“As strong as the promises are, the scientific evidence is equally thin” – we reported on the supposed miraculous effects of apple cider vinegar this way in 2003. It is said to make cells age more slowly, free the legs from varicose veins and make lose excess kilos.
Now, a study from Lebanon is once again promoting it as a dietary aid. The researchers involved write in British Medical Journal Nutrition, Prevention and Health about weight loss successes of an average of 6 to 8 kg in twelve weeks. So, can apple cider vinegar do more than previously thought?
Why the study design does not convince experts
As worrying as it may be, the answer is still: no.
From the perspective of our nutrition and diet experts, the current study has several methodological weaknesses and inconsistencies:
- age structure. The group of 120 participants was very diverse – ages ranged from 12 to 25 years old. Although everyone was overweight, children and young people were treated equally and nothing was written about their eating habits. According to the study, some participants were receiving therapeutic treatment – but nothing else is known about them.
- No placebo effect. What’s surprising is that researchers only observed weight reductions in subjects who drank a mixture of 1 to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 250 milliliters of water every day. In the control group – participants drank a placebo made from water and lactic acid every day – no weight loss was recorded. This is unusual. There is usually at least a small visible effect in the control groups due to the placebo effect.
- It can be recognized by its taste. The lactic acid for the placebo drink has a different flavor than apple cider vinegar, so apple cider vinegar drinkers may have recognized it and, for that reason alone, behaved as desired and generally had a more beneficial diet.
- Duration. Ideally, the duration of a weight loss study should be at least one year to prove that the effect is permanent. However, this study only lasted twelve weeks.
- Perseverance. What is also unusual is that all 120 participants remained until the end of the study – often some drop out early or not all results can be used.
“Don’t trust individual foods”
Furthermore, there is a principle from current nutritional science: “Healthy weight loss and weight maintenance can only be achieved in the long term through a change in diet, and not through individual foods,” says Charlotte Granobs, who, as a food expert at Stiftung Warentest, is among the most recent Diet Concept Test took care.
To this end, 15 concepts such as Ayurveda, Intermittent fastingketo, low carb, a vegetarian and vegan diet scientifically verified whether they are suitable for losing weight. Verdicts ranged from adequate to questionable.
Good for salad dressings and shiny hair
Even just apple cider vinegar Overweight If you can’t fight it, it’s worth having it at home. In everyday life he develops many talents: for example he can make salad dressings – for example in combination with oil – refine with fruity notes. You can also use apple cider vinegar small wounds disinfect, itch Insect bites relieve or alleviate the feeling of satiety after eating.
Apple cider vinegar can be purchased at supermarkets, discount stores and drugstores. It is one of the cheapest types of vinegar; 1 liter costs around 1.30 euros or more. You can also make it yourself – from apples that are first fermented with water to make apple cider and then fermented to make vinegar. However, the procedure takes a few weeks.
Tip: Apple cider vinegar works too Hair shine. Mix the so-called acid rinse with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a liter of water. Rinse washed, wet hair with it. The vinegar smell disappears quickly.