Losing weight the traditional way can be challenging, even if you're willing to stick to a healthy diet and up your exercise game. Thankfully, there are little things you can do along the way to help drop some unwanted weight—and introducing apple cider vinegar to your daily routine might be one of them. According to a recent study published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, small quantities of apple cider vinegar can produce weight loss results in just 12 weeks.
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Researchers in Lebanon evaluated 120 participants between the ages of 12 and 25, all of whom were obese or overweight, according to a press release outlining study findings. Participants were randomly divided into four groups for the three-month study period.
Those in the first three groups were instructed to consume 5, 10, or 15 milliliters (ml) of apple cider vinegar mixed with 250 ml of water daily. The fourth group was given a placebo liquid mixed with water. All participants drank the solution first thing in the morning before eating.
At the end of the study period, those who drank apple cider vinegar once daily saw significant decreases in their body mass index (BMI) and lost an average of 15 pounds. Those who drank the highest dose of apple cider vinegar had the most dramatic average weight loss, dropping roughly 16 pounds, while those taking the 10 ml dose dropped about 15 pounds, and those taking the 5 ml dose dropped about 11 pounds.
This is a stark comparison to the placebo group, where weight stayed pretty much the same: Participants went from just over 174 pounds to just under 174 pounds during the 12-week period.
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In addition, the groups that consumed apple cider vinegar also had reductions in their waist and hip measurements and body fat when compared with the placebo group. These changes were observed in all three groups that drank apple cider vinegar, regardless of the dose, according to researchers.
However, those taking the highest dose (15 ml) did have the largest decreases in blood markers such as serum glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol.
"These results suggest that apple cider might have potential benefits in improving metabolic parameters related to obesity and metabolic disorders in obese individuals," researchers wrote in the study. "The results might contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the use of [apple cider vinegar] as a dietary intervention in the management of obesity."
It's also worth noting that all participants stuck to their usual diets and recorded their food intake and exercise. The records didn't differ among the four groups, suggesting that apple cider vinegar may have caused the positive results, researchers said.
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Apple cider vinegar has shown promising results in studies of rats—and in small-scale human studies, the vinegar has also led to "weight loss, reduced body fat and decreased weight circumference," researchers noted in the study. It may do this by slowing down gastric emptying, making you feel fuller longer and curbing your appetite.
While the results are promising, study authors acknowledge that the study group was small, potentially limiting the ability to generalize results to the overall population. In addition, the three-month period isn't long enough to ascertain potential long-term side effects. However, none of the study participants reported negative side effects related to their apple cider vinegar consumption over the 12 weeks.
“Whilst in this study design the intervention has demonstrated feasibility and effectiveness serving to encourage further trials designed to assess scalability and wider applications, at this stage caution should be exercised regarding the generalisability of the conclusions drawn on the independent effects of apple cider vinegar on the outcomes observed," Shane McAuliffe, Senior Visiting Academic Associate, NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, said in the release.
According to McAuliffe, further research will require more detailed reports on diet and nutritional intake, specifically.
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