The active ingredients in apple cider vinegar include potassium, pectin, malic acid, calcium, acetic acid and ash.

Pectin is useful for reducing LDL cholesterol and blood pressure; calcium is needed for strengthening bones and preventing osteoporosis; and malic acid is responsible for the antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties of apple cider vinegar.

Acetic acid lowers carbohydrate metabolism and is useful in the treatment of diabetes; and ash is responsible for the alkaline property of apple cider vinegar even though there are a number of organic acids also present in the vinegar.

Potassium, on the other hand, is the chief reason apple cider vinegar is useful in the treatment of edema. Studies have shown that one of the serious symptoms of potassium deficiency is edema.

When the potassium levels in the body are low, the cells tend to fill with water which is the cause of swelling in different parts of the body. This is because potassium ion (together with sodium and chloride ions) is responsible for the cellular pumps in the body.

Together, these minerals regulate what goes into the cells and what comes out. When potassium levels fall in the body, there is not enough pressure generated to counterbalance the effects of other ions driving water into the cells. Therefore, there is a net fluid inflow and thus edema.

When this occurs to the brain cells, it can lead to persistent headaches and even cerebral edema.

Potassium deficiency is also implicated in rapid weight gain in people with thyroid disease. In such cases, the weight gain has been shown to be due to fluid retention and not fat deposition.

The importance of potassium to edema management is the reason why the mineral is given as supplements in edema patients receiving loop diuretics and thiazides.

Thiazides and loop diuretics are two classes of diuretics used in the treatment of edema. However, unlike potassium-sparing diuretics, they cause the loss of potassium from the body alongside sodium and fluid.

Apple cider vinegar can replenish the potassium levels in the body and reverse fluid retention in edema patients.

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