Vinegar Can Fight Diabetes and Promote Weight Loss

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Vinegar Can Fight Diabetes and Promote Weight Loss

 

http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/22/vinegar_diabetes.htm

 

Eating vinegar before a meal, perhaps as part of an oil-and-vinegar salad

dressing, could be greatly beneficial to people with diabetes or those at

high risk of developing the disease.

 

According to the results of a study, two tablespoons of vinegar taken prior

to eating dramatically reduced insulin and glucose spikes in the blood that

occur after meals. In people with type 2 diabetes, these spikes can cause

major complications, including heart disease.

 

Vinegar's effects were comparable to those from antidiabetes drugs like

metformin, researchers said.

 

In the study, which involved 29 people, one-third had been diagnosed with

type 2 diabetes, one-third had signs that they could develop diabetes and

one-third were healthy. Each individual was given either a vinegar dose or a

placebo prior to eating a high-carbohydrate breakfast, and one week later

were given the opposite drink and the same breakfast.

 

Results indicated that:

 

* All groups had better blood readings with the vinegar than with the

placebo

* People with prediabetic symptoms benefited the most from the vinegar,

with blood-glucose concentrations cut by almost half

* People with diabetes improved their blood-glucose levels by 25 percent

with the vinegar

* People with prediabetic symptoms had lower blood-glucose levels than

healthy participants after both drank vinegar

 

A follow-up study geared at testing vinegar's long-term effects also found

that taking vinegar yielded a pleasant side effect: moderate weight loss. In

the four-week study, half of participants took a two-tablespoon dose of

vinegar prior to each of two meals daily, while the other half were told to

avoid vinegar.

 

Participants taking the vinegar lost an average of two pounds over the

four-week period, while weight remained constant in the non-vinegar group.

And some participants taking vinegar lost up to four pounds.

 

The downside? Participants weren't fond of drinking vinegar, even flavored

apple cider vinegar. In response, researchers are now developing an

encapsulated form of vinegar and testing its effectiveness.

 

However, don't rush out to buy any of the vinegar dietary supplements

currently on the market. According to the researchers, they don't contain

acetic acid, which they suspect is the antidiabetic component in the

vinegar.

 

Science News January 1, 2005;167(1)

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

This appears to be a simple and safe way for diabetics and pre-diabetics to

help gain control of their blood sugar levels. Eating the vinegar as part of

a salad dressing, perhaps with some high-quality olive oil or even fish or

cod liver oil would seem most palatable if you aren't fond of the taste.

 

The most interesting part of this study was that people with a high risk of

developing diabetes, or in other words people with pre-diabetes, were able

to have lower blood-glucose levels than healthy people just by drinking two

tablespoons of vinegar before their meals.

 

As some 41 million American people have pre-diabetes, and one in five of you

reading this have it or diabetes already, it certainly seems prudent to add

some vinegar-based dressings to your before-dinner salad.

 

But please don't rely on this as your only line of defense. Diabetes is a

devastating and debilitating disease, and if you have it, or show any of

these warning signs:

 

* Increased weight

* High blood pressure

* High blood cholesterol

* A fasting blood sugar level over 100

 

.... you will want to seriously consider taking proactive steps to treat the

condition now. Here is a three-step plan that should help you gain control

over your diabetes if you have it, and protect you from getting it if you

don't.

 

* Eat foods that are right for your metabolic type

* Exercise

* Get enough sleep

 

Related Articles:

 

Exercise Can Reverse Pre-Diabetes

 

Had a Heart Attack? You Need to be Checked for PRE Diabetes

 

'Pre-Diabetes' Tests Urged for Overweight Americans

 

More Americans Are Becoming Pre-Diabetics

 

Diabetes Costs More Than Double to $92 Billion

 

One Soda a Day Increases Diabetes Risk 85 Percent

 

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