For decades (let’s be honest, its probably been WAY longer), holistic practitioners have been using apple cider vinegar for a plethora of things and now, science is affirming a couple of those things: diabetes, weight gain, and digestive health.
From the article:
“A study published in Diabetes Care looked at men and women with type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that when the participants downed two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed with a snack (one ounce of cheese), they had lower blood sugar levels the next morning, compared to when they ate the same bedtime snack paired with two tablespoons of water.”
In another study published in the same journal, ACV was given to healthy adults, pre-diabetics, and people with type 2 diabetes. What researchers found was that everyone had better blood sugar numbers when they drank less than an ounce of apple cider vinegar with a high-carb meal, compared to when they the had the same meal and drank a placebo.
Also, pre-diabetics saw blood sugar levels improve with vinegar by nearly half and those who already had diabetes, cut their blood glucose concentrations by 25%.
Shedding the extra pounds
In a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, mice were fed a high-fat diet along with acetic acid (the key component in vinegar) and developed up to 10% less body fat than control rodents. That’s weight control!
Researchers believe that acetic acid turns on genes that trigger enzymes to break down fat. Break down the fat and you’ll prevent weight gain.
So, to investigate this in humans, in 2009 Japanese scientists conducted a double-blind trial with obese adults who had similar body weights and waist measurements:
Participants were divided into three groups.
For 12 weeks, one group drank a daily beverage containing half an ounce of ACV, another drank a daily beverage with one ounce of ACV, and the third group had a daily drink with no ACV at all.
At the study’s end, those who drank one of the beverages with ACV had less belly fat, lower triglycerides, lower waist measurements, lower body weight, and a lower BMI, compared to the no-vinegar group.
Digestive Health
Seems ACV may also help digestive health, as well (duh). A study done on mice with ulcerative colitis found that when acetic acid was added to their drinking water, they had higher levels of good bacteria in their guts (like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria) and therefore reduced their gastro symptoms.
If you’ve never taken ACV straight, I don’t recommend it, not just because it is strong but because it could possibly wear away your teeth’s enamel and bother your esophagus. Also, don’t go nutz because too much could lower potassium levels in your body. BUT, do have some. Even every day if you’d like.
In fact, there are many ways you can imbibe: add two teaspoons of organic ACV and a teaspoon of organic honey into a cup of warm water once a day, add it to cold water and use another sweetener, or just make a salad dressing with it.
Lastly, check out this recipe from the article: “Whisk together one tablespoon each apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, add a half teaspoon of minced garlic, a dash of ground black pepper, and a few fresh basil leaves, chopped. It’s fantastic drizzled over fresh leafy greens, broad beans, or cooked, chilled fingerling potatoes.”
Sounds amazing. I’m off to the kitchen!
Source: CNN
