Apple cider vinegar – The diet fad that won’t die
Fads – whether they’re in food or fashion – usually have a very short life span. But there’s one diet craze that just doesn’t seem to go away. Apple cider vinegar has been touted as a weight loss remedy for as long as I can remember.
When I was first studying nutrition in college (and this was 30 years ago), the use of weight loss vinegar was in full swing. I distinctly remember the rather twisted bit of logic that was offered up in vinegar’s defense – it was said that since vinegar and oil don’t really mix, that vinegar and body fat shouldn’t mix, either. The leap from salad dressing to slimming was never explained, but millions were swept up by the virtues of apple cider vinegar, and – if Internet posts are to be believed – the apple cider vinegar fad still has millions of adherents today.
So I got to wondering about the longevity of the vinegar craze, since diet fads are, by definition, short-lived. Why would the apple cider vinegar thing been so enduring, unless it might actually do something?
Imagine my surprise when I actually found a handful of scientific studies on the subject that have, in fact, shown that a dose of cider vinegar with a meal may actually help people to feel full.
In one Swedish study done five years ago, study subjects said that their food cravings were reduced for a few hours after they ate white bread with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar – something plain bread failed to do. But the study was small – just 12 people – and there wasn’t a ‘placebo’ group for comparison, meaning that no one ate bread with something that looked, smelled and tasted like vinegar – but wasn’t.
But in another small study published just this year, the study subjects ate their meals with a colored and highly sweetened vinegar brew that they were unable to distinguish from a placebo drink which was also tart, colored, very sweet – and vinegar-free. When consumed with a meal, two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar – about the amount you’d get from a typical serving of salad with vinaigrette dressing – reduced the rise in blood sugar by about 20 percent when compared to the effects of the meal eaten with the look-alike drink.
It’s been speculated that apple cider vinegar either slows the rate at which the stomach empties after a meal, or interferes with the activity of digestive enzymes in the stomach – either of which could explain why meals would be more satisfying when vinegar is included. And, slower digestion means slower absorption of carbohydrates, which would slow the rise in blood sugar after a carb-heavy meal – and support apple cider vinegar’s popular use as a home remedy for diabetes that goes back hundreds of years.
As intriguing as these studies are, they’re small and preliminary. Keep in mind that there are many dietary players in the game of weight loss. The health benefits of a good diet come from of the complex interplay between all of the nutrients it provides. Even if cider vinegar really does help to fill you up, it’s not nearly as nutritious or filling as the healthy salad greens and fresh vegetables you’re dousing with it.
Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.
Tags: apple, apple cider vinegar, apple cider vinegar benefits, apple vinegar, balanced diet, cider, cider vinegar, diet, Dietitian, Discover Good Nutrition, DiscoverGoodNutrition, health, Healthy Eating, healthy eating plans, healthy kids, Herbalife, nutrition, Nutrition advice, Nutritionist, Susan Bowerman, to eat healthy, vinegar, vinegar health, Weight Loss
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great healty tip! have favorite your website
Thanks for your question. We recommend you to check treatment options with your dermatologist.
Hi,I am a herbalife distributor and am suffering from severe pigmentation on my face.Do you think apple cider would help clearing off my complexion?Thanks.
Vinegar is a relatively weak acid, certainly much less acidic than stomach acid, and in the amounts in which it is usually consumed would not affect blood pH. Vinegar’s effects on weight loss appear to be related to its ability to delay stomach emptying, which would make a person feel fuller.
I am a Herbalife Distributor, Phyiscal Therapist Assistant and Certified Laugh Leader.
Could the Apple Cider Vinegar effects be contributed to the alkaline vs Acidic elements in the American diet? By adding vinegar you are reducing the ‘leaching’ of minerals from the body to adjust blood pH?