The Real Reason You Should Drink Apple Cider Vinegar Daily! - Dr. G's Quick Health Tip | EP 366.B

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: The Dr. Gundry Podcast
Episode: The Real Reason You Should Drink Apple Cider Vinegar Daily! - Dr. G's Quick Health Tip | EP 366.B
Date: August 28, 2025
Host: Dr. Steven Gundry

In this solo episode, Dr. Gundry delivers a deep dive into the science and health benefits behind adding apple cider vinegar—especially with the “mother”—to your daily routine. Straddling the latest microbiome research and practical lifestyle advice, he ties together how vinegar can impact gut health, metabolic well-being, skin, and satiety, while also offering comparisons to other vinegars and reminders about choosing the healthiest products.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

What Is Apple Cider Vinegar and How Does It Work?

• Fermentation Basics
  • Vinegar forms from bacterial fermentation (not yeast), with acetic acid being the key component.
  • Acetic acid is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), important for mitochondrial and brain health.
  • [01:00]

"Bacterial fermentation in general is how vinegars are made. Now, one of the most important vinegar components is acetic acid."
—Dr. Gundry [01:03]

SCFAs and Gut Health: The Butyrate Connection

• Importance of Butyrate
  • Butyrate (butyric acid) is considered “the holy grail” of SCFAs for gut and overall health.
  • Problem: Due to antibiotics in people and food, we often lack butyrate-producing bacteria.
• Role of Soluble Fiber
  • Traditionally, butyrate must be made from soluble fiber.
  • Recent studies (Sonnenberg at Stanford): Fiber alone didn’t improve microbiome diversity or lower inflammation unless fermented foods (rich in SCFAs like acetic acid) were added.
• Key Finding:
  • The combination (“one-two punch”) of fiber plus SCFAs/fermented foods leads to more diverse, healthier gut microbiomes and reduced inflammation.
  • [02:00–05:00]

“It was only after the addition of these precursing short chain fatty acids like acetic acid, like propionic acid, that then their gut microbiome diversity increased and their inflammation markers decreased. So it’s a one, two punch.”
—Dr. Gundry [03:18]

Appetite, Digestion & Satiety

• Daily ACV and Satiety:
  • Acetic acid can modulate hunger hormones (GLP-1 agonists), promoting fullness.
  • Vinegar slows gastric emptying, which moderates the rate of food absorption—a mechanism shared by some weight loss drugs.
• Timing and Traditions:
  • Taking vinegar with meals mimics traditional culinary practices (e.g., salads as the first or last course) that may harness this effect.
  • [06:00–07:30]

“That extra shot of acid in the form of a vinegar delays gastric emptying and slows the absorption of food.”
—Dr. Gundry [06:59]

Skin Health: The Gut-Skin Connection

• Visible Benefits:
  • Healthy gut lining (“skin turned inside out”) is often reflected in healthy, glowing skin.
  • Improving gut health via ACV can enhance skin appearance.
  • [08:00]

“If you want healthy glowing skin, apple cider vinegar is a great way to improve your skin health by improving your gut wall health.”
—Dr. Gundry [08:45]

ACV vs. Balsamic Vinegar & Polyphenols

• Balsamic as a Polyphenol Powerhouse:
  • Contains the highest amounts of bioavailable resveratrol, more so than red wine or supplements.
  • Also helps uncouple mitochondria, which is linked to longevity.
• Apple Cider Vinegar Polyphenols:
  • Contains valuable polyphenols, particularly from apple peels, but less than balsamic and olive oil.
  • Emphasis on choosing organic due to pesticides (“Dirty Dozen” alert).
  • [09:00–11:00]

“Balsamic vinegar has the highest amount of bioavailable resveratrol... more so than even taking a capsule of resveratrol.”
—Dr. Gundry [09:21]

The “Mother” in ACV

• What Is the Mother?
  • The cloudy sediment: remnants of beneficial bacteria (“dead bodies”).
  • These postbiotics transmit signals to boost good gut bacteria.
  • Choose unfiltered, organic varieties for this reason.
  • [11:00–12:30]

“The mother is kind of all the leftover dead bodies of these bacteria that sink to the bottom... These dead bacteria carry information. They are postbiotics that carry very important information to tell your other gut buddies... to party like it's 1999.”
—Dr. Gundry [11:18]

Usage, Safety, and Practical Tips

• Potential for Over-Use:
  • ACV is acidic and can irritate gums or teeth—dilute it or use as dressing to reduce risk.
• How to Take It:
  • Mix with olive oil for a double benefit: gains from both fatty acids and polyphenols.
• Brand Recommendation:
  • Praises Bragg’s “mother” vinegar (and reiterates the importance of organic choices).
• Final Tip:
  • “Mix your apple cider vinegar with olive oil and take a shot of that.”
  • [13:00–14:00]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the one-two punch for gut health:

  “It was only after the addition of these precursing short chain fatty acids like acetic acid, like propionic acid, that then their gut microbiome diversity increased and, and their inflammation markers decreased. So it’s a one, two punch.”
  —Dr. Gundry [03:18]

• On satiety and digestion efficiency:

  “That extra shot of acid in the form of a vinegar delays gastric emptying and slows the absorption of food… these weight loss drugs, the GLP1 agonists like Ozempic or Wegovy, work in part by delaying gastric emptying. So why not just have a shot of balsamic vinegar with your meal?”
  —Dr. Gundry [06:59]

• On the importance of choosing organic:

  “The Environmental Working Group just put apples onto the Dirty Dozen list of worst contaminated fruits you can eat. So, please, if you’re going to get apple cider vinegar, make sure you get the organic variety.”
  —Dr. Gundry [11:49]

• On mixing ACV and olive oil:

  “If you really want to use apple cider vinegar as your shot of getting polyphenols, do me a favor. Mix your apple cider vinegar with olive oil and take a shot of that.”
  —Dr. Gundry [13:59]

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Timestamps for Main Segments

• 00:56 – Introduction to vinegar, acetic acid, and SCFAs
• 02:30 – Stanford study: fiber versus fiber + fermented foods
• 06:00 – How ACV influences appetite and digestion
• 08:30 – Gut health and glowing skin
• 09:00 – Comparing ACV and balsamic vinegar: polyphenols and resveratrol
• 11:00 – Understanding the “mother” and postbiotics
• 12:30 – How to safely consume ACV; brand/product considerations
• 13:59 – ACV and olive oil: maximizing polyphenol intake

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Summary

Dr. Gundry’s quick health tip delves into the multi-faceted benefits of apple cider vinegar, emphasizing it as a tool for gut health, satiety, and skin improvement, provided you choose organic versions with the “mother.” He beautifully ties new research on short-chain fatty acids with age-old traditions, practical tips, and the necessity for quality sources—inviting listeners to harness these insights for everyday wellness.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

It all in one trip.

[A]

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[C]

Welcome to the Dr. Gundry podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.

[B]

Okay, so let's take a deeper dive into apple cider vinegar. What is it anyway? Well, first of all, fermentation can be achieved with various helpful microscopic organisms. Most people are probably aware that wine is fermented by yeasts. And most people are unaware that wine that goes bad and turns into vinegar. This has happened because bacteria are actually responsible for turning things into vinegar. Bacterial fermentation in general is how vinegars are made. Now, one of the most important vinegar components is acetic acid. Now, I've written and talked about acetic acid a lot. Acetic acid or acetate is a short chain fatty acid. And these short chain fatty acids are incredibly important for our well being, for our mitochondrial well being, for our brain well being. And one of the things we've learned that you probably learned in unlocking the keto code or my new book, Kelly Gut Check is the best. The most important short chain fatty acid is another compound called butyrate or butyric acid. Butyrate is really the holy grail of short chain fatty acids. The problem is we, number one, need butyrate producing bacteria in our gut and most of us because of antibiotics that we've personally taken or the antibiotics in our animals that we eat or the milk that we drink. The good butyrate producing bacteria are few and far between. Now, we've known for many, many years that butyrate producing bacteria have to have soluble fiber to make butyrate. And that sounds all well and good. Until recently, the Sonnenberg husband and wife team at Stanford published a study using healthy volunteers where one Group got a large amount of soluble fiber, and they looked at their gut microbiome diversity, how many different species were present, and, and quite frankly, the more diverse your microbiome, the better. And they looked at markers of inflammation. And despite eating all this wonderful soluble fiber, they didn't change their gut diversity and they didn't lower their inflammation. Huh. How come? That's how you make it, right? Well, not so fast. They then took volunteers, gave them the same fiber, but this time they added fermented foods, primarily in the form of yogurts and kefirs. In other words, they had short chain fatty acids. It was only after the addition of these precursing short chain fatty acids like acetic acid, like propionic acid, that then their gut microbiome diversity increased and, and their inflammation markers decrease. So it's a one, two punch. And one of the effects of apple cider vinegar or other vinegars is to have the precursors for making butyrate that you can make then with supplementation with fiber. So vinegar as a short chain fatty acid is also a great mitochondrial and coupler. All right, so let's talk about what might happen if you took a shot of apple cider vinegar every day for 30 days. Well, it actually might help you eat less. The acetic acid can actually affect hunger hormones, GLP1 agonists to help you feel satiated. Plus, if you take vinegar with a meal, vinegar is acid. And your stomach actually doesn't empty out the contents of your stomach into your intestines until all the acid in your stomach is used up in the process of digesting proteins. And so one of the interesting theories is that that extra shot of acid in the form of a vinegar delays gastric emptying and slows the absorption of food. By the way, these weight loss drugs, the GLP1 agonists like Ozempic or Wegobi, work in part by delaying gastric emptying. So why not just have a shot of balsamic vinegar with your meal? Better yet, there are many cultures that eat their salad at the end of the meal or at the beginning of the meal to get the vinegar into place in the stomach to have this action. Fairly clever how salads became a starter or a finisher of meals, probably to get the vinegar. Now, because short chain fatty acids like acetic acid are so important for gut health, most of us are convinced that the next benefit of apple cider vinegar is in fact the improved biodiversity of, of the gut microbiome. If you look at any of my episodes with pendulum life, Makers of multiple gut friendly probiotics. You'll see how important butyrate producing organisms are for gut health. Finally, you probably going to notice glowing skin. Most of us should realize that the lining of our gut is merely our skin turned inside out. And what we see happening on the lining of our gut is reflected on the outside in our skin. And that's why I judge somebody's gut health simplistically by looking at their skin health. So if you want healthy glowing skin, apple cider vinegar is a great way to to improve your skin health by improving your gut wall health. Now, is there a better vinegar to take a shot of than apple cider vinegar? Well, I'm a big fan of balsamic vinegar. Why? Balsamic vinegar has the highest amount of bioavailable resveratrol, that miracle red wine compound that also uncouples mitochondria that you can get, more so than even taking a capsule of resveratrol. So that's a really great way to get that polyphenol into your diet. However, let's not forget that if you buy apple cider vinegar, you should buy it with the mother. Now what the heck is the mother? The mother is kind of all the leftover dead bodies of these bacteria that sink to the bottom. And rather than just being dead bodies of bacteria, as you know from Gut Check, one of my chapters is dead men tell no tales, but dead bacteria do. And it turns out these dead bacteria carry information. They are postbiotics that carry very important information to tell your other gut buddies in your gut that some really good guys are in the house and to party like it's 1999. So get the mother. If you're going to get apple cider vinegar and make sure you use it, don't just filter it off. Now, can you overdo apple cider vinegar? Well, it's an acid, so some people do get irritation of their gums and teeth. What do you do about that? Well, dilute it or mix it in a dressing. That way you'll get all the benefits. You'll get the same dose, but it'll also in general give you lots of wonderful soluble fiber in the forms of the leaves that you're eating. So it's a one, two bunch. I had the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Bragg for many years. I'm a big fan of her products, even though she's now deceased. But there are many other high quality apple cider vinegar products. Please buy organic apple cider vinegar. Please buy the mother and use it. Now, I talked about balsamic vinegar as a great way to get polyphenols. Now, why not apple cider vinegar? Well, apple cider vinegar does have some useful polyphenols, and there are some really cool polyphenols, particularly in the peel of apples. And one of the reasons I want you to get organic is most of our apples in this country are laden with pesticides and herbicides. And, in fact, the Environmental Working Group just put apples onto the Dirty Dozen list of worst contaminated fruits that you can eat. So, please, if you're going to get apple cider vinegar, make sure you get the organic variety. Now, I think there's far more powerful polyphenol containing compound, and that's olive oil. And if you really want to use apple cider vinegar as your shot of getting polyphenols, do me a favor. Mix your apple cider vinegar with olive oil and take a shot of that.