Apple Cider Vinegar
Why apple cider vinegar is anti-inflammatory
Apple cider vinegar is anti-inflammatory, and it earns that in an odd way: it brings you almost no vitamins and no minerals worth counting. What it brings is acid, and the acid works on your meal rather than on you.
Cider vinegar is apple juice fermented twice. Yeast turns the sugar into alcohol, and then bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid. By the end there is no sugar left, and very little of the apple either. You are buying acid.
That acid slows a meal down. It makes your stomach empty more slowly, and it holds back the enzymes that break starch into sugar. So the rise in blood sugar after bread, rice or pasta is smaller and flatter, and the same goes for the insulin that follows it. Those daily spikes are one of the things that keep inflammation ticking over, and a spoonful in a dressing takes the edge off them.
Vinegar scores 2 out of 10 on the inflammation scale because it prevents more than it gives. Olive oil and turmeric carry compounds that act on inflammation directly, while vinegar mostly stops a meal from stirring it up.
And it is still acid. Straight from the bottle it wears at tooth enamel and burns the throat. One tablespoon in a glass of water, or on a salad, is the whole dose. Gummies and ready-made drinks are the version to skip: they often add sugar and hold little acid.
Apple Cider Vinegar on the AIP diet
Apple cider vinegar is allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol in every phase, elimination included. It is not a grain, a legume, a nut, a seed, a nightshade or dairy, and fermenting leaves little behind but acid. It matters here because AIP takes away most of your seasonings, and vinegar gives food back its sharpness. Read the label: plain is fine, but flavoured bottles often hide sugar.
Benefits
- Flattens the rise in blood sugar after bread, rice or pasta
- Adds sharpness to food with no sugar, no salt and no calories
- Plain cider vinegar is allowed on the AIP diet from day one
- The cloudy sort brings live bacteria, though the acid does the real work
Watch out for
- Undiluted it wears at tooth enamel, so mix it into water
- It can burn the throat and make reflux worse
- Gummies and ready-made drinks often add sugar and hold little acid
- It is a seasoning, not a treatment, and more is not better
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Frequently asked
Is apple cider vinegar inflammatory?
No, apple cider vinegar is anti-inflammatory. It has no sugar and no calories, and the acid in it slows down how fast a meal turns into blood sugar. Flatter blood sugar means less of the daily stress that feeds inflammation.
Does the mother make apple cider vinegar work better?
The mother is the cloudy strands left over from fermenting. It looks impressive and it does no harm. The acid is what does the work, though, and the clear bottles have just as much of it.
When should you drink apple cider vinegar?
With a meal or just before it, always watered down. That is when the acid has something to slow down. On an empty stomach it does less and stings more.
Do apple cider vinegar gummies work the same way?
Not really. Most gummies hold a fraction of the acid you get in a tablespoon of vinegar, and many add sugar to make them taste good. If you can drink it diluted, drink it.
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