Apple Cider Vinegar - Health Benefits Of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known as cider vinegar or ACV, is a type of vinegar made from cider or apple must and has a pale to medium amber color. Unpasteurized or organic ACV contains mother of vinegar, which has a cobweb-like appearance and can make the vinegar look slightly congealed.

ACV is used in salad dressings, marinades, vinaigrettes, food preservatives, and chutneys, among other things. It is made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Bacteria and yeast are added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, and the sugars are turned into alcohol. In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria (acetobacter). Acetic acid and malic acid give vinegar its sour taste.

Critical reception

Alternative medicine proponents such as Paul Bragg have written that apple cider vinegar is a rich source of potassium and can aid in curing a number of diseases. Such claims have been disputed by medical health experts. Nutritionist Arnold E. Bender disputed the claim that it has a high potassium content:

"Some of the most far-fetched, improbable and dishonest claims of all are made from cider vinegar... Chemically and nutritionally wine and cider vinegar are both a 4.8 per cent solution of acetic acid with no protein, fat or vitamins and only minute traces of minerals. Claims that cider vinegar's marvellous properties are due to its high potassium content are untrue. Apples themselves contain only 120 mg of potassium in 100 g â€" and some cider vinegar preparations contain only 20 mg of cider vinegar â€" which would, even if they were pure apple juice, supply only 0.02 mg of potassium. Compare this with 150 mg of potassium in 100 g of white flour or 450 mg in the same amount of wholemeal flour and 350 mg in 100 g of meat, chicken, fruit or vegetables. Even one raisin at 860 mg of potassium per 100 g will provide more than most of these cider vinegar preparations."

In one case, a low level of potassium in the blood was observed in a woman who had consumed apple cider vinegar for six years.

A 2006 investigation stated that "scientific investigations do not support the use of vinegar as an anti-infective agent, either topically or orally".