Does Apple Cider Vinegar Actually Work For Weight Loss? What The Science Says
It seems like every now and again, some new guru, study, or book brings a new fad to the marketplace that makes the same promise: the body you want, without the work you don’t want.
Some are more harmful than others.
Some are just placebos.
Some maybe actually make a difference.
But what about apple cider vinegar for weight loss?
Check out the study below to see what researchers found.
So… Is Apple Cider Vinegar Actually a Magical Weight Loss Supplement?
What The Researchers Found
In North Africa, apple cider vinegar is apparently a common method (or at least folk remedy) for attaining weight loss.
There are some problems though.
In one case, noted in 2012, a 15 year old Morrocan girl was presented showing symptoms of extensive tooth erosion. When the researchers dug deeper, they found it was associated with her daily glass of apple cider vinegar used to attempt and induce weight loss.
Another study done in 2001 sought to evaluate the physiological and health effects of apple cider vinegar on mice when given varying dosages.
Three groups of female mice were given varying dosages of vinegar per KG of body weight for 4 weeks (low dose, moderate dose, high dose – where the high dose was 5-6x the low dose).
Here’s what the researchers found:
In the moderate dose group, the apple cider vinegar produced “significant reduction in weight gain” but not in the other groups. However, and this is a big however, high doses of the vinegar also produced health complications including: increases in liver and spleen weight, changes in the liver and stomach, erosion of gastric mucosa, and other lesions in certain organs.
So should you really be taking it to lose weight?
My verdict: despite some of the research suggesting it can help, NO – here’s why.
So Should You Really Be Chugging Apple Cider Vinegar?
First of all… as long as you don’t mind smelling like farts mixed with apples (since that’s what this stuff smells like), here are some actual things to consider surrounding apple cider vinegar (and any other gimmick that pops up every year).
#1 Use the Silver Bullet Framework
Whenever a new thing enters the market – whether it’s a pill or a plan – ask yourself: Does it sound like a silver bullet? If so, it probably is.
Listen, the whole world is going to be screaming “TAKE ME!!” to lose weight (or achieve your goals faster), and there are billions of dollars invested into getting you to buy the latest miracle pill found on unicorn poop somewhere in the Amazon.
But let me ask you this: if a little kid said, “Mommy, do you think this will help me lose weight?” what would your gut say?
“No honey, you actually need to do the work.”
Intuitively I think we all know it to be true, but emotionally it can be easy to latch on to the next shiny thing.
And I know we all find ourselves in desperate straights sometimes, where we want the outcome NOW (who doesn’t?), but those are the moments when we especially need to pause and think for a moment.
#2 If It Takes You Less Than 5 Minutes To Solve a Complex Life Issue, It’s Probably B.S.
Think about anything.
Your marriage or relationship.
Your job.
Your relationships.
Do ANY of them really take just five minutes to fix?
Nope. Not at all.
In fact, they’re all kinda complex processes. They require consistent, daily habits over time (also known as the compound effect). And intuitively, I bet you know deep down that a marriage, job, relationship, and yes, our health, can’t be fixed with a simple supplement.
There’s no doubt that five minutes can make a big difference in your life, no matter what you’re working on.
But consider this: intuitively, does the idea that we can spend an entire year neglecting a relationship – and then fix it in five minutes – make any sense to you?
Probably not.
It doesn’t make any sense to me either :-).
The same is true of our health, and unfortunately the news is typically the worst offender when it comes to sharing the newest, latest, sexiest, unique-est, rarest new method of weight loss.
Sometimes you just need to put on your little scientist hat and pause for a moment before dropping $50 on a jar of something that’s a very “small win” (or placebo) compared to many of the big wins we can make with our health and body.
Your Tiny Habit For Today
Well, I guess it’s an anti-habit – rather than figuring out which little supplement you can take, why not focus on a bigger win like removing liquid calories or deleting white flour from your diet?
Obviously, avoid apple cider vinegar as a magical pill, but there’s definitely a broader lesson here.
Where are you splitting hairs, rather than thinking about specific, BIG wins for yourself?
– Alex
What Other Gimmicks Have You Seen? Tell Me Below
Studies mentioned: Removing Tooth Enamel http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23373303; Apple Cider Vinegar Weight Loss in Mice: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17216979
Pretty intelligently written. Today is day two of adding “some apple cider vinegar to my water” and it gave me the poops. My “big win” has been subbing all bread, fries, and junk food, for this radical chicken cantina Taco Bell salad at lunch since February. Instead of fatty coffee drinks, its black coffee with my standard 2% milk topper, at 50 calories instead of a few hundred. It has worked to lose a pants size, and I didn’t do anything else but wait until May to see my results. If I had worked harder, I would have lost more weight. That is the lesson of this article. The way this article impresses me the most, is that the author puts us back in the driver’s seat, to simply think about whether short-term solutions are actually solving anything when we all know that everything worthwhile takes time, like a relationship. Hey, I have a ways to go, and I’m not that committed short-term. But I know I can focus on developing new habits over long-term and instead of those foods I used to eat everyday, make them a splurge once in awhile. That’s easy enough. The thing I like best about vegetables, is that I can eat twice or three times as much of them to be satiated and not feel like I’ve wasted a diet day. Apple cider vinegar tastes terrible, by the way, and reading that it can damage my teeth is evidence enough that this fad is not for me. Thanks for setting me straight.
Hey Carry –
Hah! I would consider that a win. Save money on coffee and use ACV instead ;-).
My “big win” has been subbing all bread, fries, and junk food, for this radical chicken cantina Taco Bell salad at lunch since February. Instead of fatty coffee drinks, its black coffee with my standard 2% milk topper, at 50 calories instead of a few hundred. It has worked to lose a pants size, and I didn’t do anything else but wait until May to see my results. If I had worked harder, I would have lost more weight. That is the lesson of this article.
That’s HUGE! I would love to hear more. Please send me an email telling me more of your story.
Thanks for watching!
-Alex
I get my daily Apple cider vinegar using the following recipe and it’s delicious. It will not damage your teeth.
Boil 1/4 cup grated ginger root in a gallon of water for 15 minutes.
Strain the ginger particles out.
Add the juice and zest of 4 organic lemons.
Add 1-2 cups of Monks Fruit sweetener or part honey.
2 cups of Braggs organic apple cider vinegar
All the ingredients are super foods, except the Monks Fruit. It’s alkalizing and cleansing. Nobody should be drinking vinegar straight, of course, it’s too acidic and disgusting, but this is an enjoyable way to ingest it.
With its cleansing properties, apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight. It flushes out the harmful toxins in your body and leaves your organs healthy. Make it a habit to drink it regularly.