Whenever we fall sick or combating a disorder, we often visit the physician and try to adhere a systematic routine and try to cure the disorder with medicines. However, a prolonged use of medicines too can affect your health adversely since medicines have side-effects as well. In such cases, home remedies are what comes in handy. Certain natural products such as apple cider vinegar are known to help cure a variety of ailments.

You may have heard of the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, which usually include weight loss and warding off cold’s symptoms. Although conclusive clinical research in this area is in its nascent stage, recent studies show that apple cider vinegar significantly reduces blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. It can also help in controlling fasting blood sugar levels. The acetic acid found in apple cider vinegar slows down the process of conversion of carbohydrates into glucose. This cuts down the rate of absorption of sugar in the bloodstream, thereby keeping the blood glucose level under control.

The vital thing to note while using apple cider vinegar for diabetes control one needs to ensure if it is suitable for all types of diabetes. It is effective for controlling type 2 diabetes, but for type 1 diabetes, there are several contradictory claims. People with Type 1 diabetes cannot digest food appropriately. Food can remain in the stomach for long without being digested, making it harder for the body to control blood sugar levels. Some studies have also claimed that apple cider vinegar increases the time for which food remains undigested in the stomach of people with type 1 diabetes.

Tips to add apple cider vinegar to your regular diet
Apple cider vinegar has a high acidic content that can damage the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. Undiluted vinegar can also erode your tooth enamel. As such, it is important that you understand some do’s and don’ts before consuming apple cider vinegar for diabetes control.

• You should consider only organic, unfiltered, and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar for diabetes control.
• Ideally, you should not consume more than 1-2 tsp of it in a day and never consume undiluted vinegar under any circumstances.
• It is best to take apple cider vinegar for diabetes control either before mealtime or before going to bed.

Pure, undiluted vinegar has a pungent smell and is rather unpalatable. Therefore, if you are planning to take apple cider vinegar, you will be better off learning a few ways to include it in your diet.

• Salt:  You can think of adding salt and water to improve the taste of the vinegar.
• Add it to your mocktail: Try mixing it with strawberry or cranberry juice with a few drops of lemon juice. It will definitely taste better and reduce the pungent flavor.
• Add it to your salad dressing: If you are a salad lover, you can use it in your salad dressings along with all the other ingredients including olive oil, basil, or oregano. The other ingredients help in covering up the pungent smell of the vinegar to quite an extent while delivering the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
• Iced Tea:  Spruce up your iced tea with a few drops of apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.
• Use it for marinating: You can also marinate chicken or any other meat of your choice with this vinegar.

Once you get used to its strong taste, you may not find it repulsive at all. In fact, you can even develop a taste for it. You can work out plenty of ways to include apple cider vinegar in your recipes. However, in your excitement to reap its natural benefits, do not exceed the recommended dosage of 1-2 tbsp a day. Apple cider vinegar is also available in the form of tablets; however, there is little evidence to support their authenticity or usefulness.