I Drank A Shot Of Apple Cider Vinegar Every Morning For A Week—Here’s What Happened

Even though I consider myself a healthy, wellness-obsessed person, my morning beverage habits could use some work. Instead of sipping on lemon water to rehydrate in the morning (à la every celebrity ever), I’m typically grasping my morning latte before I’m even dressed. It’s not that coffee’s bad, but in this era of unicorn lattes and boosted smoothies, I’m left wondering if my morning beverage could be doing more for me.

Read more: How To Make Apple Cider Vinegar Taste Good If You Hate The Flavor But Want The BenefitsCue the apple cider vinegar shot.

This OG healthy elixir is a perennial fave among in-the-know wellness influencers despite its aggressive (to put it mildly) taste and smell, thanks to what many claim to be a vast range of benefits—from easing digestion to amplifying radiance. (Hilary Duff loves it so much, she drinks the stuff straight.)

So when my boss asked me to down the ultra-acidic vinegar every day for a week, I viewed it as less of a challenge than an opportunity. (You could say that I’m not throwing away my shot…at health.) Would it solve my bloating woes, energize me for the day and offer up all the other wonders I keep hearing about?

What It’s Actually Like To Drink Apple Cider Vinegar

My first morning, I do what I imagine well-heeled, wellness-obsessed celebs do: I roll out of bed, stumble into my kitchen (still wearing my PJs, natch), pour myself a solid shot of the ol’ apple vinegar, and—pausing just a moment to take a nostril-flaring whiff—down it in one gulp, no chaser.

Needless to say, I feel less than chic as my eyes instantly water and I frantically reach for a glass of water to wash the taste out of my mouth. The process takes me back to my college days (during which I downed shots of not-so-healthy liquids that were just as strong), but to the ACV’s credit, it instantly wakes me up.

In fact, I immediately feel like it’s killing everything bad inside my body (much like ginger shots do for Selena Gomez) because of the burning sensation going through my throat and stomach—which, TBH, has me worried about how stable my insides are. I can’t help but wonder: Is this normal?

Turns out, it’s not. (Phew.) Though devoted health gurus do drink it straight up in shot form, I later get on the phone with a nutritionist, who strongly advises diluting 1 to 2 tablespoons of ACV with 8 ounces of water.

“Don’t drink it straight,” insists Stacy Goldberg, MPH, RN, BSN, CEO and founder of Savorfull, making me feel a little crazy for doing just that hours earlier. “It’s super acidic and could cause harm to your teeth, esophagus and digestive system.”

Read about the rest of this unusual experiment and get more healthy morning inspo at Well+Good.