Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

Although apple cider vinegar is potentially a healthy, natural treatment for many ailments and allergies, it has also been suggested that it be used as a way to lose weight.

help us to lose weight?

Let’s face it there are literally hundreds of different weight loss and diet programs on the market, with dozens more springing up every month. It is big business for the companies that sell the related products and an industry that grows all the time.

Trying to lose weight or going on a diet usually involves short-term weight loss but very rarely does the weight stay off. This is because diets do not work. To lose weight and to keep the weight off, we must change our eating and exercise habits.

This is why drinking apple cider vinegar to lose weight actually appeals to me. Although there is little scientific evidence to substantiate these claims, it is believed that drinking a glass of water with mixed with some ACV before or during every meal has certain beneficial effects:

1. The nutrients, enzymes and organic acids in apple cider vinegar acts as a natural appetite suppressant, so you feel fuller much quicker.
Apples and AVC contain pectin which is a water-soluble fiber. It is effective in absorbing water and filling the stomach slightly. So drinking a glass before your meal should give you that fuller feeling inside so you don’t eat as much.

This theory has actually been tested at Lund University by Swedish scientists studying vinegar as an appetite suppressant. It was concluded that vinegar drunk before a meal, encourages people to eat less.

Reference: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005, 59: 983-988

2. Mixing apple cider vinegar with a glass of water will help to cure your cravings for sweet things. This is particularly beneficial to those of us who like our puddings and ice cream! This theory certainly works for me. I always enjoyed a sweet dessert after a main meal, but if I drink a ACV solution I can quite happily skip it, which in itself has helped me to lose a few pounds.

3. The healthy byproducts contained in AVC also help your metabolism work more efficiently, thus speeding up the rate at which your body burns fat.

The acetic acid in the vinegar releases iron from the foods you eat which in turn is absorbed into the body. Without getting too technical, this process utilizes greater amounts of oxygen which requires greater amounts of energy to be used and therefore induces weight loss.

Apple cider vinegar doesn’t directly enable you to lose weight, but its healthy properties helps the body do so naturally without actually changing your diet.

Of course eating a healthier diet and taking more exercise will also help, but you can see how this method at least might stop you from eating too much and encourage the body to work more efficiently, burning unused fat.

The important thing to realize with apple cider vinegar and weight loss is that it is an easily sustainable, long-term method that requires very little effort. It is also a natural product that contains a whole host of vitamins and minerals that can help with various ailments and general health and well-being.

You can discover more vinegar health benefits, and read about my various findings from the navigation bar on the right.

If you have any questions or comments or stories regarding ACV and weight loss, please drop them below.

Peter