Apple cider vinegar against the damage caused by sugar 💪 - by the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/apple_cider_vinegar

What is ACV?

Made with fermented, pressed apples, ACV vinegar is sold filtered (this tends to be clear), or unfiltered and unpasteurised, also referred to as ‘raw’ and ‘organic’. The latter is the type that’s associated with health benefits. It’s cloudy and you might see blobs or sediment in the liquid, requiring you to give the bottle a shake before using. That murky appearance is all down to a culture which is often referred to as the mother.

“This [the mother] contains a lot of enzymes and proteins, and in addition adds to your friendly bacteria,” explains Middlesex University’s Dr Darshna Yagnik, a biomedical research lecturer who has conducted some interesting research on ACV (more on that later).

Others point to the presence of acetic acid in ACV (a compound naturally found in vinegar) as to why it might provide health benefits. Some studies link it with lowering inflammation, which could be beneficial for conditions such as arthritis. This research is limited though, and it’s worth noting much of it focuses on mice rather than humans.

How do people consume ACV for health benefits?

With Hippocrates having used vinegar to treat wounds in 420BC, its topical use for medicinal purposes goes back thousands of years and there’s evidence of people ingesting it (in teas) since the late 18th century.

Most of the modern-day ‘advice’ on using ACV for heath focusses on drinking a small amount each day, diluted with water. This comes with drawbacks though, explains dietician and BDA spokesperson, Nichola Ludlam-Raine. “ACV is strongly acidic (5–6% acetic acid), so there are risks of enamel erosion and reflux (heart burn) too.” It has also been reported that consuming too much could cause harm to your windpipe.

There are consumable products on the market made with ACV (think apple cider vinegar gummies and supplements) but it’s best to do your homework to make sure they are properly regulated.

You could of course, go for the tastiest option and just use it in your food.

Lowering cholesterol and type 2 diabetes treatment

Coventry University’s Dr Cain Clark has carried out research examining the effects of ACV on several health issues which are linked to having elevated lipid profiles and glycaemic parameters. (These, he explains, are “blood markers that can provide information about a person’s risk of developing heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases.”) Clark and colleagues examined nine existing studies to see if a consensus on ACV’s effects could be found.

The conclusion they reached was that regular consumption of ACV could lead to better health outcomes. “We found that ‘normal’ healthy adults can improve their lipid profile, while when we looked further into the data and participants, we found that people with type 2 diabetes (not insulin dependent) had specific and significant improvements in total cholesterol and triacylglycerol.” (Total cholesterol is the cholesterol in your blood, made up of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterols, while triacylglycerol is a type of fat that is stored in your body, of which higher levels are worse for health.)

To put it simply, the evidence showed that ACV lowered cholesterol and improved the health of those with type 2 diabetes.

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