Apple Cider Vinegar and Candida – Drink this if you want to Feel Better!

Are you one of those people who swear by Apple Cider Vinegar?

Or do you crinkle your nose in disgust at the sheer thought of drinking it, when you get its slightly tart vinegary smell into your nose? 

You either love it or hate it.

It’s a bit like Marmite in that sense – And on that note, watch out – Marmite is full of yeast 

Do I use Apple Cider Vinegar? I most certainly do. I drink it virtually every day, several times a day actually.

Can you use Apple Cider Vinegar to treat Candida naturally?

You’ve probably been told by your doctor or read online that while you’re in the early stages of the Candida Diet, you should stay away from all things fermented, including vinegar.

This is true by the way. Mushrooms, beer, cheese, bread, soy sauce… are known to make candida worse.

Since Acv is fermented apple juice, you could easily presume it’s off-limits, too.

That’s why some candida diets don’t allow the use of Apple cider vinegar, whereas others do. These generally don’t seem to tell you exactly why though unfortunately.

How Apple Cider Vinegar Effects Candida

The best reason for using acv I heard was that it makes the yeast less aggressive so it is easier for the immune system to fight it.

It helps to encourage the growth of healthy bacteria, which in turn minimizes the overgrowth of candida.

Made enough sense for me to try it and see how I felt – and I felt better for taking it (internally & externally – acv helps to heal skin inflammations and fungus and is also an effective treatment for yeast infections/ thrush if used as a Sitzbath).

I’m sold. It works for me. I’ll keep using it. What about you?

Apple Cider Vinegar vs. White Distilled Vinegar…

Apart from the fact that vinegar is made from grapes and not apples, it also has been distilled, so that there is virtually no goodness left in it.

Not only that – the worst thing really is that it is highly acidic.

Apple cider vinegar on the other hand is much less acidic – it actually promotes an alkaline state in your body which is essential for any healing to take place.

In the picture above you can see what a healthy Acv Mix Drink of a glass of water with 2 tsp of Acv looks like, similar to diluted apple juice. There might be some brown apple fiber bits floating about. Just ignore those or fish them out. It’s a good sign. Nothing to worry about.

Possible Side Effects of Drinking ACV

• I know people though who are convinced that they cannot take it. Generally these seem to be people with a tummy problem or acid reflux. They say the apple cider vinegar would be creating an intense burning sensation in their throat. If you have an aggravated throat/ stomach then this can of course be painful, like any open wound would.
• I have also heard that people are repulsed by the smell, and that they get a gagging reflex from drinking it.

Now THAT I cannot understand.

It surely isn’t as bad as downing a glass of bentonite psyllium husk cement-like drink that I drunk during my first Candida Cleanse (it was grey and got rock solid while I was drinking it, ugh…! Never again). To me acv tastes pretty much like water diluted with apple juice.

I agree though that some of the cheapo cider vinegars tastes a little bit like battery acid.

A reason more to get good quality cider vinegar! A liter bottle (for 6 bucks) goes a long way.

The Health Benefits of Cider Vinegar

• As Cider vinegar improves your mineral absorption it helps remedy sore throat and sinuses problems, helps circulation and weight loss, improves digestion, contains numerous vitamins and minerals and is just a phenomenal all-round health gem.
• A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of room temperature water every morning will help prevent joints from aching. It’s also a great tonic in preventing and healing arthritis and tendonitis.

I know that for a fact as my mum had trouble with swollen and aching finger joints and since she is drinking the acv mixture her fingers are fine, she lost weight and feels super vital – at age 70!

Top Tip: Take it after exercise to prevent muscle ache or when you have had a cramp in your leg/ foot at night – the magnesium in the Acv will relax your muscles!

In my opinion the benefits of apple cider vinegar will not only help you combat candida. You’ll probably also find that it will extend to all areas of your health.

Buy Natural (Cloudy) Apple Cider Vinegar

Generally the apple cider vinegar you’ll find in your local shop is a distilled form of cider vinegar.

What you are looking for is unpasteurized, raw, unfiltered and organic apple cider vinegar. It’s also called ‘the mother’ because this type of vinegar still contains the nutrients that you find in apples.

I get mine from Ostler’s cider farm in Devon. If you’re not living in the UK the most well known international brand to my knowledge is Bragg’s apple cider vinegar.

Ways of Taking Apple Cider Vinegar

The best and most refreshing way of consuming it, its to drink it: You can take 1-2 tsps of acv in a glass of water (with a tsp of honey if you don’t have candida).

Top Tip: Do what I do – Prepare the drink in the evening and place it next to your bed so that first thing in the morning or when you wake up at night you can drink it. It’s also fab when you have a sore throat or blocked nose. Swishing your mouth out with acv kills germs and helps you breathe again.

When Best Not To take ACV:

• If you have a lot of food intolerances at the moment it might be best not to take acv until you feel a little bit better.

To be honest when I started the diet and I still had all my food intolerances (and I had a lot – practically all meat, dairy, soya, mushrooms, grains, fruit (except apples), butter nut, potato…plus strong hayfever and dust mite allergy. At this point I followed a very strict candida diet that did not allow acv so I stopped taking it until phase 3 (then I had discovered a candida diet that allowed it so I thought I might as well… as I noticed it really helped to unblock my nose in the morning so I could breathe again).

• For Women: Stop taking Acv a day before you get your period and for the duration of it – the Acv thins your blood and you start bleeding heavily.

Alternative Drink if Cider Vinegar doesn’t agree with you:

• Try drinking ginger tea made from a thumb-sized fresh ginger root piece, sliced and boiled in water for 20 mins – boosts your metabolism, very beneficial but a spicy taste.
• My all-time favourite, and you really can’t go wrong with this one (it’s a tip I got from my colonic therapist you simply boil water for 20 minutes or more. This kills the germs and makes the water more alkaline which helps the body heal. So easy, so comforting.  Why not make it a habit to have a cup of hot/ warm water first thing in the morning? You could set it going while you get washed and ready. Just make sure you don’t take your probiotics at the same time – they don’t like heat generally.

Don’t give up!

It’s hard to live with food allergies/ candida, I know. And if you’ve had it for a long time, it just seems like this will go on endlessly. But it won’t! You can get better.

By making your immune system stronger and by eating light and alkaline.

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I shared this post with Thank your body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Gluten free Wednesdays,  Healthy Vegan Fridays and Allergy free Wednesdays.

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