Dr Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar (with Mother) Review

After hearing awesome things about Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) across the web, I knew I had to try some. Apple Cider Vinegar is supposed to be good for everything! Seriously! EVERYTHING! It’s good to drink, to put on your face and to cleanse your hair with. It aids in digestion, weight loss, acidity, heart and BP related stuff, skin irrtation, body stiffness, joint pain, anti-ageing and on and on and on.

However, there are 2 types of ACV that exist in the world — one which is filtered and one with the ‘mother’.

Filtered apple cider vinegar = Common brands include Heinz or American Garden etc. It’s clear, golden in colour because it has been filtered (all the good proteins and enzyms removed). Very harsh if you try to drink it. It’s much cheaper than ACV with the mother.

Apple cider vinegar with ‘the mother’ = Bragg’s or Dr Patkar’s. It’s cloudy, golden in colour and you can see floating particulate matter. This is all the good stuff (proteins and enzymes) also known as ‘the mother’.

How to use Apple Cider Vinegar?

To cleanse hair: Put around a tablespoon of ACV in a mug of water and pour all over your hair (I include scalp). Scrub it in for a couple of minutes and rinse out. Once hair is towel-dried apply a little organic coconut oil (I recommend KLF Nirmal VCO) or argan oil (I recommend Soulflower Argan Carrier Oil). Don’t do this too often as it can dry your scalp out.

To cleanse body (drink): Put 1 tablespoon ACV with mother into a glass of water. Swallow. Rinse your mouth with clean water to protect your teeth’s enamel. You can do this once, twice or thrice a day around twenty or thirty minutes before meals. (There is a whole list of directions on how to consume ACV for different ailments. You get this list when you buy Dr Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar. I’ve unfortuantely misplaced it for now.) Apple Cider Vinegar is great for UTI’s as well.

To put on acne or spots: Apply diluted ACV (1 acv: 1 filtered water) to spots. Leave for a couple minutes and rinse. Apply some moisturizer like Argan oil or coconut oil to prvent face from drying.

Where to buy?

In the US, Bragg’s seems to be a popular brand. However, this is not available in India (for cheap).

Dr Patkar’s based near Mumbai, selling under the brand Natures Shopy) sells organic, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother in India for Rs 550 (500 ml). This is awesome news! See it on Amazon here: Dr.Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar With Mother 1 Month Pack (500 ML) (Pack of 2)

They also sell filtered, organic ACV which is great for hair:  Dr.Patkar’s Natural Apple Cider Vinegar(500 ML) (Pack of 3) for only Rs 494 for 1500 ml. (If you’re using ACV to cleanse or clarify your hair, you might as well use filtered apple cider vinegar because it’s much cheaper.)

Review of Dr Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar (with mother)

Flavour: It tastes shockingly good. I was drinking Heinz ACV before this and it was awful!!! Burnt my throat. However, Dr Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar tastes very mellow and smooth and soft. Sort of like apple juice but slightly more sour. It DOES NOT taste as bad as people claim.

Quality: It’s organic, unfiltered and unrefined. It looks great — unlike filtered vinegars like Heinz or American Garden. Dr Patkar’s is a brand that I trust.

Effectiveness: It’s only been a week so it’s too soon for me to give a comprehensive review. However, my acidity is under control and I feel much more energetic.

Price: Dr Patkar’s ACV with the mother is expensive unfortunately. But if it keeps you healthy, I think it’s a price worth paying.

Delivery on Amazon: Unfortunately, my first order had a hiccup (Fedex lost the package during Diwali rush). However, the team at Dr Patkar’s (Nature Shopy) was very supportive and helped me file for a claim on Amazon. The next order they shipped via another courier service which reached promptly.

Update: A cheaper non-filtered Apple Cider Vinegar is available on Amazon by a company called N2H. Not sure how good it is, though, so if any of you try it out, please let us know how it is.

Also, Dr. Patkar’s Apple Cider Vinegar is not available on Flipkart, but there are other brands available.