In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleLose WeightRegulate Blood SugarBoost Heart HealthOther Health Benefits of Apple Cider VinegarA Word of CautionThe Bottom Line

In This ArticleView All

View All

In This Article

Lose Weight

Regulate Blood Sugar

Boost Heart Health

Other Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

A Word of Caution

The Bottom Line

Featured recipe:Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic

Detoxes are definitely “in.” And apple cider vinegar cleanses have become the new must-do detox. A mixture of apple cider vinegar with a variety of spices and juices (e.g., cinnamon, honey, ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon juice), this cleanse has been sweeping the internet as a beneficial cure-all to help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, control your blood sugar, boost your immune system, relieve constipation and even regulate body and skin pH. But before you jump on the apple cider vinegar cleanse train and start drinking it several times a day, let’s see what the latest science has to say about these proposed health perks.

What Happens to Your Body When You Do a Detox Diet

Is apple cider vinegar weight loss in a bottle? Maybe—if the sour taste ruins your appetite.

Apple cider vinegar cleanses are also said to be satiating, which, if true, could help with weight loss. Past research suggests that downing this sour drink slows gastric emptying (the speed at which food moves from the stomach to the small intestine during digestion). The vinegar’s acidity, according to the researchers, could activate low-pH sensors in the intestine that delays the progression of food from the stomach. “And slowing down digestion could mean feeling full, faster because there won’t be as much room to store incoming food in the stomach,” saysRahaf Al Bochi, RDN., LD,owner of Olive Tree Nutrition and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Controlling your blood sugar is important for more than keeping type 2 diabetes at bay. Emerging science is pointing to chronically elevated blood sugar as amajor cause of ongoing inflammationthat can lead to a host of other issues, including heart disease and cancer. And at first glance, adding apple cider vinegar to the diet may be a promising tool in this mission to control blood sugar spikes and reduce chronic disease.

In a 2023 studyFrontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare,73 people with type 2 diabetes drank 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar right after lunch. After 8 weeks, HbA1c improved from 9.21% to 7.79% in the apple cider vinegar group.

But what about cinnamon, a common cleanse ingredient dubbed the “best spice for balancing blood sugar”? A 2019 review of 18 studies published inComplementary Therapies in Medicinethat looked at cinnamon supplementation in people with diabetes found that that cinnamon reduced blood sugar but had no significant effect on hemoglobin A1C, a measure of long-term glucose regulation. The doses studied are much higher than you would find on the ingredient list for a cleanse. “There’s no harm in using cinnamon in your baking or cooking,” notes Al Bochi, “but I wouldn’t necessarily jump on using cinnamon in a cleanse to replace a healthy diet or medication use.”

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Keeping your cholesterol in check is a great step in reducing your risk of heart disease. Animal studies suggest that apple cider vinegar promotes the oxidation (breakdown) of fats, including LDL cholesterol and triglycerides that can build up in the walls of arteries if levels are too high. When vinegar is added to the diet of animals fed high-cholesterol diets, their bodies produce more of an enzyme that breaks down fat and suppresses a subsequent rise in triglycerides.

And, although there’s buzz about cayenne pepper or other spices lowering blood pressure (they’re popular ACV mix-ins), the evidence remains to be seen.

There’s no hard evidence that puckering up to this sour cleanse eases irritable bowel syndrome or constipation, or provides immune benefits. And while delicious spices and ingredients like honey and lemon juice are not bad for you, their benefits may be over-hyped, with little scientific evidence at the moment to back their disease-fighting claims.

As far as balancing pH or “detoxing,” our body already does a good job of that on its own. We have natural ways of removing toxins without dramatic cleanses. “That’s ultimately the role of the liver, to help with the natural detoxification process,” saysMary Wirtz, RDN, LDN.“And because we have a natural detoxifier that’s able to break down harmful substances and excrete them, I would always be hesitant to recommend an apple cider vinegar cleanse—or other detox products out there.”

Plus, the pH of our tissues and blood is tightly controlled to keep the proteins in our body functioning correctly. And for good reason: major fluctuations in pH mean dangerous health issues, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, are beyond the fix of home remedies. Keeping a healthy, well-rounded diet can make it easier for the body to perform these functions, but there are no specific foods to alter one’s pH.

“It’s important to remember that with these fads-these crazes—there’s a lot of unknowns,” adds Wirtz, “and people fail to realize that these things can actually harm your body.” Vinegar can irritate the lining of your throat, stomach and digestive tract, especially when taken on an empty stomach, and may create acid reflux-like symptoms. Plus, there’s no evidence that frequent use is safe long-term.

Apple cider vinegar may also interfere with some medications, so consult a doctor before making it part of your routine.

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