Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits for IBS/GERD
Apple Cider Vinegar has a lot of buzz going for it on the Internet and the natural health circuit. It can reportedly help with all sorts of problems ranging from gout to heartburn to weight-loss. While a lot of these claims haven’t been proven, I decided to give it a try.
Vinegar is fermented apple juice thanks to yeast helping to breakdown the apple juice to an alcohol & then bacteria break that down into the sour acidic substance we know. Most commercial vinegar we see in supermarket shelves has been filtered & pasteurized, possibly even distilled(clear). If you’re looking for health benefits then you’ll want to skip those & look for Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. Filtered & pasteurized ciders have had all their “goodness” boiled or strained out of them.
As far as digestion goes Apple Cider Vinegar is suppose to work two ways:
- 1) It increases acidity in the stomach which could helps digest food. Now people with heartburn might think this is a bad thing, but in some cases heartburn/indigestion is caused by a lack of acid, not too much.
- 2) It has something called “mother” which is the cloudy unfiltered stuff in the vinegar. Most people purport the “mother” as being the source of Apple Cider Vinegars healing properties. Reading up on it though “mother” is a nice way of saying “dead bacteria & fermentation byproducts”. There really may not be a whole lot of stuff inside the “mother” that does anything. It is not dangerous to drink though.
Apple Cider Vinegar on it’s own is too acidic to drink, so it is recommended to mix about 1 tablespoon(15ml) with 8oz(235ml) of water, plus you’ll probably want to add something to sweeten it a bit. It’s strongly advised to use natural sweeteners like honey instead of refined white sugar. You could probably also use raw sugars that haven’t been overly refined. The flavor after sweetening is like a very tart apple juice.
My results were iffy. They seemed similar to results I received with digestive enzymes. Some days it seemed to help, other days it seemed to make my symptoms worse. One meal I’d feel less bloated, another day I’d feel more bloated and sometimes nauseated. Overall I do not think the apple cider vinegar helped me a whole lot, but heck it’s pretty cheap & worth a try if you’re suffering from some sort of digestive issue. There is very little harm or risk of side effects so long as you are taking it with water.
Which Brands?
I’d suggest you try out Source Naturals Apple Cider Vinegar Pills
I tried this and it relieved my constipation IBS for a week and the stopped working sadly.Now nothing will help me ‘go’.
Consider giving Kefir a try – it’s a runny yogurty type product available at your local grocery store. It’s got an abundance of natural probiotics (usually about 5 billion per tbsp). It’s produced in a way where the lactose is virtually gone (eaten up by the good bacteria). Also try eating 2 servings of peas and green beans daily… this combination has helped me a lot.
After several years of suffering with GERDS, waking up in the middle of the night throwing up and a miserable burning in my throat, and using Ranitidine and several other medicines, I heard about using Apple Cider Vinegar. About a year ago, I started taking 1 tablespoon of 5% Apple Cider vinegar, immediately followed by a good drink of water about 30 minutes before going to bed. Regardless of what I eat, I have not had a GERDS episode since beginning such. Just hope this helps someone. An Old PawPaw in Louisiana.
Hey it’s great to hear you found a solution to your heartburn with apple cider vinegar. Perhaps your issue was a lack of stomach acid which was causing digestive upset rather than over abundance. It’s unfortunate that doctors don’t do more investigation before prescribing heartburn medication.
HAVE BEEN USING BRAGGS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. IT HELPS, HOWEVER, IF I EAT FOODS LIKE FRENCH FRIES, I WILL SUFFER FOR ABOUT 3 DAYS. WHAT FOODS SHOULD I NOT EAT? HOW SHOUL I TAKE IT…BEFORE A MEAL? HOW MUCH?
THANK YOU
SUNNY