Apple cider vinegar has a long history as a health tonic used to treat everything from a sore throat to varicose veins. Research shows that apple cider vinegar has many health benefits, such as lowering blood sugar levels.
But here’s the big question, does apple cider vinegar help you lose weight? There are so many fad diets and illogical weight loss tips and tricks out there that it can be hard to determine which are true and which are false. That is why we have looked into the weight loss effects of apple cider vinegar for you.
Firstly you may be wondering, what the heck is apple cider vinegar? Well it is made in a two-step fermentation process and acetic acid is the vinegar’s main active component. It starts by apples being cut or crushed and combined with yeast to convert their sugar into alcohol. Then bacteria are added to ferment the alcohol into acetic acid. On average it takes about a month to produce and only has three calories per one tablespoon.
How Does It Make You Lose Weight?
Apple cider vinegar may promote fullness and satisfy your hunger cravings, which in turn can decrease calorie intake. It also keeps a healthy pH balance in the body for proper digestion.
In a 12-week study, 144 obese Japanese adults consumed either 1-tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or a placebo drink every day. They were instructed to restrict their alcohol intake but otherwise could continue their diet and activity as usual.
Those who consumed 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per day had the following benefits:
Weight loss: 1.2kg
Decrease in body fat percentage: 0.7%
Decrease in waist circumference 1.4cm
Those who consumed 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per day had the following benefits:
Weight loss: 1.7kg
Decrease in body fat percentage: 0.9%
Decrease in waist circumference: 1.9cm
Those who had a placebo drink actually gained 0.4kgs and their waist circumference slightly increased. Therefore according to this study by adding 1 or tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your diet you can loose weight, reduce your body fat percentage and decrease your waist size.
What Are The Other Health Benefits?
Besides aiding weight loss, apple cider vinegar has numerous other health benefits such as lowers blood sugar and insulin, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers fasting blood sugar, improves PCOS symptoms, decreases cholesterol levels, lowers blood pressure and kills harmful bacteria and viruses within your body.
How to Add It to Your Diet
There are a couple of different ways you can start incorporating apple cider vinegar into your daily routine. An easy method is to use it with olive oil as a salad dressing, this works especially well with leafy greens and cucumbers. You could use it to pickle vegetable or simple add it into your water and drink throughout the day. Our Thinco Program customers love using Apple Cider Vinegar as a tangy salad dressing!