Among the alternative medicine crowd, vinegar is often seen as a cure-all for numerous ailments, including weight loss. But vinegar is starting to find its followers among the mainstream scientific community. Researches are beginning to evaluate claims that vinegar has beneficial uses and finding that these claims may have some truth to them.
History
The use of vinegar for medicinal uses can be traced back thousands of years to Hippocrates.But it wasn't until 1958 that vinegar took off as a weight-loss supplement with the release of Dr. D.C. Jarvis' bestselling book, "Folk Medicine," which mentioned apple cider vinegar by name. But vinegar was shunned by the mainstream medical and science communities until the 21st century, when more scientists began studies to see if vinegar had health benefits. The first study of scientific note was done by Nobumasa Ogawa for the "Journal of Nutrition" in 2000 and dealt with blood glucose levels. Weight-loss and fat-burning studies began several years later.
Weight Loss
One of the first breakthroughs in pinpointing vinegar for use in weight loss came by accident. In 2004, Arizona State University professor Dr. Carol S. Johnston was conducting a small clinical trial to examine whether vinegar consumption reduced cholesterol levels. While the vinegar did nothing to reduce cholesterol, Johnston found that those who took two tablespoons of vinegar before lunch and dinner lost an average of two pounds during the four-week period. This occurred during the holiday season, a period when people traditionally eat more than usual.
Appetite Supression
Several studies done by Sweden's Lund University have shown vinegar to be effective in reducing appetite. The two studies performed by Dr. Elin Ostman showed those subjects who took vinegar either before or during meals showed a lower increase in insulin and glucose after eating than expected. One study also showed that subjects were less hungry shortly after eating if they had taken vinegar before the meal.
Burning Fat
The breakthrough study for showing vinegar as a successful tool for burning fat didn't come until July, 2009, when Japanese researchers conducted a study using a high-fat diet on laboratory mice. Mice that were given vinegar in addition to the diet developed less body fat than mice whose diet did not include vinegar.
How It Works
While the fat-burning qualities of vinegar are still a bit unclear, both Johnston and Tomoo Kondo, who performed the 2009 study, believe that the acetic acid in vinegar is the reason it works. Essentially, the acetic acid leads to the body producing proteins that will break down the fat and help prevent build-up in the body.
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