Is Apple Cider Vinegar Good For You? That’s what experts say!

When you look up all the different ways to lose weight, apple cider vinegar comes up, but the question is would you shoot back some apple cider vinegar? actually help lose a few pounds? The use of apple cider vinegar for health purposes dates back to 400 BC. Dating back to ancient Greece, where Hippocrates, known as the “father of medicine,” prescribed it (along with honey) to treat ailments such as coughs and colds for its inherent immune benefits.

Recently, apple cider vinegar has become a popular natural elixir due to its health benefits and purported ability to promote weight loss. There’s some evidence that ACV can help if weight loss is your goal. The all-natural compound is easy to keep on hand considering you can make it yourself at home.

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help You Lose Weight?

If you’re tired of hopping between diets to shed stubborn belly fat, adding apple cider vinegar to your routine may be just the thing to jump-start your weight-loss journey. One of the main ingredients in apple cider vinegar, acetic acid, has been linked to weight loss due to its role in fat burning.

An often quoted one Study 2009 conducted in Japan on 155 obese patients over a 12-week period to study how vinegar affects body fat. The patients were divided into three groups, one drank drinks with 750 mg of vinegar, the next drank 1,500 mg, and the third drank nothing (and received placebo). The results showed that the groups in both the low and high intake of vinegar lost weight, lowered their body fat percentage and reduced their waist circumference compared to those in the placebo group. The subjects who were in the 1,500 mg vinegar group (the stronger stuff) had the greatest improvement in every area, including lowering their BMI. These results led the researchers to conclude that the higher the acetic acid content, the more it can help burn fat effectively.

In a 2018 to learn Of 39 subjects on a restricted-calorie diet (who maintained a 250-calorie-per-day deficit), those who drank 30 mL of apple cider vinegar per day lost more weight than those who only ate the restricted-calorie diet. While this is a small study, the highlights are that those given ACV and who were on a diet reduced their body weight and BMI, decreased waist circumference, and lowered their triglyceride levels, while increasing their HDL or good cholesterol levels. The study also found that giving apple cider vinegar helped subjects suppress appetite, making it easier to stay on the calorie-restricted diet.

More recent studies, like one from 2021, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, have shown different results. This systematic review of 16 studies found that there were no significant changes in weight, body fat percentage, or BMI when consuming 750 to 3,600 mg of acetic acid per day.

More research needs to be done to determine if apple cider vinegar can actually help promote fat burning or weight loss over time. On the plus side, consuming apple cider vinegar has minimal side effects if you wanted to try it.

The health benefits of apple cider vinegar

While it’s up in the air whether or not apple cider vinegar can actually help you lose weight, there are other benefits it can bring to your health.

• Contains probiotics: Since apple cider vinegar is a fermented product, it is considered a probiotic food due to the bacteria in it. Corresponding Harvard Health, Probiotics are great for your gut and can help prevent problems like diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and urinary tract infections. When choosing an apple cider vinegar, choose one that contains “the mother.” This means that the fermentation process has built up a desirable amount of nutrients to provide these benefits.

• Can lower blood sugar: It’s believed that the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar can aid in the starch digestion process, allowing you to experience fewer spikes in blood sugar after high-carb meals. A 2017 review published in Diabetes research and clinical practice noted that this may be true, with many studies showing that participants who consumed vinegar had a significant drop in their blood sugar and insulin levels after a meal compared to control groups.

• Can Lower Cholesterol: High LDL or so-called “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels can lead to serious complications and heart disease. The 2018 study, published in Functional Foods Magazine found that participants who ate a low-calorie diet and consumed apple cider vinegar saw a decrease in their triglycerides and total cholesterol levels compared to the placebo group. Not only that, the apple cider vinegar group had a significant increase in their “good” HDL cholesterol levels.

How to make apple cider vinegar at home

If you’re interested in making your own batch of apple cider vinegar, this is an easy, albeit not a quick, process, taking 2 to 4 weeks. The first step is to make cider from fresh, washed apples. During the cider making process, you can stop the fermentation to see if you’re getting sweet or dry cider. To form vinegar, continue past the drying stage.

The rest of the process requires you to store and ferment the juice in a cool, dry place (use a wide container to expose it to as much oxygen as possible and cover with cheesecloth to keep particles or insects out of it can land). ). Then strain the vinegar through the cheesecloth and heat to 170 degrees for at least 10 minutes. After that, seal your finished product in bottles to use in recipes or as a pick-me-up.

You’ll find a step-by-step process and the tools you need here, thanks to the University of Georgia and Ft. Valley State University.

bottom line: Apple cider vinegar can help with weight loss and fat burning

Studies have shown that the acid in apple cider vinegar appears to help burn fat, but more research needs to be done to confirm this. Fortunately, apple cider vinegar has been linked to other health benefits and has limited side effects. So if you want to give it a try, go ahead.

Tired of making your own apple cider vinegar at home? Check out this article for our popular apple cider vinegar gummies and a list of other plant-based health products to try today.