Apple cider vinegar is promoted for its many alleged health benefits and as a weight-loss remedy. Our Healthy Skeptic looks at the science behind the claims.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
The Claim: Apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight.
Vinegar has been used as medicine for centuries, and today its alleged health benefits are promoted all over the internet, especially for apple cider vinegar as a weight loss remedy. The taste may be strong, but the evidence, not so much.
Enthusiasts often cite a Japanese study, in which overweight subjects who consumed one or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily lost more weight than those didn’t drink vinegar. But the difference was small – just 2 to 4 pounds over three months. And the study was funded by a vinegar manufacturer.
Other research suggests that apple cider and other vinegars can make you feel full, which might help with weight control.
Also, a few small studies have found that vinegar, taken with a high-starch meal, can help reduce spikes in blood sugar.
This, in theory, may promote weight loss, though it’s far from proven.
The evidence is even skimpier for claims that apple cider vinegar can ward off high blood pressure, heart disease or cancer.
And there are possible risks: the acid in vinegar can eat away tooth enamel and damage the esophagus.
To avoid this, dilute vinegar with water or better yet, use it in salad dressing or other foods. That way, even if your health doesn’t benefit, your taste buds will.
For more on weight loss, check out my book Supersized Lies, which reveals why standard advice often fails and what actually works to keep weight off.
Helping you be a Healthy Skeptic, I’m Robert Davis.