About a year or two ago, I started and ended my days with a shot glass full of apple cider vinegar; the foul tasting liquid lingered on my tongue, forcing me to brush my teeth as quickly as possible. I subjected myself to these awful instances twice a day because a friend of a friend told me this was the key to maintaining my weight. This person was not alone in their belief that apple cider vinegar is some sort of wonder concoction. Both health gurus and freelance websites such as the Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials claim that consumption of apple cider vinegar lowers blood sugar, calms acid reflux, and, even, improves weight loss. However, how true are these claims? Was I just tainting my mornings and evenings for no reason, or did apple cider vinegar truly play a beneficial role in my health?
Those who consume apple cider vinegar daily experience drops in waist size, lean body mass, weight, and BMI.
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44 adults with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 27 were selected to participate in a study to answer the question of just how effective apple cider vinegar is. A healthy BMI for anyone at least 20 years of age is between 18.5 to 25 according to the CDC guidelines; any number over this is considered overweight or obese, which itself starts at 30. Aside from being considered overweight or obese, those in the study were otherwise healthy and did not have apple cider vinegar in the prior month. Subjects were divided into two groups: one group received 15mL of apple cider vinegar both at lunch and dinner, and the control group did not get any apple cider vinegar. However, it is important to note that both groups were placed on a diet of approximately 55% carbohydrates, 30% fat, and 15% protein that was also 250 Calories per day less than what they would normally need. Regardless of which group a subject was placed into, since both groups were placed on a caloric deficit, both groups should have been able to experience some sort of weight loss.
The results from this study are very promising for those who hope to gain an edge on non-apple cider vinegar consumers. The group consuming apple cider vinegar daily experienced notable declines in some bodily measurements such as waist circumference, lean body mass (the difference between total body weight and body fat), overall weight, and BMI. The primary potential reason for these profound changes is that apple cider vinegar can reduce one’s appetite. It’s also possible that ingesting apple cider vinegar burns more calories by increasing energy expenditure; however, this was not explicitly tested in the study. Regardless, apple cider vinegar has been found to be beneficial for weight loss. It seems that all those disgusting mornings and evenings I went through were not completely wasted!
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