Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff Lauren vogelbamb here. Apple cider vinegar has been making these social media rounds as the weight loss cure to jure. Maybe you've seen videos of dr Oz touting the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, or of YouTubers claiming to have shed ten pounds of belly fat in just seven days by drinking apple cider vinegar cocktails before meals. Even if we know, the health claim sound too good to
be true. For anyone who struggles with their health and body image as it relates to their body weight, it can be tempting to try any weight loss regimen that's so cheap, all natural, and seemingly effortless. So what's the deal? Can apple cider vinegar really help you lose weight? First? A quick explainer on apple cider vinegar versus other types of vinegar. The active ingredient in all vinegar is acetic acid.
Most of the vinegars we commonly eat or cook with a white vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic, and apple cider contain between five and six percent acetic acid, though mild rice vinegar can be as low as two to four percent. When people talk about the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, they're really talking about the health benefits of having more
acetic acid in your diet. You could consume any vinegar to get the same effect, but the relatively mild and sweet flavor of apple cider vinegar is more palatable barely when mixed into a beverage, which has boosted its popularity. Plus, there are several brands of raw, organic, unfiltered, and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar that have achieved a cult following for their purported health benefits. But what does the research say.
We spoke with Deborah Murphy, a registered dietitian in Chicago, who says the current scientific research on the weight loss benefits of apple cider vinegar is limited, although there have been a handful of small studies that make a case for this health remedy. Several animal studies showed that doses of acetic acid seemed to suppress the accumulation of body
fat in mice that were fed high fat diets. The biggest human study to date from fourteen followed the progress of a hundred and seventy five obese adults in Japan. Some of whom were given a beverage containing one or two tablespoons that's fifteen or thirty million liters of apple cider vinegar every day with their meals, and some who
were not. After twelve weeks, the folks who drank a little vinegar every day lost two to four pounds that's one to two kilograms, compared to no statistical improvements in the group who did not drink the vinegar. Low and slow decreases in weight are definitely the safest and healthiest way to lose weight, but only losing two to four pounds over three months that's a third of a pound a week hardly qualifies as a secret weight loss cure,
as some claim apple cider vinegar to be. Other much smaller studies have linked apple cider vinegar to slowing down gastric emptying, which is the time it takes for food to move from the stomach to these small intestine. In an experiment involving just ten people with type one diabetes, the folks who drank a little apple cider vinegar each day kept food in their stomach longer, and their stomach
size also swelled more after eating a meal. Both of these findings support the idea that apple cider vinegar could help you feel fuller and stay fuller longer, although the scientific proof there is still modest, Murphy said, Unfortunately, there is still no single food that holds the secret to weight loss. Despite what many on the Internet may say about apple cider vinegar, the only way to achieve and sustain weight loss is the same thing you've likely heard
a hundred times before. Eat healthy and move your body. Even if apple cider vinegar isn't the cure all it's sometimes cracked up to be, it can still be part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. There's even promising research underway about apple cider vinegar and insulin response. A small study did show that vinegar can significantly improve insulin sensitivity in diabetic and pre diabetic patients after a high carb meal.
We also spoke with Cynthia Sass, a performance nutritionist based in New York and Los Angeles, who warns against drinking apple cider vinegar straight because the acetic acid can wear away tooth, enamel, and even burn the esophic guess. If you want to give apple cider vinegar beverages a try,
Sauce recommends swirling two teaspoons. That's about nine millilaters of apple cider vinegar, plus a teaspoon about four point five millilaters of honey, and a cup of warm water once a day, but she says don't go overboard on the quantity or frequency. There's also no reason that apple cider vinegar has to be imbibed in order to access any
potential health benefits. Murphy suggests working it into your existing recipes, making a vinegrette for your salads at Tanging cole Slaw, a marinade for chicken or fish, or adding some to sauteed greens to give them a punch. Today's episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clay. For more on this and lots of other healthy topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff works dot com