Burning Fat with Apple Cider Vinegar
This is a slight continuation of last week’s article “Burning Fat by Controlling Sugar Spikes” for the part apple cider vinegar seems to play in helping control blood sugar spikes.
I’ve personally been mixing apple cider vinegar in water and drinking it on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning), for quite some time now, because of all the health benefits that it is claimed to have. There has however been some research that has caught my attention for its benefits in potentially effecting weight loss, and the underlying reason is steady or lower blood glucose levels. When sugar gets spiked in the blood there are 3 things that can happen to the extra sugar:
1. We burn it off by exercising or other active physical movement.
2. Our blood carries it to the liver and converts it to triglycerides.
3. If it stays in the blood, it can cause a sticky mess (aka diabetic complications)!
The continual spike in sugar is what in turn spikes our insulin levels, turns off our fat burning switch, creates insulin resistance, and wears out our pancreas. So if there is something you could take prior to eating that might help (keep blood sugar levels steady, increase insulin sensitivity and take some burden off your pancreas), would it be worth a try?
The Journal of Functional Foods (2013) research showed that, consuming 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. of water prior to mealtime, reduced fasting blood glucose concentrations in healthy adults at risk for type 2 diabetes. This aligns with a more current study that was published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies June 29, 2021
Japanese study published in 2009 associated vinegar consumption with lower bodyweight, BMI, weight circumference, and serum triglycerides. This research aligns also with a more current study from Lebanon BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health that was published March 12, 2024.
These studies seem to have one thing in common with each other, improved blood glucose levels. And even though the Japanese study would be indirectly, triglycerides nonetheless have to do with spiked sugar levels and the liver converting this excess glucose to fat.
The one thing I’ve found in vinegar, that may be a primary factor in controlling blood glucose levels, is chromium. Chromium helps make insulin more effective, by making our cells more sensitive to insulin thus lowering the amount of insulin needed.
If you’re diabetic, be careful when adding in apple cider vinegar and start out slow, so adjustments can be made to the amount of insulin taken, (talking to your doctor may be advisable). If you have a problem with hypoglycemia, start out slow so you can adjust your food intake and depending on how severe your hypoglycemia is, it may be good to talk to your doctor as well.
Appetite control: apple cider vinegar may also have an effect on satiety, according to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005), “subjects who ate bread with vinegar felt significantly fuller then their counterparts who were fed only bread.”
There seems to be a huge amount of benefit in daily consumption of apple cider vinegar, including weight loss through better blood glucose control, and for the price, this daily tonic is hard to beat!
Dosage: start out with 1–2 teaspoons in a cup of water 30–60 minutes prior to each meal and increase it gradually to 2 tablespoons.
Type of apple cider vinegar: the one that is considered the best by many health advocates is raw organic apple cider vinegar with the mother. However, the above research did not have to do with types of apple cider vinegar being better than the other, whether organic, raw or non-organic processed apple cider vinegar.
If you don’t like how it tastes, just think about the powerful health and metabolism boosting effects happening inside your body after you drink it!
