Apple cider vinegar for arthritis: Can the weight loss drink ease the pain and symptoms?

Around 10 million people in the UK are affected by arthritis, according to the NHS. 

While it is a common condition, it can cause joint pain, tenderness and stiffness, inflammation in and around the joints and restricted movement. 

There is no cure and various treatments can help ease the pain, including pain killers and corticosteroids. 

But can apple cider vinegar, which has been proven to aid weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, help arthritis too?

Many people have claimed apple cider vinegar’s antioxidant beta carotene and acetic acid content produces miraculous effects in easing arthritis pain. 

But there has been little research carried out to support this. 

Lona Sandon, a registered dietician who has rheumatoid arthritis, says apple cider vinegar should remain in the kitchen and not be moved to the medicine chest. 

Speaking to Arthritis Foundation, the assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, she said: “Some people contend beta-carotene in apple cider vinegar destroys free radicals involved in ravaging the immune system, but the amount of beta-carotene in the vinegar is infinitesimal. 

“Others say acid crystals cause joints to become stiff and vinegar dissolves them. 

“Gout is the only form of arthritis that involves crystals – uric acid crystals, formed form an excess of uric acid in the body – and cider vinegar doesn’t relieve gout pain.”

But apple cider vinegar has been found to have a host of other benefits.

It is best consumed mixed with water as a drink, too much can be harmful and even dangerous. 

This is according to Health Line, which lists the side effects for over consuming the health drink. 

One of these is erosion of tooth enamel. 

Acidic foods and beverages have been shown to damage tooth enamel. 

One study the website sites involved enamel from wisdom teeth being immersed in different vinegars with pH levels ranging form 2.7 to 3.95. 

The vinegars led to a 1 to 20 per cent loss of minerals from the teeth after four hours.