The effects of Apple Cider Vinegar on Health and Weight Loss

For many centuries, apple cider vinegar has been readily available as a natural remedy.

In the Middle Ages, peasants and farm hands took a drink of water mixed with apple cider vinegar and honey as a replenishing tonic on hot days.

The Victorians used the vinegar in poultices and special foods for the sick and infirm.

Today, health-conscious people have rediscovered the benefits of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar – also known as ACV – to boost their metabolism, support a healthy diet and promote overall health.

The Best Apple Cider Vinegar On the Market in 2019

The American Diabetes Association refers to recent studies showing that taking a glass of water with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar at bedtime resulted in lower morning glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes.

Keeping your blood sugar balanced is essential for successful weight management because it prevents the body from producing too much of the hormone insulin, which inhibits fat-burning.

Acetic acid is the vinegar component responsible for lowering glucose, or blood sugar, levels.

Strictly speaking, all kinds of vinegar contain acetic acid and would likely produce this effect, though they do not offer the other health benefits of raw ACV.

If you are being treated for type 2 diabetes, you should talk to your doctor before beginning any vinegar regimen.

Related: The Top 10 Benefits of Peanut Butter

How to Get the Best Weight Loss Benefits from Apple Cider Vinegar

All quick-fix diets on the market and in the media notwithstanding, slow and steady wins the race towards a healthy weight and a lower BMI.

As part of a sensible, calorie-reduced diet, apple cider vinegar can help you feel more sated, particularly after eating a meal high in starches and carbohydrates. Participants in a recent study consumed between 200 and 270 calories less per day while taking a daily ACV drink.

According to a study conducted in Japan, drinking a mixture of vinegar and water once a day helped the participants lose weight, lowered their triglycerides and, most significantly, reduced the visceral fat area, which is the dreaded “deep fat” wrapping around major organs.

Since visceral fat has been linked to a variety of serious diseases, and this might be one of the most significant benefits of apple cider vinegar for your overall health.

The Japanese study ran for a period of 12 weeks, so you might want to incorporate a drink of diluted ACV into your regular daily health routine to see the full benefits of glucose control and reduced belly fat over time.

Digestive Health Is Essential for Weight Loss Success

According to Livestrong, apple cider vinegar is a prebiotic food, which means that it contains bacteria that keep your digestive system healthy and working well.

Related: Best Magnesium Supplement for Constipation

Many medications, most notably antibiotics, laxatives and various pain medications, affect the health of the entire gastrointestinal tract. They destroy its bacterial microflora necessary for efficient digestion and nutrient absorption. Adding ACV to your daily diet helps replenish the beneficial gut bacteria.

In addition, apple cider vinegar contains a low number of difficult-to-digest carbohydrates called FODMAPs. Eating food with a high FODMAP content might cause gas and bloating, which can be alleviated by adding low-FODMAP foods to your daily diet.

How to Benefit from an Apple Cider Vinegar Detox

While all kinds of vinegar contain acetic acid, only raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar contains the ‘mother’, a base of gut-healthy bacteria, enzymes and proteins that causes the vinegar to look slightly cloudy.

Raw apple cider vinegar promotes digestive health and a healthy pH-balance in the body, which in turn help your liver work overtime to get rid of any toxins. Healthline offers practical guidelines for a vinegar detox.

The most important step is ensuring that the vinegar doesn’t interact with your medication, which is especially important for people taking prescription or supplemental diuretics.

You should never drink undiluted ACV because it might damage your tooth enamel or cause digestive issues. Support the vinegar detox with a light diet of fresh, unprocessed foods and plenty of vegetables – which you might even dress with a little ACV vinaigrette.

How to Find the Best ACV Product for Your Health Needs

With the growing popularity of apple cider vinegar as a health tonic, more companies are now offering raw, unfiltered products. Some of the most common brands are listed here to help you choose the right ACV:

Apple Cider Vinegar Is Beneficial for Your Overall Health

Despite the lack of a wide body of human studies regarding the health effects of ACV, historic and scientific evidence suggests that it is a healthful – and delicious – addition to your daily diet.

Experiment with a regular ACV regimen and reap health benefits that have been known for centuries. If the taste of vinegar water is a little too strong for you, make the tonic even better with a spoonful of (raw) honey or use the vinegar in your salad dressing or veggie dips.

You can see more health benefits and uses of raw and pasteurized apple cider vinegar in this video: