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Apple Cider Vinegar Good For Weight Loss?
Health | May 10, 2016
Do you love apple cider vinegar? It seems like everybody’s talking vinegar!
I’m always researching new nutritional studies and learning about diet and nutrition. I’m currently doing another round of certifications at Precision Nutrition, having a lot of fun with it.
I love to feel and look my best and learning more about my body and diet is a great way to do just that, in my opinion. While Googling around recently, I found this article from MindBodyGreeen that makes Apple Cider Vinegar sound like a magical substance that can cure ills, keep your home sparking, and even make you skinny.
Some of the ways to enjoy the benefits of apple cider vinegar are great tips that I either already make use of or definitely plan on trying out. For example, I often use this vinegar to clean my home. I love how well it deodorizes stinky things like drains and toilets. I also like to mix apple cider vinegar with some water and pour it into a spray bottle. I sometimes use the all-natural cleaner to clean windows and wipe surfaces like microwaves, counters, tiles, you name it. It feels really good to replace gross chemicals with such a harmless and inexpensive product.
I’d love to try out rinsing my hair with a apple cider vinegar and water solution! It’s reported that it gives your hair body and crazy extra shine. I do wonder whether it makes you a bit…fragrant, though, haha! No girl likes to smell like salad dressing.
I have used diluted apple cider vinegar as a gargle to help with sore throats. Although it’s a bit intense, it does really help with the discomfort when you have a yucky cold. I’ve also tried using the vinegar on a rare case of heartburn, but found it actually seemed to make it worse. Have any of you used vinegar to help with heartburn and had positive results?
But what about the really big claim we’re all wondering about? I’ve heard many people claim that apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight if you drink it before meals. And indeed, studies have shown that it can dampen a rise in blood sugar after eating starchy foods in addition to helping you feel more satiated. The New York Times article discussing this vinegar consumption and weight loss quotes Carol S. Johnston, associate director of the nutrition program at Arizona State University, on the subject. Dr. Johnson says, “The vinegar is taking the starch and making a portion of it fiberlike, so some of the starch will escape digestion.” The NYT continues on to say that “test tube studies have shown that the acetic acid in vinegar inhibits enzymes that help in the digestion of starch.”
However, buyer beware because the NYT article also says “despite its newfound Internet fame as a diet aid and appetite suppressant, she [Dr. Johsnon] said, taking vinegar will help you lose weight only ‘if you’re a very, very patient person.’ “
And what I think Dr. Johnson is getting at here is that although it might help lower your blood sugar levels a bit, there’s no magic substance you can eat or drink that can cancel out consuming a meal that’s high in calories, unhealthy carbs, and starch.
If you do want to try the apple cider vinegar trick for yourself, here are the tips suggested by Dr. Johnson from in the NTY article: ” ‘I always tell them to dilute it in water, one tablespoon to eight ounces of water, and ingest it with the first bites of the meal. You want the acid to beat the starch into the intestines.’ Any kind of vinegar will do, as long as it contains at least 5 percent acetic acid, though she noted that some fancy vinegars contain added sugar, which can increase calorie counts.”
Additionally, if you don’t dilute vinegar it can be really hard to drink. Please be aware that gulping straight vinegar could cause you to cough, choke, or even breathe sharply in and aspirate the vinegar into your lungs. So please don’t quickly chug down straight vinegar. The NTY article also warns that, “Published case reports have linked vinegar consumption to vocal cord spasms, fainting and injury to the esophagus. And Dutch physicians reported on a case of a 15-year-old whose teeth eroded because she had been drinking a glass of apple cider vinegar every day for weight loss.” Yikes!
So if you’d like to try consuming apple cider vinegar, please use good common sense and caution. Always dilute your vinegar with plenty of water and practice moderation.
What are some of your favorite ways to use apple cider vinegar? Have you ever tried drinking diluted apple cider vinegar for weight loss? Do you think it helped? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know in the comments!
Private Member |
I’m glad it’s not a miracle juice because I don’t like the smell. 😀 😀
Private Member |
I actually drink some every morning before eating and it does improve my digestion. It also works wonders for redness if you have a bump appear on your skin, or just irritation. I love it and always keep it in my house.
Private Member |
pittsburgh, pa, united states
So glad to see your thoughts on Apple cider vinegar! I drink diluted ACV with every morning and at night before bed…I can’t tell if it helps with weight loss as I have a pretty consistent & healthy weight but I do have stomach troubles and I feel that it helps my digestion, and definitely helps with reducing bloating! I think this may have something to do with “the mother” in the vinegar which is the healthy enzymes/bacteria. (I like really bitter things and I also think it tricks me into snacking less because it’s so clean tasting!) After reading your post though I will start having it with dinner instead of before bed!
Private Member |
ponte vedra beach, fl
I’m terrified of vomit. With 4 kids (3 in school) the stomach virus is bound to hit. Apple cider vinegar can prevent you from getting the stomach virus. I swear by this. Have been doing it for years and it has never failed me. It has to be Bragg’s brand that says “with the mother” on the front. Once a child comes home vomiting my husband and I take 1TBSP of the vinegar diluted in water 3 times a day for 3 days. My other kids(who are not vomiting) will drink plain purple grape juice which as the same effect (1 glass 3 times a day for 3 days) I try to keep up drinking the vinegar b/c it does make you feel pretty energized. There’s a nice energy drink recipe on the back of the Bragg’s bottle that is pretty good.
Private Member |
birmingham, al, usa
I think I am going to go buy some Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar after reading your comment. Nausea & the stomach virus are torture. I have been looking for some solutions to avoiding a stomach virus.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
that makes perfect sense!
I am going to start to try Dr. Berg’s recipe which is to take ACV with lemon juice, unsweetened cranberry juice and optional psyllium husk.It is meant to be taken 3x /day (upon rising, before lunch, before dinner)
What the Bragg’s recipe for ?
Private Member |
ponte vedra beach, fl
It’s a natural energy drink.
Private Member |
I love ACV and it is so handy to have around the house! I enjoy making fresh-tasting salad dressings with it and it’s a great cleanser and digestive aid. I also use it, believe it or not, as a fly trap! We have HUGE problems with flies in Texas and they’re attracted to the vinegar and get trapped in it! Keeps them off of my produce. I also use it as my yoga and exercise mat cleaner in a spray bottle.
Private Member |
sydney, nsw, australia
Weird. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Particularly the connection between vinegar and your gut flora. I was recently in Japan on holiday and noticed how with every meal the Japanese serve a little bit of pickled veggies and miso soup or some kind of broth soup. The pickled veggies are vinegary and the soup fills you up. Interesting how vinegar helps digestion, particularly of carbs. The portion sizes seemed super tiny in Japan, but I never felt hungry after a meal. I think it largely had to do with the pickles and soup at the beginning of the meal.
Private Member |
tx
For me, ACV is a miracle juice, but not because of anything for weight loss, but because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Like someone said before, it’s incredible for reducing any kind of redness or swelling from just about anything (bites, pimples, razor burn… anything!). It works great on my hair, makes it very shiny and there’s no smell (but you have to rinse very well, or dilute your stock). I also use it to cleanse my face at night, wipe off makeup, disinfect wounds… you name it. Again, as others have said, it’s great for preventing sore throats or boosting your immune system when you feel a bug coming on. Love it. I hope others can benefit from it as well!!
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
the stomach is an acidic environment and this is for breaking down protein and killing anything nasty that comes into your body (through the mouth). The heartburn is due to not having enough acid produced in your stomach, therefore they recommend to take acid and ACV helps with that.
The sensation of “warmth” is an expected sensation. I take a teaspoon in a glass of water before meals and so far I can see benefits in my digestion.
I’d rather take this than any pills.
the “hair” thing has been known for decades (my mom taught me this when I was a kid), but when I tried it as a teenager, that was a bit too smelly to my taste.
if it was helping hairloss, then I wouldn’t mind 🙂
Private Member |
uk
ACV restores balance in your body. It also gives you energy – its like taking coffee without the side effect of caffeine. And it does balance your blood sugar- no sleepiness after eating and no cravings or unhealthy appetite. I take the raw, unfiltered organic one – you need the probiotics and enzymes in it. The processed ones in the shops are good for salad dressing only 🙂
Its also fantastic when you coming down with cold, sore throats etc. I had one coming the other day, woke up with infected throat – took some ACV and it was gone next day.
Private Member |
belgrade, serbia
The base ratio for ACV rinses is 1 tablespoon ACV to 1 cup water. This matches the pH of our hair which ranges between 4 & 7. I have fine hair so thats a little too strong for my hair, so I use 1 tablespoon ACV to 2 cups water, but it’s something you’ll have to experiment with to get the ratio right for your hair. If the rinse is too strong for your hair, it will make your hair feel weird &/or dry. The vinegar smell does dissipates quickly….
If your hair likes it, it will make your hair shiny and it helps clarify build-up off your hair. I wouldn’t recommend doing it too often though, as it could cause hair to become more porous over time.
You may find you get better results with minimally processed (organic, unfiltered) ACV. It’s more expensive, but I use so little at a time that it takes me forever to go through a bottle of ACV.
I recommend to cool the water off when you rinse off the ACV. Too much heat on the hair can cause scalp dryness & tends to make the hair weaker & more apt to break.
hope this helps!