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Apple Cider Vinegar Diet Benefits & Side Effects

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How This Helps

For hundreds of years now, apple cider vinegar has been used as a home remedy for everything ranging from sore throat to hair fall. Research has shown that following the apple cider vinegar diet helps you reap the many health benefits of apple cider vinegar. Read on to find out what the apple cider vinegar diet is all about and how you can benefit from it.

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What is the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet?

No matter what you search for, apple cider vinegar seems to always pop up as a potential remedy for that problem. For hundreds of years now, apple cider vinegar has been used as a home remedy for everything ranging from sore throat to hair fall. Research has shown that following the apple cider vinegar diet helps you reap the many health benefits of apple cider vinegar. Read on to find out what the apple cider vinegar diet is all about and how you can benefit from it.

The apple cider vinegar diet focuses on consuming apple cider vinegar in small quantities. Apple cider vinegar is made from apples that are crushed, distilled, and fermented to create apple cider vinegar. It takes roughly a month to produce apple cider vinegar through a two-step fermentation process.[1] During the fermentation process, bacteria are added to transform the alcohol into acetic acid.[2]

Acetic acid, also called ethanoic acid, is also the primary active compound of apple cider vinegar. This component is known for its sour taste and strong odor, and nearly 5 to 6 percent of the apple cider vinegar is made up of acetic acid. The rest of the components are water and some small amounts of other acids like malic acid.[3]

In an apple cider vinegar diet, you need to consume one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar twice a day. It should be diluted in around eight ounces of water. Never consume apple cider vinegar directly without diluting it as the high acidity in the vinegar can irritate the throat and also strip off the tooth enamel.[4] [5]

See: Autoimmune Paleo Diet or AIP Diet

ACV (apple cider vinegar) diet health benefits

Benefits of the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet

The apple cider vinegar diet is primarily followed for benefiting from the healing properties of apple cider vinegar. Let us look at some of the main benefits of this diet.

1. Promotes Weight Loss

One of the key reasons why people tend to follow the apple cider vinegar diet is to lose weight. The acetic acid present in ACV (apple cider vinegar) is known to have many benefits, especially for fat loss.[6]

Many animal studies have found that acetic acid, the main component in apple cider vinegar, helps promote weight loss in people in many ways.

For example, a study concluded that acetic acid targets body fat. This study found that consuming small amounts of acetic acid by having apple cider vinegar helps activate the body’s metabolism. This helps the body use fat as the primary form of energy instead of storing fat.[7]

Another study done on obese rats that were made to consume a high-fat diet found that the rats ended up losing a large amount of body fat when acetic acid was added to their diet.[8]

The acetic acid also helps in suppressing your appetite. The apple cider vinegar diet is even more useful when you combine it with starchy foods. This is because the acetic acid slows down the digestion process of starch. This helps people who want to lose weight since slow a digestion process keeps you feeling full for a longer time.

2. High in antimicrobial properties

Apple cider vinegar helps kill many types of pathogens, including different bacteria.[9] There are many records to indicate that the apple cider vinegar diet has been used for years to clean and disinfect wounds, disinfect and treat nail fungus, ear infections, lice, and warts.

This vinegar is also used as a prominent food preservative, and many studies have found that apple cider vinegar inhibits the growth of bacteria from growing on food items and spoiling them.[10]

The apple cider vinegar diet even helps fight the bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as E. coli. One study even found that apple cider vinegar can decrease the numbers of many bacteria by a whopping 90 percent. The study also found that the vinegar even helped reduce the number of viruses by 95 percent.[11]

There are also some anecdotal reports about people using diluted apple cider vinegar to help treat and prevent acne by applying it directly to their skin. However, there are no reliable studies to confirm this.

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3. Helps Decrease Blood Sugar Level 

Perhaps the most valuable benefit of the apple cider vinegar diet is that it helps people with type 2 diabetes. This condition is typically characterized by high levels of blood sugar, either due to the body’s inability to produce insulin or due to insulin resistance. However, this does not mean that people without diabetes don’t face the problem of having high blood sugar. High blood sugar levels are one of the major causes of many chronic diseases.[12]

Due to this, everybody can benefit from keeping their blood sugar levels under control. The best thing you can do to control your blood sugar is to follow a healthy diet. [13] Research has found that the apple cider vinegar diet can have one of the most potent impacts on controlling your blood sugar levels.

The apple cider vinegar diet has several benefits for your insulin and blood sugar levels. These include:

·        Following the apple cider vinegar, diet helps lower blood sugar by 34 percent after having a portion of white bread.[14]

·        The apple cider vinegar diet helps boost insulin sensitivity when you have a meal rich in carbohydrates by 19 to 34 percent.[15]

·        Consuming two tablespoons of ACV (apple cider vinegar) before going to bed at night help lower fasting blood sugar levels in the morning by four percent.[16]

All these studies have shown just how effective an apple cider vinegar diet is for people who have pre-diabetes, diabetes, or even those who want to keep their blood sugar levels in check.

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ACV side effects

ACV includes some side effects and drawbacks, too. Consider these potential side effects before you begin drinking the stuff. Given the lack of research studies and evidence in humans, people should be careful of apple cider vinegar’s potential side effects. stuff. 

– Heartburn: One way to lessen these possible side effects would be to dilute ACV or reduce symptoms by consuming a lesser quantity of ACV.

– Teeth problems: Due to the acidic properties of ACV, drinking apple cider vinegar regularly may cause tooth enamel erosion. Weakening tooth enamel results in decay, then cavities and fillings. The risk is greatest when a person regularly consumes undiluted apple cider vinegar. One way to protect your teeth is by diluting ACV with water.

– Stomach difficulties: That may result in nausea, bloating, vomiting, and can cause dangerous drops in blood glucose. Individuals who struggle with this issue known as gastroparesis should avoid ACV.

– Low potassium levels: The usage of ACV may lead to potassium levels to fall too low. Since your nerves and muscles need potassium to operate properly, this might be problematic.

– Medication concerns: Since insulin and diuretics can also reduce cholesterol levels, combining them with ACV can be dangerous. If you’re taking these drugs, check with your physician first before adding ACV to your everyday diet.

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Summary

It is best to use your presence of mind and research properly about what are the proven benefits of apple cider vinegar before proceeding to start taking apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar diet is generally considered to be safe for everyone, but only as long as you don’t take excessive amounts of the vinegar. Consuming too much of vinegar can erode the enamel of your teeth and also irritate your throat and esophagus. There is no doubt that the apple cider vinegar diet can be healthy and has many health benefits. If you suffer from a medical condition and are taking medications, then do not start taking apple cider vinegar without first consulting your doctor.

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