Editor’s note: The study described below was finally removed by the BMJ following statistical errors. More details on the article “apple cider vinegar: its weightless virtues largely questioned”
An efficiency on weight, blood sugar, cholesterol …
As part of this study, Lebanese researchers followed 30 overweight or obese people aged 12 to 25. All had to drink a spoon of apple cider vinegar each morning in water. The volume varied from a teaspoon to a tablespoon (5 to 15 ml) and some drank a placebo drink (which looked like apple cider vinegar) in order to credible the results (double blind, neither the patient, nor the prescriber know if they drink the active liquid or a placebo). At the same time, no food or physical activity has been put in place.
After three months, the participants who had received the highest dose had lost 8 kg, three points on their body mass index (BMI) and presented a significant reduction in their waist and hips. They had even shown a reduction in their blood sugar, their cholesterol and triglyceride levels. No side effects were observed by researchers. “”It is important to note that the food newspaper and physical activity did not differ between the three treatment groups and the placebo throughout the study, which suggests that the decrease in anthropometric and biochemical parameters was caused by the consumption of apple cider vinegar“Specify researchers.
How to explain such an effect?
According to the authors, the effect could be triple with an increase in energy expenditure, an improvement in insulin sensitivity and a regulation of appetite and satiety. Vinegar is made up of various ingredients but it is the biological action of acetic acid mediated by the binding to receptors coupled with G (GPR) proteins, expressed in various tissues sensitive to insulin. Experiments in animals that this ingredient improves glucose tolerance and reduces the accumulation of lipids in adipose tissue and liver. Acetate could also reduce energy intake by regulating appetite and satiety by hormonal action.
The work in humans remain limited. A study showed that daily consumption of 30 ml of apple cider vinegar for 12 weeks significantly reduced body weight, BMI, hip tour, visceral adiposity index and appetite score in obese subjects subjected to a hypocaloric diet, compared to the control group (hypocaloric diet without cider vinegar). The plasma levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol even decreased significantly and that good cholesterol increased significantly. Results partly confirmed by other works which showed that the daily consumption of 15 or 30 ml of ACV for 12 weeks reduced body weight, BMI and serum triglycerides in a sample of the Japanese population.
Are all the vinegars equal?
If the acetic acid is present in all the vinegars, are all these products equal? Not according to another study which focused on the daily consumption of 200 ml of grenade vinegar for 8 weeks had led to the reduction of total fat mass in overweight or obese subjects but without affecting body weight and BMI. Different results that could be explained by the difference in acetate percentage and other compounds (such as flavonoids and other phenolic compounds) in the different types of vinegar.
Should we adopt it in the morning?
Does this new study make it possible to rule definitively on the benefits of apple cider vinegar? We can say that it constitutes an additional index of the benefits linked to a modest consumption of apple cider vinegar, even if certain data lacks the feeding of participants (caloric intake, consumption of fruits, vegetables, ultra-transformed food, etc.).
Be careful, however, to keep in mind that the long -term vinegar consumed in stomach burns (it is therefore not recommended to use it in the event of stomach or ulcers) and damage to the enamel of the teeth. The latter risk can be limited using a straw to limit contact with the teeth and rinse your mouth to clear water afterwards.
Finally, it should be kept in mind that weight loss cannot be summed up in a miracle ingredient, it must rely on food rebalancing, physical activity and in some cases the use of drug treatment or surgery. If you have weight problems, tell your doctor.