The answer is yes but there’s more to it, let’s dig in.
If anyone tells you that apple cider vinegar is nice, they are LYING!! It is grim and vile and I dread drinking it every morning but I always do. Why? For me it was all about my gut health, I found that after eating I would be bloated and/or gassy, this led me to do some research and I learnt that the acid in apple cider vinegar (ACV) helped prepare the digestive system to digest food better and improve gut health. I tried it out and it actually worked, of course there are foods that I still avoid (beans, milk, cheese etc) but I haven’t felt bloated in a long time.
Then I started hearing that ACV helps with weight loss as well, my immediate reaction was a resounding no, it felt like one of those quick scheme scams you see on social media. But this was an anecdotal reaction, maybe it did result in weight loss so I put my ego aside and decided to do some further research.
What is ACV?
AVC is made by squeezing the liquid from crushed apples and adding yeast, which ferments the sugary liquid into alcohol. Bacteria is added to the alcohol which ferments it to acetic acid, basically vinegar. This is a common process and can be done with other fruits and vegetables such as oranges and potatoes.
Does ACV affect weight loss?
In 2009 (Kondo et al), 179 obese subjects were split into 3 groups. The first group received a liquid that was not vinegar but tasted like vinegar for placebo effects, the second group received 15ml of vinegar and the third group received 30ml of vinegar. This was done everyday for 12 weeks and the results were interesting. Group 1 did not lose any weight while group 2 & 3 saw a significant difference in their bodyweight and body fat despite there being no difference in calories. This lead the authors to conclude that consumption of ACV did in fact lead to weight loss and reducing obesity.
When I first saw this, I was surprised, could a liquid really make you lose weight? I was sceptical and did some further digging. Even though this was a controlled study, there was room for scepticism, firstly the subjects were all obese meaning this study was not done on healthy average weight individuals and secondly the drop in weight was not that significant. Throughout the 12 weeks, group 3, who were consuming the most of the three groups (30ml), only saw a weight loss of only 2Kg’s. That’s less than 1KG every month, I don’t think that’s impressive at all.
Anyone who does take ACV for weight loss purposes must realise that yes, you may lose a couple of kilos here and there but drinking the liquid alone won’t do much for that specific goal. When attempting to lose weight, the most important factor is your calorie intake and expenditure. When you are in a caloric deficit then you will lose weight, there’s no way around that, furthermore if you add exercise to that then you increase the rate at which you will lose this weight.
Conclusion
Yes, you may see weight loss from the consumption of ACV but it will not be significant. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to weight management, it is a long process where you need to be intentional and aware of what you put into your body and your energy balance, this may take a while but the results will show and the best thing about it is you will create healthier habits that will benefit you in the long term.
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