Can Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Help with Acne?

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Perhaps. Apple Cider Vinegar May Help Moderate Hormones Through Reducing Blood Sugar Spikes after High Glycemic Food Intake.

• Jump down to How to Do It
• What Is Vinegar?
• How Might Drinking Vinegar Treat Acne?
• Dispelling the Myth of Vinegar As an “Alkalinizing Agent” for the Body
• Is Vinegar Safe to Drink?

There is some scientific evidence which suggests that ingesting vinegar might be somewhat helpful in managing acne due to its ability to reduce blood sugar levels and provide the body with antioxidants. It probably won’t work wonders, but it might help a tad.

First, let’s look at what vinegar is, and then we’ll consider how it might be useful in treating acne.

What Is Vinegar?

Vinegar is a natural food product that is made by a process called fermentation. Fermentation uses yeast and bacteria to convert sugar into alcohol and acids. Vinegar-fermentation is a two-step process:

1. Yeast converts sugar from a carbohydrate-containing food, such as apples, grapes, and grains, into alcohol. Fermentation of different foods results in different kinds of vinegar.^1,3,4
2. A type of bacteria called Acetobacter turns the alcohol into acetic acid, which is the main component of vinegar.^1-4

Vinegar is mostly water and acetic acid, but it contains a variety of other compounds in small amounts that give vinegar its characteristic flavor, including:

• Vitamins
• Mineral-salts
• Amino acids (molecules that form the basis of proteins)
• Various acids such as lactic, citric, and malic acids
• A group of compounds called flavonoids

It is the acetic acid and flavonoids that are most likely to contribute to the healing of acne.^2,5,6

How Might Drinking Vinegar Treat Acne?

In recent years, evidence has been accumulating which suggests that diet may affect acne.^8-11 When it comes to vinegar, it may:

• Counteract the negative effects that a poor diet may have on acne.

  This is due to the acetic acid in vinegar.

• Protect the skin from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals, which may worsen acne.

  This is due to the flavonoids in vinegar.

Let’s have a closer look at how vinegar may help, starting with how it may counteract the effects of a high-sugar diet, also called a high glycemic diet.

Counteracting a High-Sugar (High Glycemic) Diet

Research suggests that a high-sugar diet may promote acne. When we say “high-sugar,” we mean foods that contain a lot of sugar, but also high-carbohydrate processed foods. When we eat these types of food, our body produces insulin to process the sugar. The theory goes that a high-sugar diet causes the body to produce more insulin (an important hormone that regulates many other hormones in the body) and more androgens (male hormones that are present in both males and females), and high levels of these hormones leads to more acne.^8,9

How vinegar may help: The acetic acid in vinegar may help reduce insulin spikes after eating high-sugar food.

Let’s have a closer at how blood sugar spikes and a corresponding rise in insulin might affect acne. It does this by:

• Stimulating skin oil cells (sebocytes) to increase in number. This results in the production of more skin oil (sebum). Higher levels of sebum are strongly associated with acne.
• Reducing the amount of a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), which binds to androgens and renders them inert. When insulin is high, this protein can’t carry out its function, which in turn allows androgen levels to rise. Higher levels of androgens are strongly associated with acne.^8,9

Several studies suggest that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, may lower blood-sugar levels. For example, as reported by two studies, consuming several tablespoons of vinegar during a meal reduced blood-sugar after the meal by about one-quarter.¹⁰

Adding even more compelling evidence to the argument that drinking vinegar could indeed lower blood sugar after a high-carbohydrate meal, a team of Brazilian and American scientists reviewed all the research published on this topic between 1995 and 2018 and came to a similar conclusion. The evidence confirmed that consuming 2-6 tablespoons of vinegar significantly reduces post-meal blood sugar.¹¹

However, the researchers noted that while vinegar works this way in the short term, we need more studies looking at the effects of consuming vinegar every day over the long term.¹¹ The longest-running studies we have so far looked at people who consumed apple cider vinegar for more than 8 weeks. These studies found that drinking vinegar daily over a couple of months did lower blood sugar levels.¹² However, we still need more research that tracks participants over many months or even years to see whether consuming vinegar over the long term continues to be beneficial.

While scientists still do not know exactly how acetic acid lowers blood-sugar, they believe it inhibits digestive enzymes (molecules that speed up chemical reactions), which break food down into sugars. By inhibiting these enzymes, acetic acid reduces the production of sugars.¹⁰

Counteracting a Diet High in “Bad” Fat

When we eat fats, these fats make their way into the bloodstream. For the purpose of understanding, let’s take a broad brush and simply consider that saturated fats in the blood are bad for acne and unsaturated fats in the blood are good for acne.

One study suggests that it is possible that vinegar might reduce the amount of “bad” saturated fats in the bloodstream. In the study, people who consumed apple cider vinegar over 8 weeks experienced a reduction in harmful fatty substances in their blood.¹³

Replenishing Antioxidants

Vinegar contains several antioxidants, including a type of antioxidant called flavonoids. Antioxidants are molecules that prevent cell damage from molecules called free radicals. This is relevant to acne because the damage caused by free radicals on the skin can result in inflammation and breakouts.

The antioxidant properties of vinegar might also help with acne by lowering cholesterol. This is important because cholesterol contributes to the depletion of antioxidants. The idea that vinegar contains antioxidants that may counteract cholesterol and thus potentially help with acne is backed up by a 2012 scientific article.¹³

Dispelling the Myth of Vinegar As an “Alkalinizing Agent” for the Body

Some people believe that consuming apple cider vinegar makes the body more alkaline (less acidic). This assertion is of no scientific merit. The body’s built-in balance of acidity and alkalinity takes care of this. The body is slightly alkaline, and the skin is slightly acidic. This balance is important enough so as to prioritize maintaining it over everything else, so in most cases, nothing can disrupt it.¹⁴

Is Vinegar Safe to Drink?

People have been consuming vinegar for thousands of years, and it is considered to be relatively safe. However, there are reports of rare, harmful effects on the gastrointestinal system. Since vinegar is acidic, drinking too much of it can result in inflammation of the esophagus (food pipe), which can lead to more serious complications over time. Vinegar also can cause wheezing and inflammation of the lungs if it enters them.

While side effects from consuming vinegar are relatively rare, a 2006 medical article points out that as more people turn to vinegar as a home remedy, more research into potential side effects is needed as well.¹⁰

How to Do It:

If you would like to drink ACV as part of your diet, be sure to dilute it first. Use the following suggestions:

• Mix 1 – 2 tablespoons of ACV with 8 oz. of water. Decrease the amount of ACV if you experience any issues, such as irritation of the esophagus. Optional: For added sweetness, add a bit of stevia to the mixture.
• Drink it during or immediately after a meal to help reduce insulin spikes. Tip: Due to its acidity, some people choose to drink ACV with a straw to better protect the enamel on their teeth.

You can also incorporate ACV into your diet in other ways:

• Use it in salad dressing
• Add it to marinades
• Spray it onto popcorn
• Add it to your morning juice or smoothie
• Stir it into soups, stews, beans, or other recipes

A word of caution: While apple cider vinegar may have many beneficial effects on the body, too much of a good thing can cause problems. If you notice feeling worse after drinking ACV, use common sense and discontinue use. Also, be sure to ask your doctor about interactions between ACV and any medications you are taking prior to use.

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