Some Knowledge

I’ve spent the last hour reading about how drinking apple cider vinegar is supposed to help you lose weight.  Apparently, what you do is mix two tablespoons into a cup of water and drink this before meals to supress your appetite.  I have yet to see any scientific explanation for this weight loss effect.  The singer Fergie says it’s how she got such a flat stomach.  If celebrities say it works, you know people will try it.

I have read a lot of anecdotes from people who have tried this as a means to improve their health and lose weight.  Some people notice no effect or gain weight, some people lose weight.  It seems that one of the side effects of drinking apple cider vinegar is to improve your complection.  Another side effect was that the treatment cured whatever medical condition these people were suffering from.   I find this all very interesting.

I’m sure there might be some health benefits to consuming acetic acid in vinegar.  Vinegar was used as a medicine in ancient times because it supresses the growth of bacteria.  While they did not know the cause of disease in ancient times, they knew what worked as far as treatment goes with their limited supply of materials.

I don’t know if there is any real evidence that consuming apple cider vinegar promotes weight loss.  Everything I read seemed to point to the fact that the people who lost weight on this diet also exercised and ate less than they had been eating.  So, if you consume vinegar and eat less, you lose weight.  A simple analysis would assign the loss of weight effect to the consumption of fewer calories.  If you like vinegar, I guess it won’t hurt you to drink it.

Drinking straight vinegar can dissolve the teeth.  It is best to dilute the vinegar with water and drink it through a straw.  Many of these people whose stories I was reading mixed honey with the vinegar to improve the taste.  Some of them mixed it with V-8 vegetable juice.  Some suggested using the vinegar with some oil as a salad dressing.  While there might be some health benefits to vinegar consumption, I think that if you want to lose weight, restricting intake of food and increasing exercise will be enough.