Name: Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 2 tbsp honey; 2 cups warm water; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder; 2 oz red apple (sliced)

Our apple cider vinegar and honey recipe makes for a powerful health boost to include in your healthy-eating routine. It’s the ideal tonic when you’re low on energy and a must for National Vinegar Day (November 1).

A powerful elixir with potent health benefits and made in seconds might seem too good to be true, but it is (true). A daily dose of apple cider vinegar and honey can aid your digestive system, help with weight loss, and more.

But the thought of mixing apple cider vinegar with honey and chugging it down doesn’t sound all that pleasant. Don’t worry, because we tweaked the recipe so it tastes better than the original, yet keeps all of the benefits.

Healthy Benefits

A shot glass of apple vinegar honey with cinnamon sticks, red apple wedges, and a honey jar

Sometimes, websites promote their apple cider vinegar and honey recipe by listing benefits that are “rumored,” not scientifically backed. We’ve found that some claims are not correct and want to share with you the ones that are:

1. The Drink Potentially Promotes Weight Loss

As hard to believe as it sounds, the drink actually helps you lose weight, thanks to apple cider vinegar. It can make the body absorb food slower, making us feel full for longer with moderate amounts of food.

This means you’re less likely to snack and more likely to reduce your calorie intake. As a result, weight loss just seems like a piece of cake.

2. It Boosts the Immune System

According to WebMD, a mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey contains vitamins C, E, B12, K and minerals like potassium, phosphorus, etc. These are all necessary nutrients that make up a healthy body.

The two are also a powerful source of antioxidants. They reduce inflammation in the body and strengthen the immune system.

However, these nutrients exist in other foods as well, not just the mixture alone. Your body (and immune system) will show you love if you keep your hands on all food groups.

3. It’s a Remedy for Coughing

This is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not entirely false.

Coughing is the way our body reacts to irritations in the throat caused by foreign particles or bacteria. We often cough when we catch a cold or flu to get rid of excess mucus.

As we looked up what the drink has to do with coughing, we came across this study. “There is increasing evidence that a single dose of honey might reduce mucus secretion and reduce cough in children,” it says.

Although it helps ease coughing, it can’t replace a doctor’s advice and prescription. That being said, a warm glass of this drink will certainly help soothe a tickly throat.

These are all the proven health benefits that we found. We also came across other claims, which to us, need more evidence:

It helps with digestion : the vinegar is said to contain probiotics that are good for the gut, but it’s not true. There is no study saying that apple cider vinegar or honey includes probiotics.
It controls cholesterol levels: studies used to back this claim used rodents as subjects of experiment instead of humans. More research is needed.

Can I Drink ACV and Honey Every Day?

2 glasses of Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey garnish with apple, honey jar and cinnamon sticks

Yes, you can. Our apple cider vinegar and honey recipe is the version that you can drink daily.

We don’t recommend drinking a mixture of just apple cider vinegar and honey, as there are a few downsides:

Side Effects

Many apple cider vinegar and honey recipes instruct you to mix equal portions of vinegar, honey, and warm water. This version of the drink can pose several health risks, suggests Healthline experts:

For those with gastric reflux, introducing highly acidic foods to the stomach can worsen the condition.
Acidic drinks can erode the tooth enamel, increasing the risk of tooth decay.
Although honey is healthier than sugar, it still counts as added sugar. Overconsumption of added sugar is bad for the body in a lot of ways.

With that in mind, we’ve diluted the drink with lots of warm water and added several spices. It makes the drink tastier, decreases the acidity level, and only has 10 grams of sugar per serving (which is within the daily allowance).

How to Mix

Of course, it’s possible to make the drink with just vinegar and honey, but we saw no reason to not make it better.

Bowls and plates of cinnamon powder, apple vinegar, apple slices, honey, lemon juice, and water

The basic formula is, as said, vinegar, honey, water, one part of each. We’ve tested it, and since it lacked flavors, we made a few changes:

First, we added more warm water to dilute the strong, concentrated flavors of vinegar and honey.
Then, we added one teaspoon to the batch, which makes it more fragrant and just brightens everything up.
Finally, a dash of cinnamon to make it warm and cozy.

The result is a healthy beverage with the same benefits, but tastes good. It’s both a prevention of diseases and a remedy for cold days.

Substitute for ACV

In this section, we’re looking at the alternatives of apple cider vinegar and see if they work as well.

ACV vs White Vinegar

Taste-wise, white vinegar lacks the hint of sweetness and aroma that apple cider vinegar has from the apples. What it shares with apple cider vinegar is the acidity, so in a lot of recipes it is used as a substitute.

However, since white vinegar doesn’t really possess any nutritional value, it’s not what we’re looking for.

So as we researched, we found that balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar also have similar proven health benefits to apple cider vinegar. Versions of the drink made with these two types of vinegar may not taste like the original, but they have comparable nutritional profiles.

How Long Does It Last?

The two ingredients alone can last for a really long time, as they are not ideal environments for bacteria to survive in.

However, when they are mixed and diluted with water, it makes for an ideal food source for bacteria — sugary, warm, plenty of water. Plus, we can’t really preserve a warm beverage in the fridge.

Since it’s a rather easy drink to make, we encourage you to make it whenever you want with pantry-stored ingredients. It’s best enjoyed freshly mixed.

For a wider selection of apple cider vinegar recipes don’t miss out this collection on the apple cider vinegar drink recipes that we’ve carefully sorted out for you!