If you’re into natural health at all then you’ve been told Apple Cider Vinegar is a wonderful cure-all.
And while apple cider vinegar (ACV) is positively wonderful at boosting health, there’s a little-known risk that comes along with the new interest in apple cider vinegar…you need to get the right one.
Many people believe (mistakenly) that you can head down to the local grocery store and pick up a regular old bottle of ACV and use it to promote better health.
While using this kind of ACV isn’t going to harm you, it also contains the life-giving properties that a different type of ACV provides.
To get the kinds of health benefits most people are looking for, people need to use raw ACV.
Raw ACV is an apple cider vinegar that contains “the mother.”
“The mother” is generally talked about on raw ACV bottles and it simply refers to a strain of bacteria that are left alive in the vinegar after it has fermented.
Traditional forms of ACV are pasteurized to kill off the bacteria, whereas “the mother” is made up of bacteria that are left alive and left to flourish in their vinegary home.
Another name for the mother is a SCOBY.
SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast, and they’re found in other natural health products like kombucha tea.
The presence of The Mother, or the SCOBY, is essential if you want to use ACV.
3 Ways ACV with “The Mother” Can Help Heal You
1 – Helps to Balance Blood Sugar:
Because apple cider vinegar with “the mother” is rich in bacteria known as probiotics, there’s strong evidence to support its use for promoting better blood sugar.
Probiotic bacteria help to heal the gut so that it helps use blood sugar better.
Studies have shown that drinking apple cider vinegar in varying amounts can help to balance blood sugar.
Dr. Josh Axe writes “In one study, vinegar consumption was found to decrease blood sugar levels by an average of 31 percent after eating white bread…similarly, an animal study showed that giving diabetic rats ACV for four weeks was found to significantly reduce blood sugar levels.”
There’s also evidence that ACV may help your body use blood sugar better by making you more insulin sensitive.
The more insulin sensitive you are, the less insulin you need to convert blood sugar into energy and the better your blood sugars become.
2 – ACV May Help You Lose Weight:
Another additional benefit of a probiotic-rich diet and consuming ACV with “the mother” is how probiotics can help heal the gut and aid in weight loss.
There are two possible mechanisms behind ACV’s intake and weight loss.
One is that when you consume ACV it helps make you feel fuller, longer, which may make you eat less.
A study from 2005 showed that when people drank ACV during the day it helped them consume 275 fewer calories than normal.
Another possibility is that ACV may help your body not hang onto fat.
In a study done by Japanese researchers, people who drank just two tablespoons of ACV over three months lost four pounds.
They theorized it was because it prevented fat from absorbing into the body.
3 – May Protect Your Heart:
Heart diseases of various kinds kill more people than any other series of diseases.
For that reason, anything you can do to protect your heart is going to help increase your life expectancy.
ACV with “the mother” has been shown to help support cardiovascular health.
In a study from 2001, researchers isolated one of the main compounds in ACV and gave it to rats to see how it would affect their hearts.
Giving rats acetic acid over a period of time helped to promote better blood pressure levels, thus supporting heart health.
Another way ACV with the mother may help promote heart health is through how it improves blood sugar and decrease weight gain.
A meta-analysis of studies published on the American Heart Association’s website indicate better blood sugar and a healthy BMI are keys to heart protection.
Other Notes on ACV With “The Mother”
Beyond what you’ve learned here, there are only a few things to know about ACV with “the mother.”
The first is if you plan on experiencing all the benefits of “the mother” you cannot freeze it or heat it past 130 degrees. Doing so will kill the bacteria and neutralize their effectiveness.
The source of your ACV matters as well, which is why you should try and get organic ACV.
Not only will you avoid pesticides and herbicides in the process, but you’re also getting richer and more varied strains of bacteria as the soil in organic farms generally have wider ranges of probiotics cultures.
ACV with the “mother” is easy to find, affordable, and a great ingredient to add in recipes.
