Grandma swore that she could lose weight with apple cider vinegar – but does it really shed the pounds faster? We took a closer look.
The apple cider vinegar diet is not new, but it has recently become more popular.
Allegedly, the sour brew is supposed to help you lose weight if you otherwise pay attention to a healthy diet and do sport: Apple cider vinegar as an additional diet aid, so to speak. But does that really bring anything?
This is how the apple cider vinegar diet works. With the apple cider vinegar diet, of course, you can’t just drink vinegar all day. Instead, the slimming diet is about converting your diet to low-calorie mixed foods. You shouldn’t consume more than 1,200 calories per day.
The specialty: before every meal, you drink a glass of water with a bit of apple cider vinegar. This is supposed to stimulate the metabolism and reduce the feeling of appetite so that you eat less. The food itself can also be prepared with acidic vinegar to enhance the effect.
No scientific evidence
So much for the theory, but is that also useful in practice? So far, there are no clear scientific studies that have confirmed the miraculous effects of apple cider vinegar.
In a study with overweight rats and mice, researchers showed that acetic acid has a positive effect on metabolism and impacts fat deposition.
However, there is no comparable evidence for humans. A study from Japan, which is frequently quoted, also reported successes in weight loss among participants who consumed vinegar water. Still, the test subjects only lost one to two kilograms within twelve weeks.
Due to this weak evidence, there is currently insufficient evidence that vinegar in general and apple cider vinegar, in particular, helps with weight loss. This was the finding of the European Food Safety Authority.
Side effects of the apple cider vinegar diet
If you think that it still can’t hurt to try the whole thing, you should consider a few things. There are no significant side effects with the apple cider vinegar diet, but you should consider the following: Vinegar must always be consumed diluted. Otherwise, it can attack the teeth.
Furthermore, vinegar is said to have effects on and lower potassium levels in the body. This is especially important for people taking medications that can lower potassium levels.
