← The FormularyDigestionApple cider vinegar
Also known as ACV, acetic acidThe internet loves it. The evidence shrugs.
Cider vinegar became a wellness fixture on the back of a handful of small studies and an enormous amount of repetition. There is some interesting work on blood glucose after meals, at liquid doses, in small groups. Capsules rarely disclose how much they contain, which makes even that hard to lean on. We stock it inside a blend because people want it, and we are not going to pretend it earns its reputation.
Fermented apple juice, dried to a powder for capsules. The active part is acetic acid.
Acetic acid may slow gastric emptying, which is the proposed route for the post-meal glucose findings. Dose and format both matter and both are usually undisclosed.
Very little that has been demonstrated at the doses capsules contain.
Someone who wants it in a convenient form and has read the above.
With water, with food.
Realistically, nothing you can point to.
Grade C. No approved health claim. The glucose work is preliminary and uses liquid vinegar at doses capsules do not match.
Read the labelAcidic. Undiluted liquid erodes tooth enamel and can burn the throat; dilute it, and take capsules with a full glass of water — a lodged tablet has put oesophageal injury in the case literature. Can add to the potassium-lowering of diuretics and the glucose-lowering of insulin and diabetes medication, so mention it to your prescriber.
Evidence grades describe how well an ingredient is studied — A well-supported, C emerging — not a promise of results. Educational, not medical advice. Doses are typical ranges; follow the label on the product.