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Lose Weight With Apple Cider Vinegar

Diet Benefits Apple Cider Vinegar

Can you lose weight with apple cider vinegar? What is the apple cider vinegar diet plan? Learn the pro's and con's of using vinegar for weight loss.

Apple cider vinegar has been used as a folk remedy for hundreds of years. It became popular in the United States as a weight loss tonic in the late 1950's. There is some evidence that it works but nobody is sure how.

There are plenty of articles on the internet that say it absolutely does not work and there are just as many that say it does. I have noticed that most of the articles that refute the effectiveness of using apple cider vinegar for weight loss are trying to sell a different method of losing weight. WebMD has an excellent and seemingly unbiased article on this vinegar's uses. Visit Apple Cider Vinegar

The early proponents of the diet claimed that apple cider vinegar burned fat. There is no scientific evidence that shows this to be true. There is also no scientific evidence that shows it to be not true. There just has not been much research on the subject.

What is the Apple Cider Vinegar Plan?

There is one vinegar diet plan that actually tells you what to eat by giving you specific foods to eat throughout the day for each meal and snacks. It includes drinking a certain amount of apple cider vinegar before each meal. The problem I see with this diet is that it appears to be very low calorie although it does not specify how much to eat and it does include some desserts. Meal plans are given for 14 days and I guess at the end of the fourteenth day you are supposed to start over with day one.

I have no doubt that many people could lose weight with this diet. However, as with most diets that give specific meal plans, it could be difficult to stay on for any length of time. But most importantly, I question whether it is the meal plans or the vinegar that is causing the weight loss. Can you lose weight with apple cider vinegar by just watching your portion sizes, cutting down on sweets, fat, and starches? In other words, eating many of the same foods you eat now but in lesser quantity. Lots of people say it works.

Diet Benefits - Apple Cider Vinegar

The benefits are:

You don't really have to follow a plan
You don't have to count calories, grams of fat, or grams of carbohydrate
No foods are banned completely
You naturally eat less because the vinegar gives you a feeling of fullness before you start eating

All Vinegars Are Not the Same

You can buy red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, distilled vinegar, and other fruit vinegars as well as apple cider vinegar. The proponents of this diet recommend apple cider vinegar that has not been filtered and actually has the "vinegar mother" in the bottle. The vinegar mother is the bacteria that develops on fermenting alcohol and turns it into acetic acid. This is then added to wine and cider in order to produce vinegar. It is harmless and it gives the vinegar a cloudy appearance. Most grocery store vinegar no longer contains the mother because it has been pasturized and filtered. This is why grocery store vinegar always looks crystal clear.

Apple cider vinegar with the mother can be purchased at health food stores or in the health section of a grocery store.

How Do You Use Apple Cider Vinegar to Lose Weight

First, I want to emphasize that you should start low and increase the amount of vinegar over a period of time. It is believed that vinegar has a detoxing effect on the body and many people have an adverse reaction if too much vinegar is consumed early on. Also be sure that you use teaspoons and not tablespoons.

Place two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water and drink it half an hour before eating. Do this three times a day before breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. That's all you have to do. Some people recommend that you drink plenty of plain water throughout the day as well.

When you first start out to lose weight with apple cider vinegar use one teaspoon to a glass of water just once or twice a day and gradually increase it to the recommended two teaspoons per glass of water three times a day.

Do not drink pure vinegar. Undiluted vinegar can burn the throat and irritate the soft tissue inside the mouth.

If you cannot stand the taste of vinegar even when it is diluted in water, try adding it to an eight-ounce glass of tomato or V-8 juice.

Some people add honey to the vinegar water and say it makes it go down easier.

Vinegar capsules are available but they often contain other substances and there is no way of knowing if there is even any vinegar in them.

What is the Downside of Apple Cider Vinegar and Diet?

Some people should not attempt to lose weight with apple cider vinegar in the quantities used for this diet. Do not go on this diet if you:

have low potassium levels
have osteoporosis
are taking medicines for diabetes or heart disease
take diuretics or laxatives
take thyroid medication

It is thought that vinegar can damage tooth enamel if used long term.

Some people start right out with two teaspoons three times a day and then have headaches, tummy aches, itchiness, and all sorts of ailments. If this happens to you, either reduce the amount of vinegar you are using or stop using it altogether. This is why I recommend that you start with a low amount in the beginning and gradually increase the amount so your body can adjust to it.