Apple cider vinegar

Is apple cider vinegar safe?

As a food, yes. Apple cider vinegar is fermented apple juice with about 5% acetic acid, and a tablespoon or two diluted in water or on a salad is low risk for most adults. No upper limit exists because it is a food rather than a nutrient.

The risk comes from treating it as a medicine. It is an acid, so taking it neat or often damages teeth and can irritate the throat. Tablets have lodged in the oesophagus. Heavy long-term use has been linked to dangerously low potassium. And the pills and gummies that make the habit convenient are a poorly tested category.

What happens if you drink too much apple cider vinegar?

The best-known case comes from Austria. In 1998 doctors in the journal Nephron described a young woman with low potassium, high levels of the hormone renin and osteoporosis. According to secondary summaries of the report, she had drunk about 250 mL of cider vinegar, roughly a cup, every day for six years. That is about ten times the amount most people use, but it shows the direction of travel. The body clears the acid partly through the kidneys, and large amounts over years can shift potassium and bone balance.

Low potassium causes weakness, cramps and abnormal heart rhythms. If you take a large daily amount and notice those symptoms, a simple blood test answers the question. Our potassium page explains why both low and high levels matter.

Can apple cider vinegar burn your throat or teeth?

Yes. Vinegar is acidic enough to harm tissue in prolonged contact. The 2005 report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association began with a woman who injured her oesophagus when an apple cider vinegar tablet became stuck there. Neat vinegar also softens tooth enamel, and the damage adds up with frequent sipping.

Practical steps:

• Dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons in a large glass of water. Never drink it straight.
• Drink it with a meal, use a straw if you like, and rinse your mouth with water afterwards.
• Wait before brushing so you do not scrub softened enamel.
• Do not apply it to skin to remove moles or warts. Acid burns from home use are a recognised problem.

Are apple cider vinegar pills and gummies safe?

They avoid the acid problem in the mouth, but quality is a real concern. After the throat injury case, the 2005 authors bought eight apple cider vinegar tablet products and tested them. They found wide differences in tablet size, pH, acid content and label claims, and they doubted whether apple cider vinegar was in some of the products at all. That study is old, and no large independent test of today's products has been published.

Gummies have a different weakness: dose. A typical gummy contains a few hundred milligrams of vinegar powder plus sugar, a small fraction of the vinegar in a tablespoon of the liquid used in studies. They are mostly a sweet with a health claim.

The FDA does not check supplements before they are sold. Its actions on apple cider vinegar products so far concern claims rather than safety. In April 2021 it sent a warning letter to Orphic Nutrition, whose apple cider vinegar capsules were among products marketed with drug claims.

Does apple cider vinegar interact with medicines?

Documented interactions are few, but three groups should take care:

• People on diuretics such as furosemide, or on digoxin. Both are affected by low potassium, and heavy vinegar use could add to the loss. The evidence is limited to case reports and theory.
• People with diabetes on insulin or tablets such as metformin. Vinegar can lower the blood sugar rise after a meal. In a 2007 Swedish pilot study of 10 people with type 1 diabetes and gastroparesis, 30 mL of vinegar slowed stomach emptying further (the median emptying rate fell from 27% to 17%), which can make insulin harder to time.
• People with acid reflux, ulcers or kidney disease, for whom extra acid is unhelpful.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you take any of these medicines and plan to use vinegar daily.

Does it work for weight loss?

Not convincingly. A 2024 trial of 120 young people in Lebanon reported large weight losses on 5 to 15 mL a day and was widely covered in the press. In 2025 BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health retracted it after other researchers raised concerns about improbable data. Smaller older studies show modest effects at best. That matters for safety because people chasing a weight-loss effect tend to increase the dose.

How we scored it

Regulatory actions (85) are strong: no bans or safety warnings, only claims enforcement. Organ toxicity (78), interactions (78) and dose safety (75) reflect a food that is harmless in normal amounts but acidic and occasionally harmful in large or undiluted doses. Product quality (62) is the weakest factor because tested tablets were inconsistent and gummies carry little vinegar. For a live supplement often taken for the same gut reasons, see probiotics.