Have you heard about ACV for weight loss? With all the buzz about apple cider vinegar lately, it’s important to be aware of its real effects. Fortunately, claims that apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight are true.
- Several Studies Show That Apple Cider Vinegar Can Help You Lose Weight
- #1 – Apple Cider Vinegar Helps You Feel More Satisfied
- #2 – Apple Cider Vinegar Can Stimulate Your Appetite
- #3 – Apple Cider Vinegar Decreases Cravings
- #4 – Apple Cider Vinegar Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
- #5 – Apple Cider Vinegar Has Anti-glycemic Properties
- #6 – Apple Cider Vinegar Improves Digestion
- #7 – Apple Cider Vinegar Balances The Sodium In Your Diet
- Video: How The Acids In Apple Cider Vinegar Work In Your Body For Weight Loss
- What Kind Of Apple Cider Vinegar Should I Buy?
- How Should I Take Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss?
Several Studies Show That Apple Cider Vinegar Can Help You Lose Weight
Several diet fads and so-called “miracle foods” have come and gone. Organic apple cider vinegar is different from many of these fads because it encourages gradual weight loss. When people lose weight quickly, they tend to regain it quickly, as well. Since apple cider vinegar imitates natural weight loss, its results have the potential to remain long-lasting.
Apple cider vinegar diet helps eliminate water bloat, which can give you the false impression of instant weight loss. But the science behind this vinegar points to real weight loss.
One of the most significant studies on apple cider vinegar and weight loss was conducted in Japan and showed impressive results. The study examined obese participants for 12 weeks. [source]
The participants were split into three groups according to their body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. One group acted as a placebo, while the other two groups consumed 15 ml or 30 ml of apple cider vinegar daily. They took apple cider vinegar with a 500-ml beverage once a day.
The group that consumed 15 ml a day lost an average of 2.6 pounds or 1.2 kilograms.
The group that took 30 ml lost 3.7 pounds, or 1.7 kilograms, on average.
Both groups experienced not only weight loss, but reduced waist circumference, belly fat, and lower blood triglycerides. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood. Too much can lead to high cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease.
Researchers concluded that taking vinegar every day could help with many health concerns that are part of metabolic syndrome. These issues include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. [source]
Drinking apple cider vinegar has multiple benefits, but these are some of the ways it can help you lose weight:
- Leaves feelings of fullness or satiety
- Stimulates appetite of wholesome foods
- Decreases cravings
- Regulates blood sugar levels
- Antiglycemic
- Improves digestion
- Balances sodium with other nutrients
#1 – Apple Cider Vinegar Helps You Feel More Satisfied
One of the biggest ways apple cider vinegar functions to reduce weight is by helping you feel fuller and more satisfied throughout the day.
To some degree, apples help with satiety, or the feeling of fullness, too. Apples contain pectin, a fiber found in many fruits but present in the greatest percentages in apples. Since pectin is a thickening agent, it helps you feel more satisfied. [source]
Apple cider vinegar contains pectin too, but the properties of vinegar result in weight loss through other functions, as well.
One study suggested that taking apple cider vinegar along with a meal high in carbohydrates will help you feel more satisfied than if you’d eaten the same meal without the vinegar. [source]
Participants in the study took apple cider vinegar with a bagel and juice. Another group ate a meal of chicken and rice, which contained fewer carbs. The results were strongest for the group that consumed the higher carb meal.
Feeling full from one meal caused individuals to eat fewer calories throughout the day. Participants consumed an average of 200 to 275 fewer calories after taking apple cider vinegar with one meal.
A similar study tested the effects of apple cider vinegar when taken with a white wheat bread meal. Twelve healthy participants showed improvements in feelings of satiety and insulin levels. [source]
Consistent, increased feelings of fullness can result in a gradual, natural weight loss over time.
#2 – Apple Cider Vinegar Can Stimulate Your Appetite
Wait, you might say, how can apple cider vinegar help you feel fuller and stimulate your appetite? I’m trying to lose weight, not stimulate my appetite!
The key is in how your appetite is stimulated. Apple cider vinegar stimulates your appetite for whole foods. Ordinary white vinegar is known for stimulating your taste buds.
When your taste buds are stimulated, it becomes easier for you to appreciate the taste of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, all of which can speed up your metabolism and regulate your blood sugar.
By enhancing the taste of healthy, wholesome foods, apple cider vinegar can help you consume fewer calories than you normally would.
#3 – Apple Cider Vinegar Decreases Cravings
Drink apple cider vinegar to reduce cravings for unhealthy foods, as well. However, vinegar won’t directly address your cravings. Other benefits of apple cider vinegar can influence cravings.
We know that apple cider vinegar:
- Leaves you feeling fuller and more satisfied
- Enhances the taste of healthy foods
- Regulates blood sugar
These effects can also help reduce your cravings for sugary or salty foods.
Keep in mind that unhealthy foods, like those high in sugar, are addictive. The best way to fully stop cravings is to stop eating them.
#4 – Apple Cider Vinegar Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
While foods with the potential to control blood sugar are ideal for diabetic individuals, they can also have an influence on weight loss.
Blood sugar affects our energy levels and feelings of hunger. Glucose affects fat-burning processes in the body.
In both studies on satiety mentioned above, researchers also found that apple cider vinegar regulated insulin sensitivity and glucose levels.
Participants of the second study saw effects as soon as thirty minutes after consuming a high carb meal with apple cider vinegar. [source]
The first study’s participants saw a 55 percent improvement in glucose response one hour after consumption. [source]
Losing weight can be even more of a challenge when you’re also trying to watch your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels can drop or spike dramatically.
Low blood sugar can make you crave foods that provide a quick energy rush. Unfortunately, these foods are often made of refined carbohydrates and have lots of sugar. They give you an energy spike for a short amount of time but can result in adverse effects in the long-term, like gained weight.
By regulating blood sugar levels, apple cider vinegar helps reduce cravings for these types of foods. It reduces calories steadily over time.
#5 – Apple Cider Vinegar Has Anti-glycemic Properties
Apple cider vinegar is known for its anti-glycemic properties. It stimulates the response of insulin in the body and as a result, affects blood sugar, or more specifically, blood glucose levels. [source]
Why is this important? And how can it help you lose weight?
Your body digests food by breaking it down into glucose. The glucose then enters your bloodstream. Some of this glucose goes to your liver, which converts it into glycogen. Glycogen is absorbed and used by your muscles.
The remainder of the glucose is taken care of by insulin. Your pancreas reacts whenever there is an increase of glucose released into your bloodstream, producing more insulin.
Insulin converts glucose into fatty acids which are stored as fat cells. These cells are a reserve energy source for the body. Unfortunately, today we regularly consume more sugar than is necessary for our energy needs.
The increase of glucose levels can make your body develop a resistance to insulin. Instead of secreting insulin as needed, consuming high amounts of sugar triggers the pancreas to produce excessive amounts of insulin. The body begins to ignore the insulin produced, leaving the sugar in your bloodstream.
High blood sugar levels can have several adverse effects on the body, especially if they remain high for an extended period.
High amounts of insulin also have adverse effects. As a fat-storing hormone, too much insulin can cause you to gain weight.
Weight loss expert Jon Gabriel explains that if this is the case, you need to do more than cut calories from your diet. Your body cannot naturally regulate your blood sugar levels, and your ability to burn body fat becomes severely impaired. [source]
While there are many ways to approach insulin resistance, taking apple cider vinegar once a day can be an easy alternative to get your body back on track.
#6 – Apple Cider Vinegar Improves Digestion
While apple cider vinegar has several effects that result directly in weight loss, it also improves the efficiency of your body’s digestive system, which also influences weight loss.
Raw apple cider vinegar is a digestive tonic with several enzymes that help break down the food we consume. As an acid, it functions in addition to digestive juices in the stomach, allowing the rest of the digestive process to operate more smoothly.
A quicker digestion process leaves fat in your digestive tract for less time. Your body then has less time to absorb fats from the intestines or any other part of the digestive system.
It’s not healthy for foods to move through your digestive system too quickly since this can result in effects like diarrhea. However, a digestive system that moves organic matter through the tract too slowly can cause your body to absorb not only more nutrients and minerals if they are present, but more fats.
Apple cider vinegar can keep your digestive functioning at a normal speed, but as with any supplement, too much can have an adverse effect on your body.
#7 – Apple Cider Vinegar Balances The Sodium In Your Diet
Most people consume too much salt in their diets. This excess isn’t necessarily intentional but is the result of how we make foods today. High levels of sodium in your body must be counteracted in some way. Maintaining a healthy intake of vitamins and minerals can help.
Apple cider vinegar is especially good at helping you retain potassium and iron. While it doesn’t add potassium, this vinegar containing acetic acid helps you absorb more from your food. [source]
Acids also cause foods to release more iron, which makes them easier for our bodies to consume. Iron produces the proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin, which carry and attract oxygen. Oxygen is essential to help the body burn fat. [source]
Video: How The Acids In Apple Cider Vinegar Work In Your Body For Weight Loss
Much of the reason why apple cider vinegar works can seem complicated and scientific. Not everyone wants to hear about the entire scientific workings behind a food or ingredient.
However, if you want a more thorough explanation of how apple cider vinegar works in your body, particularly the effects of acids on your body’s pH, check out this video from Dr. Berg.
He discusses common myths around apple cider vinegar, the true benefits of this vinegar, and even walks you through the drink that he uses on a regular basis.
What Kind Of Apple Cider Vinegar Should I Buy?
In the USA, the most popular and well-respected brand is Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. [source]
For best results, seek out an unpasteurized, unfiltered, organic brand that contains the “mother.”
Most regular users look for the “mother” in an apple cider vinegar product, which are strains of bacteria, enzymes, and proteins believed to contain most of the vinegar’s health benefits.
Bragg’s is sold in 5% acidity, which is strong enough to kill any harmful bacteria like E. coli. Pasteurizing the vinegar would destroy much of the nutrients and healthy bacteria present.
Organic varieties are better than non-organic when you’re looking for maximum effectiveness. While inorganic brands may look clear, much like apple juice, organic products will have a “milky” look, indicating that it has the healthy bacteria responsible for most of its health effects.
How Should I Take Apple Cider Vinegar For Weight Loss?
The recommended amount is one to two teaspoons with a glass of water. Take apple cider vinegar three times a day before meals. You can add raw honey for improved taste and anti-inflammatory boost.
They also make great addition to desserts as salad dressings. So instead of mayonnaise or whipped cream, consider making use of unfiltered apple cider vinegar as dressings to your meals.
Some people feel nauseous or uncomfortable taking apple cider vinegar in the morning before foods. If this is you, you could try taking it after meals. Some users report that taking the vinegar after a meal helps control their cravings.
There are also pill versions, but most experts recommend taking it directly in its unpasteurized form.
Dr. Berg leaves a good tip in his video. If you really can’t stand the taste of apple cider vinegar, your body may not need it. Your body should crave foods that contain nutrients and minerals that you need.
Vinegar has a strong taste, so you may not ever crave it, but be aware that your body can act as a natural gauge for your health.