Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar-Give it A Shot
Also known as ACV
Apple cider vinegar has been hailed as a cure-all dietary supplement, with health benefits ranging from relief from allergy symptoms to helping the body burn fat and lose weight. There are testimonials from people who believe that drinking apple cider vinegar has helped, ME being one of them but is there any evidence to back up these claims?
While a few studies have been conducted on the possible health benefits of apple cider vinegar, the “experts” say the number of people in these studies is typically small, and the evidence is not yet convincing. They say “One or two small studies is not enough to prove a benefit.”
Sorting Out Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
- Weight loss. The idea that has been floating around is that apple cider vinegar somehow speeds up fat loss. So far there is no scientific evidence based on the small group studies to suggest that apple cider vinegar can affect metabolism, which is the way an individual breaks down food and burns calories.
- Feeling full. A 2006 study found that people who took doses of vinegar while eating bread reported feeling more full than people who ate bread alone. While this study is considered proof by those who believe in the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, it is important to note that it only tested 12 individuals, and the authors concluded that much more research was needed before firm conclusions could be drawn. This study did not suggest that the way these people burned calories was affected.
BUT let me say from personal experience… I drink just one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar when I feel hungry which is usually when dinner time hunger pains/pangs(however you like to call them)) start to kick in. That uncomfortable sensation goes away almost immediately! Plus I don’t really care about eating like I did before I had the “shot.”
My Challenge to you – Try it yourself for one week on whatever diet plan you are currently doing and just see what happens 😉
- Cholesterol. A successful study that was done on rats but has yet to be replicated in humans. The study found that rats on a diet with an acetic acid supplement had lower cholesterol levels than rats without the acetic acid supplement. Acetic acid is one of the ingredients in apple cider vinegar and many other kinds of vinegar. For those who believe in the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, this study is promising. But there are other things to consider before assuming that the findings will be true in humans — primarily that there are key differences between the metabolism of rats and humans. The study authors recommend that the next trial be on hamsters, which break down fat in a way that is more similar to humans.
- Diabetes. A few studies have found that apple cider vinegar helped in the management of diabetes; however, these studies are also limited by their small size. One study, which found that taking vinegar at bedtime reduces blood sugar levels the next morning in people with type 2 diabetes, examined only 11 people. Another study found that taking cider vinegar might have some effect on insulin sensitivity in some diabetes patients, but that research, too, was limited by the small number of people being studied.
Although there is not currently good scientific evidence for a health benefit of apple cider vinegar, this may change in the future. Researchers are still involved in some exciting research about apple cider vinegar, and the future is likely to bring better information.
Here is my last two cents worth – With both apple cider vinegar and lemon juice (I will do a post about what I think about lemons on another post) let’s simplify this thing down. A natural CLEANING solution that works very well is vinegar. Yucky build up on windows, household items and even your hair has been cleaned away by something as simple as vinegar. Who is to say that can’t hold true for helping clean out the “YUCK” in your body. Usually cholesterol, some allergies and excess fat or waste are attributed to an accumulation of sludge that you should want to strip out of your system.
I’m going to throw in one more “cent”.
It is my opinion that the real deal meaning the actually liquid and not pills or capsules saying it has apple cider in them is the most effective.
Ok- I have ran out of pennies for today…Be Well and Be Happy!
Drinking Water Increases Fat Burning
Drinking Water Increases Fat Oxidation
I am sure you have heard or read the weight loss tip of drinking water to help you lose weight. Well, for most of us the reason for drinking water was to help feel fuller faster so we ate less calories.
Also, if we drank water instead of caloric beverages we would consume less calories, which may lead to weight loss. There were also the critics that may have told you this was ridiculous and you were wasting your time drinking water as a tool for greater weight loss.
Well, there is some pretty solid evidence that says this is not ridiculous at all and the studies conducted on this have been some of the more rigorous studies conducted with crossover experiments and randomized and controlled trials.
In various crossover experiments drinking water resulted in lower total caloric intake with the subjects that were tested. The reason for this is simple and it is because they were not consuming calorie filled beverages. They were replacing these caloric beverages with water that has zero calories.
What was also found was that the individuals do not eat less food when they know they are drinking caloric beverages. They still eat the same amount of calories regardless of if their beverages contained calories or not.
Drinking Water Increases Fat Oxidation
Fat oxidation is at its greatest when your insulin levels are low. The reason for this is because insulin inhibits or decreases the ability of rate limiting enzymes that breakdown triglyceride fats into free fatty acids. As well as the transport of these free fatty acids into the mitochondria and Krebs cycle to be burned for energy.
Water importance
Since water does not contain calories or carbohydrates like over beverages it does not trigger an insulin response. If you were to compare it to the glycemic index water is of course 0, milk is around 35, juice is around 50 and sugary drinks are as high as 80.
Keeping your insulin levels lows results in greater rates of fat oxidation. Now remember this doesn’t apply just to water. The foods you eat and what combination of nutrients you eat can all influence the insulin response. Keeping your insulin response consistently lower throughout the day will allow your body to burn more stored fat as energy.
Anytime your insulin and blood sugar levels are elevated you stop fat breakdown and fat oxidation.
There have been decades of crossover studies that consistently show higher levels of fat oxidation when drinking water compared to caloric drinks before or during low to moderate exercise. If you look at the average of these studies the fat oxidation is around 40% greater after water is consumed than after a caloric beverage.
It is normal for fat oxidation to be depressed for a length of time after a meal because naturally your body is going to release insulin to properly utilize the nutrients you just consumed. What you choose for your beverage though can dictate how long that slow down of fat oxidation really is.
Research has shown that drinking water instead of a caloric beverage can restore the rate of fat oxidation to pre-meal levels about 2 hours sooner than if you were to drink a caloric beverage with the same meal.
Some studies have shown that consumption of 500-600 calories from carbohydrates can depress fat oxidation for 6 hours after consumption.
Hypocaloric Diets and Water Leads To Weight Loss
Two very interesting intervention studies looked at a hypocaloric diet and then the same diet plus water as the beverage. One study looked at 48 randomized overweight or obese men and women. They were given a hypocaloric diet plus 500ml of water at each meal or they were just given the hypocaloric diet (control) with no water.
The results showed that weight loss in the water group was 2kg greater. In analysis of data from the Stanford A to Z Study they focused on 155 overweight premenopausal women who reported drinking less than 1L/ day of water before beginning 1 of 4 different weight programs. The programs were the Atkins diet, Zone diet, LEARN diet, and Ornish diet. The 4 programs do recommend drinking 1L/day of water or more and limiting or no intake at all of caloric beverages.
After 2 months of their diet classes they all reported higher water intake and less caloric beverage intake. Independent of any changes in diet or physical activity those who increased their water intake and decreased caloric beverage intake had significantly greater weight loss.
Summary
Ok, lets summarize all this data as some of it may have gotten confusing.
Drinking water during the day and at your meals instead of drinking calorie filled beverages decreases your total calorie intake and it also promotes greater fat oxidation, which is the burning of stored fat as energy.
So drink water at meals and in-between meals instead of calorie filled beverages. Finally, eat a higher protein rich and lower carb diet to minimize the insulin spikes that will depress fat oxidation for hours after that meal.
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