you can do half ACV and half water. If you do choose to do straight ACV, rinse your teeth off afterwards with water to get the acid off, but be sure not to rinse it off your throat or you will have defeated the entire purpose. And again, no nasty side effects or spending money on medications.

Speaking of saving money on medications that may have harmful side effects, you can ditch your zit cream too! Put a little ACV on your face at night to kill the bacteria that causes acne to grow. Voila! A natural toner for your face!

Plus, ACV helps to relieve stomach pains, reduces your cholesterol when consumed daily (it is believed the acidity in it helps keep the cholesterol down), reduces leg cramping (due to the potassium in it), helps diabetics by lowering their blood sugar, reduces blood pressure which helps reduce heart disease, it alleviates the pain from sunburn when applied topically to the burn, and it is also said to help reduce the free radicals that cause cancer due to the polyphenols in the ACV. No wonder I felt great that winter!

And lastly, did you know ACV can help you when you are trying to lose weight?!?! The acid in it suppresses your appetite, it speeds up your metabolism, and also eliminates water retention. Of course it works best when combined with a diet and exercise plan. So if you’re not already on a weight loss program, click here to get started with one now!