6 Health Benefits of White Vinegar
Vinegar has antioxidant properties that may help protect your body’s cells from damage. Learn about the other benefits.
Updated on August 6, 2025
Vinegar is more than just an ingredient in your salad dressing — white vinegar is also good for your health in a number of ways.
Vinegar — which is a combination of water and acetic acid — has been used for centuries as a medicine, preservative, and health supplement. And many white vinegar benefits can still be harnessed today by eating, drinking, or even cleaning with it.
You can also cook with it. For instance, white vinegar is good for pickling foods and mixing into dressings, condiments, and sauces.
Here are six of white vinegar’s health benefits, plus some safety precautions to keep in mind.
1. It Has Antioxidant Properties
Distilled vinegar (along with other variations of the drink) is good for you, in part due to its antioxidant qualities. Indeed, vinegar is packed with micronutrients like polyphenols that act as antioxidants.
Those antioxidants shield your cells from damage, which in turn may help protect against conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
2. It May Promote Heart Health
White vinegar is also good for you due to its potential ability to support heart health. For instance, research has linked the ingredient to lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels.
Talk to your doctor before trying any supplement, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require these products to be proven safe or effective before they’re sold, so there’s no guarantee that any supplement you take is safe, contains the ingredients it says it does, or produces the effects it claims.
3. It May Help Manage Blood Sugar
Another possible benefit of drinking white vinegar is its ability to help control blood sugar.
Vinegar has been shown to affect how your body processes glucose, and it can help slow down your digestion when added to a starchy meal, both of which may prevent blood sugar spikes.
The same study found that people with diabetes who took vinegar orally experienced lower blood glucose levels after 30 minutes than those who did not. However, the researchers say that more studies are needed to determine the long-term effects of vinegar, plus the best dose and type of vinegar to take if you have diabetes.
4. It May Support Weight Loss
Another of white vinegar’s benefits for the body is that it may help support weight loss. This may be because vinegar slows digestion, which can help you feel full longer and may lead to eating less overall. However, there’s still not enough consistent evidence to suggest a strong connection between vinegar and weight loss, and more studies are needed to better establish the connection.
5. It’s Antimicrobial
Vinegar also has antimicrobial effects. As a result, it may help clean and treat various conditions like nail fungus or lice.
However, more research is needed to better establish vinegar’s ability to treat these conditions and how exactly to use it. Talk to your doctor before using vinegar as a treatment for either of the aforementioned conditions. They can help you determine the best way to manage your health issue.
6. It Can Be Used as a Disinfectant
Vinegar is also a disinfectant, which is why it can be used as a nontoxic alternative to cleaning chemicals for certain chores, such as removing mineral deposits and soap scum that accumulate in your bathroom.
But it’s important to note that while using vinegar as a cleaning solution can kill some bacteria, it doesn’t kill all of them (salmonella, for example). That’s why it’s typically recommended that people stick to commercial products.
Safety Considerations for White Vinegar
Though white vinegar is good for you in many contexts, there are a few side effects to keep in mind. These can include:
- Upset stomach
- Irritation of the esophagus
- Eroding tooth enamel
Talk to your doctor before using vinegar as a treatment to make sure it’s safe for you and your health needs.
The Takeaway
- White vinegar has several potential health benefits, including antioxidant properties that could protect against diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
- White vinegar may also help manage blood sugar and support weight loss, but further studies are needed to solidify these findings and determine optimal use.
- Be cautious of vinegar’s potential side effects, such as an upset stomach and eroded tooth enamel, and consult your healthcare provider if you’re considering it as a health aid.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Vinegar. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. October 2019.
- What Are Polyphenols? Another Great Reason to Eat Fruits and Veggies. Colorado State University Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center. June 2021.
- Shahinfar H et al. Dose-Dependent Effect of Vinegar on Blood Pressure: A GRADE-Assessed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. December 2022.
- FDA 101: Dietary Supplements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. June 2, 2022.
- Siddiqui FJ et al. Diabetes Control: Is Vinegar a Promising Candidate to Help Achieve Targets? Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine. May 2018.
- Dealing With Thick, Discolored Toenails. Harvard Health Publishing. September 7, 2023.
- Head Lice: Diagnosis and Treatment. Mayo Clinic. April 30, 2022.
Meet Our Experts
Kayli Anderson, RDN
Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainabl...
Bryan Myers
Author
Dr. Bryan Myers is a clinical exercise physiologist and health writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With academic training in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience, h...