Did you know that drinking a glass of plain, raw apple cider vinegar every day can help reduce your cholesterol levels? Or that by adding 1 tablespoon (about a quarter cup) of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar to your daily diet, you could cut your cholesterol by up to 20 percent?

If you’re like many people, you might be surprised to learn that drinking apple cider vinegar can lower your cholesterol level. But the truth is that it’s not just any vinegar that can have this effect. In fact, the type of vinegar that is used to make apple cider vinegar is one of the healthiest of all.

Unlike many other kinds of vinegar, which are made from grapes or wine, apple cider vinegar is made from apples. This is a source of two great benefits: first, it has much lower levels of acetic acid than white wine vinegar, making it much healthier than its white wine counterpart. And second, it has a much lower pH level than its white wine counterpart, meaning that it will not cause the same amount of irritation to your stomach as the higher pH level of white wine vinegar.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you ever wanted to know about drinking apple cider vinegar and how it can lower your cholesterol.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

First thing’s first. What is apple cider vinegar? Apple cider vinegar is made from apples, but it’s very different from regular old-fashioned apple cider.

When you make regular old-fashioned apple cider, you use regular old-fashioned apples. That’s where the inspiration for making apple cider vinegar comes from—namely, that you would use regular old apples to make regular old cider.

But when you make apple cider vinegar, you use apples that have been genetically modified to produce a compound calledechinol which is used to make vinegar. This new generation of apples is called organic and is much healthier for you—and the environment—than regular old-fashioned apples.

How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar

While there are many ways to make Apple Cider Vinegar, the easiest way is to use a home canning jar. You can also purchase aerated jars, but home canning is the most cost-effective way to go.

When canning for home, you can either use single-serving jars or quart-size jars. During the initial canning process, you may choose to add sugar or fruit in addition to the vinegar. But after canning, you can remove the fruit and sugar and return the jars to the canner for second processing to remove the acidity.

If you are buying jars, make sure they are wide-mouth, 6- or 7-ounce jars. Also, be sure to purchase relatively new, unopened jars because they will easily outlive your batch and will give you more control over the amount of vinegar you process.

The Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

There are a variety of health benefits associated with drinking Apple Cider Vinegar including:

Cardio: Since drinking high amounts of acid will cause your blood to leach calcium, it’s believed to improve your heart health by causing your body to build and maintain healthier blood-vessel walls.

Disabled People: One study found that adding one tablespoon of raw, unpasteurized vinegar to a glass of regular apple juice for 6 weeks also helped improve the cholesterol levels of people with impaired liver function.

Hepatitis: research suggests that consuming one glass of raw, unpasteurized apple cider per day for 12 weeks can lower your cholesterol and harmful levels of liver cells in your body.

Pregnancy: Research suggests that consuming one glass of raw, unpasteurized apple cider during pregnancy can strengthen your blood-vessel walls and protect your baby from eBST (encephalophagocytosis).

Weight Loss: Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in animal-based proteins and fats can help you lose weight, according to studies.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, boost your immune system, or just want to improve your cholesterol, drinking Apple Cider Vinegar can definitely help.

The only downside is that you should drink it in moderation because, like most things, too much of it can lead to unwanted side effects.

Keep in mind that consuming 2 glasses of vinegar per day (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup) is usually considered safe. But, of course, you should always speak to your doctor before taking any medications or making any major dietary changes.