Apple cider vinegar is continuing to trend like crazy these days, and it’s not hard to find all kinds of items on store shelves touting its purported benefits, from shampoos promising to revive damaged hair, to gummies and pills that can potentially help with bloating and gut health, to DIY recipes allowing you to take or apply ACV in its natural state.
While most experts would agree there isn’t enough research out there to support this claim, some people have claimed that taking apple cider vinegar has helped to relieve symptoms of heartburn. As with most natural remedies, though, there’s an art to this, and if you do not measure the dosing properly, you may see less desirable effects than what you’re hoping for.
Here, a registered dietitian breaks down what you need to know about taking ACV for heartburn.
Apple cider vinegar for heartburn
According to Taylor Stolt, RDN, a functional medicine dietitian who specializes in gut health, apple cider vinegar can make acid reflux worse in certain instances, though it may help in others.
Can apple cider vinegar make your acid reflux worse?
“In cases where the acid reflux is caused by low stomach acid, apple cider vinegar can help because its acidity can help assist in the digestion of food in the stomach,” she explains. “If food is better digested in the stomach, it is able to empty into the small intestine at the appropriate rate, thus reducing reflux.”
However, if the acid reflux is the result of too much stomach acid, apple cider vinegar is like throwing fuel onto the fire and it can make acid reflux worse, she warns. That’s because if you have irritation or damage in the esophagus or stomach from acid reflux, the apple cider vinegar can be irritating and worsen tissue damage. Additionally, if you have ulcers, taking apple cider vinegar can be incredibly irritating, painful, and dangerous.
So what can you do to reap the benefits and avoid having the ACV wreak havoc on your digestive system?
“Always, always dilute apple cider vinegar,” Stolt says. “If you don’t dilute apple cider vinegar, the extreme acidity will irritate the esophagus and it can also cause irreversible tooth enamel damage.”
Can you take apple cider vinegar pills for heartburn?
According to Stolt, while some people have claimed to have seen positive effects when taking ACV for heartburn, there currently isn’t sufficient research to back up such claims, whether they be related to ACV in its natural state, or in pill form.
“One small study showed improvements in heartburn for some participants, but the improvements only appeared to last 60 to 75 minutes,” she says. “If you are experiencing acid reflux, the best thing to do first is see a gastroenterologist who can do a thorough examination and perform an upper endoscopy to rule out high acid production and make sure you don’t have any ulcers.”
If your workup is clear, Stolt recommends working with a gut specialist to identify the root causes of your reflux/heartburn and address those root causes, as well as help you determine if it’s possible to treat your condition without acid-blocking medications.
“Gut specialists can evaluate your need for digestive enzymes that contain HCl and pepsin, which your stomach naturally produces, to safely boost digestion in a more controlled way than with apple cider vinegar,” she explains. “They can also assess for gut bacteria imbalances, bacteria/yeast overgrowth, compromised gallbladder function, increased intestinal permeability (AKA “leaky gut”), and gut inflammation.”
The bottom line: Talk to your doctor before trying to treat acid reflux (or really any health condition) with a natural remedy like apple cider vinegar.
