The health benefits of apple cider vinegar: An overview
Check out this answer from Consensus:
The scientific evidence supports the notion that apple cider vinegar offers several health benefits, including weight management, improved cardiovascular health, better glycemic control, antioxidant properties, and immunomodulatory effects. However, more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind these benefits and to establish standardized dosages for therapeutic use.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been touted for its various health benefits, ranging from weight management to improved cardiovascular health. This article explores the scientific evidence supporting these claims, drawing from multiple research studies.
Weight Management and Metabolic Health
Several studies have demonstrated that ACV can aid in weight management and improve metabolic health. A randomized clinical trial found that ACV, when combined with a restricted calorie diet, significantly reduced body weight, BMI, hip circumference, and visceral adiposity index (VAI) in overweight or obese individuals. Additionally, it improved lipid profiles by decreasing plasma triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations1.
Cardiovascular Health
ACV has also been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. In a study involving high-cholesterol-fed rats, ACV supplementation decreased triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels. It also increased total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL cholesterol levels, and reduced liver function tests, indicating improved liver health3. Another study on Wistar rats fed a high-fat diet found that ACV significantly ameliorated cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity, such as serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C, and VLDL levels6.
Glycemic Control
The potential of ACV to improve glycemic control has been explored in several studies. A quasi-experimental study on diabetic clients revealed that ACV supplementation significantly reduced fasting blood sugar and postprandial sugar levels5. Another randomized controlled trial found that prolonged consumption of ACV significantly decreased fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, and LDL levels in type 2 diabetes patients8. These findings suggest that ACV can be an effective adjunct therapy for managing diabetes.
Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Properties
ACV’s antioxidant properties have been highlighted in various studies. For instance, a study on ovariectomized mice fed a high-cholesterol diet found that ACV supplementation reduced lipid peroxidation levels in the liver and kidney, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities10. Similarly, another study on high-fat-fed Wistar rats showed that ACV significantly reduced oxidative stress markers and improved antioxidant status6.
Immunomodulatory Effects
ACV has also been found to have immunomodulatory effects. A study on common carp demonstrated that the combined administration of ACV and Lactobacillus casei significantly increased immune-related and antioxidant enzyme gene expression, as well as serum immune parameters2. This suggests that ACV can enhance immune responses and may be beneficial in aquaculture.
Does taking apple cider vinegar as a supplement have any real health benefits?
Cornelie Nienaber-Rousseau has answered Uncertain
An expert from North-West University in Nutrition
The main component of apple cider vinegar, persimmon vinegar, tomato vinegar and others, is acetic acid (AcOH), with 15 ml vinegar containing approximately 750 mg of acetic acid (Petsiou et al., 2014; Samad et al., 2016). Other constituents of vinegar include organic acids (formic, lactic, malic, citric, succinic, and tartaric), amino acids, peptides, vitamins, mineral salts, and polyphenolic compounds (e.g., catechin, caffeic, ferulic acid) (Petsiou et al., 2014). The therapeutic value of vinegar could be due to the presence of the acetic acid and these other components.
In terms of vinegar’s effects on body weight, most studies on rats seems to be beneficial (Kondo et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2013; Lozano et al., 2012; Yamashita et al., 2007; Yamashita et al., 2009; Yamashita, 2015; Yun et al., 2005) with one finding no effects (Fushimi et al., 2007). Human studies on this topic is scarce. A double-blind placebo-controlled randomized control trial in 155 obese Japanese individuals studied for 12-weeks indicated beneficial effects that were lost after cessation of treatment (Kondo et al., 2009). Seo et al. (2015) reported findings from an investigation on the effects of ginseng ripened into a persimmon vinegar (traditional of Korean foods) on body weight in obese female adolescents and found a reduction in body weight/fat even though their study was small. However, more good quality (double-blind placebo-controlled randomized control trials) independent studies are essential if we want to determine whether vinegar might be of benefit. Vinegar/acetic acid seems to delay gastric emptying (Hlebowicz et al., 2007; Liljeberg & Björck, 1998; ), which could be beneficial in terms of weight maintenance.
For detailed discussions on other possible health benefits of vinegar please refer to the reviews by Petsiou et al. (2014) and Samad et al. (2016). Further research studies are needed to support previous reports on the health benefits of different kinds of vinegar or acetic acid.