Apple cider vinegar is made from cider or juice that has been freshly pressed, with a number of uses for home and health. Despite its bitter taste and acidic properties, the solution has a number of applications that set it apart from other natural and chemical remedy items. Exploring the many uses of apple cider vinegar can make it easier to see how apple cider vinegar could be used in day-to-day life.
Reducing Alkalinity
Apple cider vinegar may be used as a meal supplement to help reduce the effects of alkaline foods on the body. This idea possibly began with the late Dr. DeForest Clinton Jarvis, a Vermont doctor who believed all illnesses could be traced to excessive alkalinity in the body, according to the Social Issues Research Center. Jarvis suggested that patients avoid alkaline foods and take 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar before each meal. However, modern science has not proven Jarvis' theory.
Controlling Blood Sugar
Apple cider vinegar can also be used to control blood sugar. According to a study conducted at Arizona State University and published in 2004 in the American Diabetes Association's journal, "Diabetes Care," apple cider vinegar taken at bedtime can lower the fasting glucose rates in individuals with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. This occurs by heightening patient sensitivity to insulin, especially after a high carbohydrate meal. The magazine states that fasting glucose rates were reduced in some patients by as much as 6 percent, but researchers noted that more studies are needed to prove apple cider vinegar's true effectiveness.
Another study, conducted at Lund University in Sweden, and published in the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2005, concluded that subjects given meals based on white bread and supplemented with apple cider vinegar had a lower blood glucose and insulin response, as well as a greater sense of satiety.
Preventing Increased Blood Cholesterol Levels
Modern scientific research conducted in 2006 and noted in the "British Journal of Nutrition" found that giving apple cider vinegar to rats prior to a cholesterol-rich meal helped to prevent increased levels of total blood cholesterol over time. This was concluded to be due to preventing the process of lipogenesis (fat production) by the liver as well as increased bile acid production.
References
- "Diabetes Care": Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects with Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes
- The Social Issues Research Center: 1958
- "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition": Vinegar Supplementation Lowers Glucose and Insulin Responses and Increases Satiety; E --stman; 2005
- "British Journal of Nutrition": Dietary Acetic Acid Reduces Serum Cholesterol and Triacylgycerols in Rats Fed a Cholesterol-Rich Diet; 2006
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