Why did apple cider vinegar become so popular?

Have you ever looked at celebrities and wondered how they always look so amazing? From their glossy hair and glowing skin to their physique, they make it all look so effortless, don’t they? 

I often remind myself that they have serious amounts of money at their disposal and probably have an entire entourage of people dedicated to keeping them in tiptop shape. Our fascination with how they live might be one possible reason for the rise in popularity of apple cider vinegar in recent years as a weight loss and beauty booster. 

They have almost unlimited resources at their fingertips yet choose to use apple cider vinegar? Something every one of us has access to, and can also benefit from, seems almost too good to be true!

Stars like Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, and Victoria Beckham are huge apple cider vinegar fans. Orlando Bloom says he has been drinking it for over 20 years for its health benefits, particularly its ability to promote gut health. 

Even superstar Megan Fox uses apple cider vinegar and has been cited as enjoying its ability to regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and control weight.

Scarlett Johansson uses apple cider vinegar as a face wash, claiming it’s less harsh on the skin. Apple cider vinegar has disinfectant and antibacterial properties that are great for acne-prone skin and help rejuvenate a dull complexion.

If it's good enough for the stars we so admire, it’s most certainly good enough for us ordinary people, right? It seems so!

The increasing support from the fitness industry has also led to a rise in popularity among athletes, as the magical benefits of its natural components, such as acetic acid, magnesium, potassium, enzymes, and probiotics, help them get the most from their gym workout or daily run, by increasing stamina and regulating blood sugar levels. 

A randomized clinical trial on healthy athletes showed that apple cider vinegar had the same effects as a commercial sports drink. Both displayed ergogenic properties (which means they enhanced energy production), blood sugar glucose, and suppressed lactic acid production in their muscles (1). 

As people worldwide continue to look towards a more natural way of caring for themselves and improving their health, we can expect to see the trend of looking back in time for answers to health increasing: going back to basics, as it were. The knowledge of natural health that has been around since the early times of Hippocrates considered the father of modern medicine, is returning. 

The movement towards alternative therapies, health supplements, and a holistic lifestyle is increasing rapidly. We are finding better ways to address health imbalances through natural products and supplements. 

Exploring the top 5 health benefits of apple cider vinegar

Trusted for hundreds of years, it’s been used as a folk remedy for everything from treating the common cold to issues with digestion. While most studies of apple cider vinegar have been primarily done on cells and animals, and the exact mechanism behind some of its properties is still unclear, there is enough research to support the following health benefits.

• Supports weight loss

Apple cider vinegar activates an enzyme known as AMPK in your body, which regulates the relationship between energy consumption and production. When compounds with high antioxidants activate it, it signals your body to slow fat storage and start burning it (3).

• Suppress appetite

When your appetite is suppressed, you tend to eat less at mealtimes, which naturally assists in weight loss. Apple cider vinegar has been shown to increase short-term satiety, effectively helping you reach your weight loss goals (4).

• Reduce belly fat

Numerous studies showed that apple cider vinegar, or more specifically, its primary ingredient, acetic acid, can reduce visceral fat and belly fat. They measured significant reductions in BMI, waist circumference, body weight, and visceral fat. The researchers concluded that the daily consumption of apple cider vinegar helped reduce visceral and belly fat (5).

• Enhance metabolism

Natural stimulators of the metabolism, like apple cider vinegar, can have multiple benefits like reducing inflammation in the body, balancing hormone levels, and assisting weight loss. Improved metabolism means that, among other things, your body can use the food you consume more efficiently as energy (6).

• Support cardiovascular health

We can’t ignore the critical health benefit of regulating your cholesterol. We’re bombarded constantly by media attention on the impact of cardiovascular health, so it's important to consider how apple cider vinegar may play a role in managing heart health.

Acetic acid promotes the breakdown of fatty acids that build up in the liver (hepatic acids) and metabolizes them into energy (7). High triglycerides contribute to heart disease, and studies have shown a marked reduction in these harmful fats in test groups that had a daily apple cider vinegar drink (5).

• Help support healthy blood sugar levels

High insulin levels can lead to some serious health problems. It reduces your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently, and long-term high insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance. This is when the cells in your liver, fat tissue, and muscles no longer respond to insulin's role of using glucose (sugars) for energy. Apple cider vinegar is proven to reduce insulin levels in study participants and is beneficial for pre-diabetics and diabetics (8).

These are just a few ways that apple cider vinegar may help you improve your overall health, and used daily, it can be part of your fight against the effects of poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress.

That being said, you shouldn’t rely on a “magic bullet” to transform you, and you certainly shouldn’t expect the beneficial qualities of apple cider vinegar to cure any health problems you may have.

Trying to live a healthy life includes many aspects that include eating healthy foods, exercising, and sleeping well. You should take a holistic view of health, and supplements should be viewed as such – a supplement, an addition, a boost!

Now that you’ve decided that apple cider vinegar might be worth adding to your diet, what are the best choices? 

There is no doubt that the smell and taste of apple cider vinegar can be off-putting to many people, myself included. Unfortunately, because it can be so unpalatable, it can cause nausea and digestive upset in some, which decreases your likelihood of taking it every day, thereby not sticking with it in the long term. 

Consuming liquid apple cider vinegar every day also risks your tooth enamel becoming damaged through erosion. Acetic acid is quite an acidic liquid, and while beneficial to your body, it is not great for your teeth.

You could mitigate the effect by drinking the diluted mixture through a straw to limit exposure to your teeth, which could help, but doesn’t change the fact that it still doesn’t taste great!

It’s possible to get your daily dose of apple cider vinegar from supplements, which are convenient and, best of all - totally tasteless!

NutriRise Apple Cider Vinegar capsules offer you the maximum benefits of apple cider vinegar in easy-to-swallow veggie capsules, containing 1950 mg of pure ACV -  to help you eliminate toxins, burn fat, and lose weight faster.

You can even reach for your daily health boost with a bottle of delicious Apple Cider Vinegar gummies. They contain 5x more antioxidants, adding a few other superfruits such as pomegranate, beetroot, and purple carrots.

Most likely, you’ve already considered whether you would have the willpower to stick to making an apple cider drink every day or if you should instead try a supplement.

There is no need to torture yourself by suffering through the horrible taste and smell of apple cider vinegar drinks when it's as easy as taking a convenient supplement.