The 3 Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for Digestion

What Causes Digestive Disorders:  The food you eat has to travel through the gastrointestinal tract, breaking down nutrients along the way, aided by the various nutrient-specific enzymes contained in the digestive juices secreted by the stomach , pancreas , and liver . Your body absorbs all the nutrients, turns the rest of the food into waste matter in the large intestine, and eventually expels it.

A problem in any of these stages causes a digestive disorder. There can be mechanical problems with swallowing effectively or opening the sphincters in the gastrointestinal tract, which helps food pass easily through the tract. Digestive disorders can also be caused by intolerance to certain proteins or sugars in foods.

Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar to Improve Digestion:  It delays the emptying of the stomach. Ideally, food should remain in the stomach long enough for it to be properly broken down by stomach enzymes before passing into the small intestine in a process known as gastric emptying. While proteins are depleted faster, followed by carbohydrates, fats take longer. Intake of dietary fiber helps to significantly delay gastric emptying. Because the modern diet is too focused on protein and carbohydrates and not enough fiber.

Apple cider vinegar plays an important role in the digestive process by delaying gastric emptying or inhibiting amylases, which are enzymes that break down carbohydrates. The rate of gastric emptying also depends on receptors in the duodenum in the small intestine, which respond to physical aspects such as osmotic pressure and the chemical composition, such as acidity, of food that has passed from the stomach. If food is the cause, receptors send signals to the stomach to slow gastric emptying.

Apple Cider Vinegar Prevents Intestinal Inflammation:  Sometimes, microbes in the intestine can lead to repeated inflammation of the lining of the large intestine, a condition known as ulcerative colitis. An animal study, more specifically in mice with ulcerative colitis, found that diluted vinegar suppressed inflammation-inducing proteins and also improved the bacterial composition of the gut, eliminating bad bacteria with its antibacterial property.

Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for Preventing Diarrhea:  In a recent study, the inhibiting actions of foodborne bacteria, including diarrhea -causing enteropathogenic E. coli, were analyzed . The researchers found that acetic acid could render the bacteria inactive and kill them. In addition, it is effective for preventing bacterial food poisoning. So, go ahead and drink an apple cider vinegar and water mixture during a meal, especially at restaurants or picnics where food preparation or storage may not be entirely hygienic.

Dosage:  To get the maximum benefit from apple cider vinegar to boost your digestion, it must be consumed in adequate amount. Remember not to overdose as it can have a number of side effects.

Indigestion and Heartburn: Drink 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water with each meal.

Constipation: Drink 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water after waking up in the morning, during the main meal of the day and before bedtime.

Diarrhea: Drink 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar mixed in 275 ml of water 5-6 times a day