The pH of Apple Cider Vinegar

In this Article (Index)

• What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
• What is an Acid?
• pH a measure of acidity or alkalinity
• The pH of apple cider vinegar
• Effects of Vinegar on Body Acidity
• The acidity and alkalinity of the human body
• The body's pH can't be modified
• There is a healthier alternative to vinegar

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple Cider Vinegar is a diluted acid

Apple cider vinegar is produced by fermenting apple juice in a two-step process: first, the apple is converted into alcohol (hard cider), and then, in a second step the alcohol is converted into acetic acid by specialized bacterial fermentation.

Malic acid

Apples contain malic acid and during apple cider fermentation part of this malic acid becomes lactic acid by a process called malolactic fermentation.

Malic acid has a distinct flavor and so does lactic acid.

Apple cider vinegar contains roughly 1 part of malic acid for every 7 parts of acetic acid.

But, what is an acid?

What is an Acid?

Certain molecules (oxides, salts, acids, and alkalis among others) split apart into when dissolved in water. They break down into two components with different electrical charges known as ions.

An acid is a substance that when dissolved in water generates a positively charged ion (or cation) formed by H⁺ ion: a hydrogen atom without its electron.

For instance, hydrochloric acid in water dissociates as follows: HCl → H⁺ + Cl^-.

Basic or alkaline substances when dissolved in water form a hydroxyl ion: OH^-.

If an acid dissociates completely in water it is known as a strong acid (like hydrochloric acid), if only dissociates partly into its ions it is known as a "weak acid" and the solution contains water, ions, and the acid (this is the case of the acetic acid found in vinegar).

Acetic acid (whose correct name is ethanoic acid) has the following formula:

The image shows how acetic acid dissociates in water, the hydrogen proton combines with a water molecule to form a hydronium ion (H₃O⁺).

But, what does all this have to do with pH?

pH a measure of acidity or alkalinity

pH measures the acidity (or alkalinity) of a substance.

The concept of pH was created by Sørensen in 1909, it is a measure of the concentration of H⁺ protons in a solution.

The "p" stands for "Potenz", German for power or concentration and the "H" stands for the hydrogen ion which, as we mentioned above, is the hallmark of an acid.

The formula used to calculate the pH value is:

pH = -log₁₀[H⁺]

For alkalis, the concentration of the hydroxyl ion: OH^- is used instead of the hydrogen ion.

The formula for weak acids like vinegar's acetic acid is a bit more complicated, but it follows the same general concept.

It has a logarithmic scale so one unit on the scale represents a tenfold increase or decrease in acidity.

It has a scale that ranges from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline) and the midpoint value of 7 is that of a neutral solution.

The pH of apple cider vinegar

The pH value of vinegar depends on the concentration of acetic acid in it. As the U.S. government sets a minimum value of 4% acetic acid for vinegar and most vinegars have a 5% concentration, we can estimate a pH value of around 3 for a 5% strength vinegar.

For instance, Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with 5.14% content acetic acid has a pH of 3.08.

A study that analyzed different apple cider vinegar samples reported an average pH value of 2.78 (1).

The acidity of some beverages vs. vinegar

The table below shows the acidity of some common beverages and vinegar. It is based on data from Avanija (2016) (2):

Surprisingly, cola drinks have a similar pH to apple cider vinegar (around 2.75).

The pH scale tells us that apple cider vinegar (pH 2,75) is over 100 times more acidic than carbonated water with a pH of 5.

Compared to regular tap water (pH range 6.5 - 8.5) apple cider vinegar is 10,000 to 1,000,000 times more acidic (due to the logarithmic scale used to measure pH).

Effects of Vinegar on Body Acidity

We discuss the Side Effects of Apple Cider Vinegar in depth in another article, but we should point out that its acidity increases the risk of dental enamel erosion.

The acidity and alkalinity of the human body

Our bodies can only function within a certain pH range, which is slightly alkaline (ph 7.4). The enzymes that catalyze our body's biochemical reactions can only work under special pH conditions so any changes in pH are quickly adjusted so that the balance is stable.

This process is known as "homeostasis" from the Greek words "homo" = "the same" and "stasis" = "standing still".

Homeostasis

Although the average value of the body's pH is 7.40, it can vary between 7.35 and 7.45 in different individuals. But why isn't it a neutral value of 7.0? Why is it slightly alkaline? The reason for this is that the pH of 7.40 is ideal for the body's metabolic processes: (3)

• Delivering Oxygen to tissues. The blood cells pick up oxygen through a molecule called haemoglobin, and uses it to deliver it to the body's tissues. Changes in pH alter the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen and this alters the uptake and release of oxygen by haemoglobin. A higher (alkaline) pH causes the haemoglobin to retain the oxygen and not release it into the tissues.
• Protein Structure. Proteins play an important role in the human body and to do so, they must have the proper shape or configuration. A change in the pH causes proteins to alter their architecture and this may hamper their proper function.

The body's pH can't be modified

Can the acidic pH of vinegar influence your body's overall acid-alkaline balance?

No, it can't, but it will mobilize the homeostatic forces of your body to try to restore the balance if you go overboard with your vinegar ingestion. And this can disrupt some natural processes.

Lhotta wrote about a patient (in 1998) who was hospitalized after her health failed due to excessive ingestion of apple cider vinegar (4).

The 28-year-old woman had been drinking just over one cup of apple cider vinegar a day (half a pint or 250 ml) for six years.

Her body absorbed the acetate in the intestine and the liver converted it into bicarbonate to be excreted by the kidneys, but these ions (acetate and bicarbonate) circulating in the bloodstream required extra buffering (buffering is the process by which the body neutralizes acids and alkalis) to maintain the homeostasis.

This buffering consumed calcium which was leached from her bones, provoking osteoporosis.

This is an extreme case, a normal ingestion of a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to dress your salad shouldn't disrupt your body's pH homeostasis.

There is a healthier alternative to vinegar

Vegetables and fruits instead of vinegar

The modern Western-type diet is focused on foods such as meat, cheese, and grains that are acid-inducing foods and is deficient in vegetables, fruits, and yogurt that are alkaline-inducing foods.

A vegan diet or one that includes a higher proportion of fruits and vegetables will favor akalinization in a more natural way than adding excessive vinegar to your diet. A paper by Rodrigues Neto Angeloco and his team (2018) (5) asserts that a diet with "a reduced protein content and vegetable proteins replacements, associated with an increase in fruits and vegetables intake can improve the metabolic parameters of acidosis, preserve bone and muscle, and slow the glomerular filtration rate decline."