The Truth About Apple Cider Vinegar And Losing Weight

The Truth About Apple Cider Vinegar And Losing Weight

One of the biggest questions we get from readers is in regards to apple cider vinegar: Does it really help you lose weight? The research at this time is mixed. When it comes to juice diets, there is a plethora of fads that are advertised each season.

While there are some pros and cons to taking apple cider vinegar, overall, there is not substantial evidence to support that it is helpful in weight loss. In fact, it may cause some harmful effects if taken in excess.

more: This Article Has The Best Ways To Lose Weight, Check It Out!

What Do People Claim About Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar has had been touted as a miracle supplement with claims that it cures hiccups and sore throats, relieves nasal congestion, clears acne, boosts energy, reduces muscle cramps at night, removes bad breath, and whitens teeth.

However, most concerning to me is the claims that apple cider vinegar helps lower cholesterol, reduce sugar in diabetes and leads to weight loss. The supplement market makes these claims, but there is limited research showing that these claims are true.

For detailed descriptions of several of these studies, you can read them at the end of this article.

more: Incredible Home Remedies To Lose Belly Fat

Can Apple Cider Vinegar Hurt You?

Overall, apple cider vinegar is relatively safe with few side effects. However, apple cider vinegar consists of 5-20% of acetic acid.

Acids can cause erosion of tissue. If you have heart burn, which is due to the increased gastric acid in your stomach, you can worsen your heart burn by drinking more of the acidic apple cider vinegar.

Drinking in excess may cause erosion along your esophagus. If feel that you have worsening heart burn, stop taking apple cider vinegar, sooth your throat with some tea and honey, or use some chloraseptic throat spray. And go see your doctor to see if you need further medical treatment.

The acidic apple cider vinegar can also erode the enamel that protects your teeth from cavities, and turn your teeth yellow.

more: 5 Scientifically Proven Ways To Lose Belly Fat

If you do take apple cider vinegar rinse your mouth out with water to decrease risk of dental problems. Be sure to follow up with your dentist for biannual dental checkups.

Also be aware that apple cider vinegar is low in potassium. If you drink too much of it instead of potassium rich foods, like bananas and other fruits, you increase your risk of cramps.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that needs compliance of your medications and diet, and must be treated with your doctor. Apple cider vinegar has not been shown to treat your diabetes.

Do not use apple cider vinegar as a replacement for the medication and diet that you have been prescribed by your doctor. If you would like to discuss using apple cider vinegar, by all means, consult with your physician first.

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help You Lose Weight?

At this point in time, there is no evidence that shows conclusively that apple cider vinegar will cause weight loss in humans in the long run. Researchers are unable to make a causality relationship that apple cider vinegar does indeed cause weight loss, decrease in glucose, or decrease cardiovascular risk.More randomized clinical trials with more detailed methodology must be performed with larger populations that follow patients over a longer period of time before these claims can be deemed true.

does apple cider vinegar help you lose weight

If you do decide to use apple cider vinegar, use it in moderation. Dilute it with water to decrease the acidity so it does not erode your teeth or worsen your heart burn. Use it as salad dressing to add taste. But be mindful that it is not a miracle weight loss supplement.

more: 18 Tricks To Get A Flat Belly Fast

So What’s The Best Weight Loss Plan?

The best thing you can do for your weight loss is to continue to decrease your calories, increase your exercise, and stay consistent! Weight loss is a goal; but maintaining your healthy weight is a lifestyle.

Do not tell yourself, “I need to lose 20lbs in 6 months.” You should be telling yourself, “My healthy weight is 20lbs less, and I will get to that goal in 6 months and keep it there.”

Try mixing up your cardio from jogging to Tabata Interval Training. Start your breakfast off right with whole oats for more long lasting energy and fiber. Continue to eat smaller more frequent meals throughout the day.

Avoid foods that make you fat! Use a food diary to track your calories and how much you eat. Dieting is tough, but when you reach your healthy weight you will look great and feel great!

Nothing is more inspiring to stay consistent with your new healthy habits than the way you feel when you look at yourself in the mirror!

What Are The Studies That Have Been Done On Apple Cider Vinegar?

An early study showed that vinegar can help reduce both cholesterol and triglyceride fats – in rats! Just because something works in animals does not mean it can work effectively in humans.

A study in 2009 in Japan divided obese patient into three groups: each group ingested 500 ml daily of a beverage containing either 15 ml of vinegar (750 mg Ac oh), 30 ml of vinegar (1,500 mg Ac oh), or 0 ml of vinegar (0 mg Ac oh, placebo). After 12 weeks there was a modest reduction in weight loss for the 15mL group (2.6lbs) and 30mL (3.7lbs) compared to the placebo group.

more: Take The Quiz – Do You Know The Unique Veggies That Burn Abdominal Fat?

However, a reduction of only 2 to 4lbs over 12 weeks is clinically insignificant, and the study failed to show a correlation that apple cider vinegar alone leads to the weight loss. These research subjects failed to combine diet, exercise and lifestyle changes during those 12 weeks.

A study in France showed that apple cider vinegar had a satiating effect leading to decreases in hyperlipidemia and blood sugar – in rats (again!). Another trial showed that in human type 2 diabetics, drinking vinegar at bedtime reduced the next-morning fasting glucose concentration.

However, this study was done with only 11 people and did not take into account differences in medications and renal function which have impacts on outcomes of morning glucose levels. While there are some studies showing reduction of blood sugars in rats, there needs to be more trials done in humans to better understand the efficacy.

In 2014 there was a landmark review the assessed all the trials done in regards to the multiple claims regarding apple cider vinegar for weight loss. The authors concluded that although there are some trials which show in animal models that apple cider vinegar may help reduce hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, and obesity, there are a numerous studies showing no beneficial effect. Several mechanisms for these claims have been suggested, however, there is no clear evidence supporting a cause-effect relationship that apple cider vinegar can cause weight loss.

The authors of the review believe that while there is some evidence which supports the use of apple cider vinegar to complement in weight loss and glucose and lipid control, it is imperative that further large-scale long term randomized control trials in humans be conducted with flawless methodology to definitely prove that apple cider vinegar holds up to the alleged health claims.That being said, I would not hold out waiting for more studies to be done at this time, since research on natural health products is rarely done on a grand scale with precise methodology compared to those done in pharmaceutical medications.

Rajiv M Mallipudi, md, mhs is an internal medicine resident physician, personal trainer, athlete and author. He has over a decade of personal training experience and helped hundreds of clients of all levels achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. This inspired him to work as a clinical researcher at the nationally recognized, Johns Hopkins Hospital Weight Management Center.During medical school he and his classmates created the health and wellness organization, med fit, which provided personal training and nutrition counseling to the medical student body. In his spare time, Dr. Mallipudi enjoys playing ice hockey, dancing, and training for his next bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions. Dr. Mallipudi serves as a contributing writer for the Diet and Fitness sections.

31 comments… add one
  • "Leah Evers" April 24, 2017, 1:54 pm

    Such an informative article!

  • reneah April 24, 2017, 12:50 pm

    i totally agree with you. we should not rely on products like this. we need to do our part in working out and eating good diet

  • jade April 21, 2017, 12:01 am

    this has been a fuss for long now and i haven’t tried it at all. thanks for your insights

  • courtney April 19, 2017, 4:44 pm

    this really do wonders in my diet! you gotta try it!

  • mary April 18, 2017, 11:59 pm

    you should try this! it worked for me and i have only been taking it for 2 weeks now

  • shelly April 17, 2017, 11:39 am

    my friends and i take this and it surely works for us. try it and see if we have the same results

  • leslie April 11, 2017, 1:33 pm

    for me, apple cider vinegar really works! (:

  • teresa April 10, 2017, 12:03 pm

    this worked for me as i worked out in the gym at the same time. there’s always something that’s gonna work for you, you only need to find it

  • susana April 5, 2017, 6:45 pm

    ACV sure does have lots of healthy benefits. I’m just not so sure about its weight loss benefits

  • Athena April 4, 2017, 11:42 pm

    for me it’s not just about the weight loss. it’s the healthy benefits that count.

  • jayda April 3, 2017, 12:28 pm

    i don’t know what this really do to the body. i believe that water is your healthiest option.

  • laura April 3, 2017, 11:01 am

    i tried this before and it worked for me. try it and see if it works for you too

  • kaori March 23, 2017, 9:39 pm

    ACV has helped me regulate my blood pressure level and i take it daily up to this date

  • franny March 22, 2017, 4:30 pm

    i think in general, it is safe especially for people with high blood sugar

  • chelsea March 16, 2017, 7:49 pm

    a friend of mine has been taking this with regular exercise and she’s lost a lot of weight already

  • kris March 15, 2017, 7:04 pm

    i’m so excited to try this, i’m really hoping it does good to my body

  • rosanne March 14, 2017, 6:42 pm

    now they even say “a teaspoon of ACV a day keeps the doctor away”

  • kendra March 13, 2017, 5:06 pm

    i loved using apple cider vinegar especially in the morning and i think it’s really effective. you should try it to see if it works for you

  • allona March 9, 2017, 6:51 pm

    i know there’s a lot of healthy benefits from apple cider vinegar but i’m not really sure with losing weight

  • ashby March 7, 2017, 2:38 pm

    i have been using apple cider and i believe it has brought me a lot of positive health benefits. i don’t think there’s any harm in taking it so might as well try it and see the results

  • hannah March 6, 2017, 1:40 pm

    thanks for clarifying this. it has always been a debate between me and my friends

  • eva March 3, 2017, 3:55 pm

    for some this may be effective but exercise and healthy living is still a must for it to work

  • sophia March 1, 2017, 1:11 pm

    good thing i read this article, i was about to get one to try. guess not anymore

  • connie February 28, 2017, 4:43 pm

    i tried using this but didn’t work for me

  • diane February 27, 2017, 2:20 pm

    good point! thanks for your ideas and help to all your readers like me.

  • yen February 24, 2017, 9:00 pm

    i love apple cider vinegar. i believe it has healthy benefits for the body

  • Paula February 22, 2017, 2:04 pm

    Still, this won’t work for me bec of my acid reflux

  • Cherry February 20, 2017, 10:36 pm

    Whataver feels good and safe for you will do. But a balanced diet will always be the key to losing weight

  • jacquelyn February 19, 2017, 3:18 am

    exercise and a healthy diet will do the trick, apple cider vinegar alone cannot do it all.

  • nancy February 14, 2017, 6:35 pm

    i haven’t tried this method but a lot of people swear by its weight loss promise, including some friends of mine.

  • regina February 13, 2017, 7:41 pm

    1 a good friend of mine taught me to drink a tablespoon each morning, she does it and she really lost a lot of weight

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