With more and more individuals looking for natural treatments to help solve their candida overgrowth, apple cider vinegar seems to show promising results.

This powerful drink has been used for centuries in order to treat various stomach ailments and disorders in the body.  In fact, it’s well known through ancient texts that Hippocrates, the father of natural medicine, frequently treated his patients with raw apple cider vinegar in order to initiate faster recovery and improve digestive heath.

However, is raw apple cider vinegar safe for those with candida overgrowth?

By the end of this post you will learn everything you need to know about raw apple cider vinegar and whether you should take it with candida overgrowth.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

It’s important to understand that there are two forms of apple cider vinegar; pasteurized and unpasteurized.  Whenever purchasing apple cider vinegar you always want to make sure that you buy the unpasteurized version, or the raw version.

Raw apple cider vinegar contains “The Mother” which is a symbiotic culture of beneficial yeast and bacteria that can help improve digestive health.

Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting large amounts of apples in a container for several months.  The end result is a highly acidic vinegar that is full of amazing properties and raw enzymes.  Once complete, raw apple cider vinegar can be stored for several years and will only become stronger over time.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar Good For?

As mentioned before, apple cider vinegar has been used for centuries in order to treat various bodily aliments.  Although it gets a lot of praise for improving digestive health, raw ACV can be great for naturally reducing inflammation in the body.

In fact, a study showed that vinegar helped to reduce the food intake of obese mice and positively altered the gut microbiome which helped to induce weight loss and lower levels of inflammation (1).

Also, a study conducted in Scientific Reports showed that apple cider vinegar not only inhibited the growth of candida, but it also helped to inhibit the growth of E. coli bacteria (2).

Many find that raw ACV makes an amazing dressing and can be great for marinated and adding robust flavor to various cuts of meat.

Even topical application of this amazing substance can produce incredible results.  Many with inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and acne report having amazing success by applying raw ACV to the area topically. It’s for this reason that many natural soaps will incorporate ACV into their formula.

Is Apple Cider Vinegar Good for Candida?

With all the benefits surrounding raw apple cider vinegar, it’s hard to believe that this health drink could be bad for candida.  In fact, even the study mentioned above showed that raw apple cider vinegar can help inhibit the growth of candida.

However, those suffering with candida overgrowth may find that raw ACV is extremely harsh on their intestines.  It’s not uncommon to feel immediate sensations of burning in the intestines after take a swig of this powerful drink.  If this occurs, it’s highly likely that the individual is experiencing immense amounts of intestinal inflammation due to the overgrowth of candida.

As a result, taking large amounts of raw ACV can actually further inflame the intestines in those individuals displaying signs of chronic intestinal inflammation due to candida.  In this case, you are going to want to dilute the vinegar in water before taking.  Start out with small amounts of raw ACV and slowly begin to work your way up to higher doses as your body adjusts.

There is no doubt that raw ACV has powerful anti-fungal properties which can help combat a candida overgrowth.  However, it’s extremely important that you take it slow in the beginning and to adjust your dosage based on how your body is responding.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Histamine

Those suffering with candida overgrowth should be made aware that apple cider vinegar naturally contains high amounts histamine.  The histamine present in raw ACV is a result of the fermentation process.

For those unaware, histamine is a natural compound that the body produces on its own and can be found in select foods.  Histamine helps to serve the body’s immune system and is often produced when the immune system needs to fight off a pathogen.

Unfortunately, those with candida overgrowth almost always have abnormally high levels of histamine in the body.  This is problematic because this causes the individual to become hypersensitive to this natural compound and can often result in conditions such as histamine intolerance.  It’s for this reason that those suffering with candida overgrowth often times react poorly to foods containing high amounts of histamine.

This excess amount of histamine in the body is a direct result of candida overstimulating the mast cells in the gut and causing them to overproduce histamine (3).  For those interested, you can read our histamine and candida post for more information on the subject.

That all being said, there is a chance that candida suffers may react poorly to raw apple cider vinegar.  If this is the case, it’s recommended that you discontinue apple cider vinegar until the gut is properly balanced.

Gut Healing Diet – Better Than ACV

Although raw ACV can be great for combating candida, a correct gut healing diet is much more effective at getting rid of this pathogenic fungus naturally.

Those new to eating an anti-candida and gut friendly diet should visit our Diet Protocol Page for full details on the best diet for candida overgrowth.

In fact, many are surprised to learn that so-called “healthy foods,” aren’t so good when dealing with a candida overgrowth.  In fact, many health foods can actually make a candida condition much worse and can contribute to intestinal inflammation.

It’s for this reason that high quality animal foods should form the base of anyone’s diet dealing with candida overgrowth.  Animal foods contain no sugar and will not feed candida.  They also contain no anti-nutrients which can cause intestinal inflammation.

Again, for full details on the best diet for candida and a complete eating strategy, visit our Diet Protocol Page.

The Verdict – Should you Use ACV?

In our opinion, raw ACV should be used if it’s well tolerated by the individual.  The amazing health benefits of this powerful drink are apparent and there is much research showing it to be a powerful candida remedy.

However, whenever using an apple cider vinegar it’s extremely important that you always choose organic.  Non-organic apples are heavily sprayed with pesticides which can possibly have a negative effect on an individuals health.  Also, organic apples are much more nutritious and are typically grown on better soil.

Furthermore, make sure that you always purchase apple cider vinegar that contains “The Mother.”  Also, refrain from products that are being sold in plastic containers.  It’s important to remember that ACV is an acid and will eat away at the plastic which will then end up in the vinegar!  For this reason you are going to always want to purchase ACV that comes in a glass bottle.

Try This Anti-Candida Drink!

We highly recommend you try out this anti-candida drink listed below.  Be sure to sip it throughout the day for best results.  As an added bonus, this recipe will naturally help to improve hydration levels in the body!

The Recipe:

• 5 liters of Spring or Filtered Water
• 2 Tablespoons of Organic Raw ACV
• ¼ Teaspoon of Celtic Sea Salt

To make, combine all ingredients together in a glass bottle and shake until all the sea salt is dissolved.  You know have a powerful solution that will help to improve hydration levels and naturally fight against candida!