Applecidervinager is claimed to increase fat burning and (I guess) speed up the metabolism (I assume NOT on a cellular level but rather digestion). How does this work if it does?
Fish oil contains Omega 3 fatty acids. There seems to be overwhelming scientific support that this reduces the risk of heart diseases and associated problems as well as lower the cholesterol. There have been many other claims, that it improves vision, memory and the ability to concentrate, presumably by providing a better material for cells to build their membrane. I assume that the heart disease and vision benefits are due to better blood circulation, but how does it effect memory and cells?
I’m hoping for some purely scientific explanations here, most of the material I find on the web is heavily biased from nutritionists or companies selling the products, fish oil however seems to be supported by the more scientific communities though, ACV on the other hand I can find nothing documented on exactly how it is supposed to work.
First thing to know about cholesterol is that cholesterol in the blood is made by the liver. Saturated fats and trans-fatty acids are the dietary components most related to increased cholesterol levels. Cite.
Cholesterol is not soluble in blood. To get around the bloodstream, it is “carried” by other substances. These are called lipoproteins, and they carry other fats as well as cholesterol. For convenience, the class of lipoproteins is divided into high-density and low-density (LDL and HDL).
LDL are often called “bad cholesterol”. This is the type of lipoprotein that carries cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. If levels are too high (i.e., there is more LDL in the bloodstream than the body can use), then excess cholesterol can become deposited on arterial walls, leading to plaques. (See more here.)
HDL is often called “good cholesterol” because it is the type that conveys cholesterol back to the liver for recycling or elimination.
I did a quick search for scientific info on Apple Cider Vinegar / weight loss and found this :
http://fusion.ag.ohio-state.edu/news/story.asp?storyid=519
" Q : I received an e-mail ad for apple cider vinegar, claiming its natural enzymes “attack” fat. Would it hurt to try it?
A : It could hurt your wallet. And it wouldn’t help with weight loss."
I am a professional Internet Health info searcher, and I teach people how to locate and evaluate Internet Health Information. When I did a Google search on “Apple cider vinegar”, I found mostly sites that were selling it. Since Google usually puts sites with better information at the top, when you find a bunch of “junk” sites at the top of your search results, it should make you a little suspicious (maybe there is no scientific evidence or the topic is controversial.) For comparison, when you search for “Omega 3 Fatty Acids”, you find reliable information in the first few results. Another bit of free advice : if you use Google, click on “advanced search”. After you enter your search, put .com in the “without the words” section. This gets rid of some of the commercial sites.
Sometimes, the easy answer (“There is no documentation of how it works because it doesn’t work”) is the correct answer.
I agree with your sentiment and I am a natural sceptic. I’m rather confident in the positive effects of Omega 3 fatty acids but much more sceptic towards the effects of ACV. However…
I sell these products and therefore I come into contact with a lot of people who use it, and say that it works. Many of these people are quite rational and convinced, meaning that they have seen direct and quite immediate positive effects from ACV. So it does have SOME effect, I’m just not sure on what it is.
When I tried them myself I could feel a sensation in my stomach and my toilet visits increased in frequency, right now I am assuming that it doesn’t have anything to do with “fat burning” but rather that it drives out liquid and increases digestion. I’d like to know HOW it does this, if indeed it is what it does.
No cite right now, but there’s some evidence that vinegar helps partition blood sugar into glycogen rather than fat, but nothing that screams “go out and buy it”. On the other hand, vinegar is pretty cheap, so why not?
Stoneburg, I googled for “äppelcidervinäger” and got loads of hits. Most of them were propagating the ideathat it helps you lose weight, but they also seemed to be health freak cites. One hit I got (From the Elle magazine), though, said: “… Och visst verkar äppelcidervinäger vara effektivt, men det är inte hela grejen. Huvudsaken är träning och rätt kost.” (“Yes, apple cider vinegar seems efficient, but that’s not the whole thing. The main thing is exercise and correct nutrition”).
From Aftonbladet (at an online chat with a nutritionist) I got this: “Det finns ingen vetenskap som stöder att användandet av äppelcidervinäger skulle påverka vikten åt det ena eller andra hållet.” (“There is no science supporting the idea that apple cider vinegar would have any effect on your weight, either way”).
Ah, well, there’s the rub, isn’t it? What you’ve got is testimonials IOW, anecdotal evidence. Assume for the moment that the reports you are hearing are truthful and the reports are accurate (two very big assumptions), you still don’t know:
If the improvement is due to a placebo effect
If the improvement is caused by a synergistic relationship with other substances (consumers of “natural” health products are statistically likely to be taking many different products at once)
If the improvement is caused by an idiosyncratic or anamalous reaction (human cellular biology is complex – there are chemicals that have a verifiable effect on some people but none on others)
If the improvement comes with side-effects.
Admittedly, the chance of side effects is (IMNSHO) probably low. Vinegar (C[sub]2[/sub]H[sub]4[/sub]O[sub]2[/sub]) is a common compound consumed by humans for centuries. But (also IMNSHO) this very fact also argues against any miraculous fat-busting effects.
But back to the main point. It is to eliminate the points listed above that pharmaceuticals are put through exhaustive, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. And even then, the tests sometimes fail to turn up something important (remember Phen-Fen?). The makers of natural supplements almost never do this type of testing. It’s expensive and the results are generally going to be negative or inconclusive.
I really don’t remember if there are any studies indicating that increased vitamin A in human adults has any effect on vision.
It is accepted that a diet low in vitamin A will have poor night vision, but that is not exactly the same as increased levels in a well-nourished adult improving night vision.
I agree with you on the situation to an extent, but I can’t arrive at a reasonable conclusion in this case by using 100% scientific methods since I don’t have any scientific tools myself. Therefore I’m not looking for the “only 100% proveable” theory but rather the most reasonable explanation based on what I/we ‘know’ and what we can assume.
My conclusion is that it has SOME effects that ARE related to weight loss. I doubt that this is due to some magic fat-burning qualities, that’s one of the reasons I posted, to see if there is ANY scientific basis to that claim (doesn’t seem so).
However, the “anecdotal evidence” I have is quite compelling. For example, many people I have talked to were at first convinced it was bogus, but tried it and got results. This is from people that were, very sceptical to any effects and not using any other simmilar products. This would IMO rule out placebo effects and any synergetic ones. I won’t say that this is an extremely common experience but I have heard it from a significant amount of people, people that have no reason to say that it works (quite the contrary). I believethat it has an effect, I’m trying to figure out what and how.
Well, I can’t agree with you that these observations rule out placebo effects. Nor can I point to any actual evidence as to “why it works” because there isn’t any evidence I’d consider to be of good quality. If you really want an explanation:
Warning! Pure and unabashed armchair speculation ahead!
If you are convinced that it somehow has some effect, how’s about this for an explanation: Vinegar (apple cider or ordinary household) is primarily a weak acetic acid solution. If you increase your water intake, and also add a mild stimulant to your diet, you may “speed up” your gut. The less time food spends in your large and small intestine, the less water and fewer calories you absorb from it. This alone could cause some slight weight loss.
However, you could do the same thing by increasing your water and fiber intake.
[/Pure and unabashed armchair speculation]
Eat more salads: it’s cheaper.
Thanks for the explanation, I think it sounds rather reasonable. At least it also contains some vitamins and minerals, so it’s not pure crap I’m peddling
Low pH (more acidic) food slows down the emptying of the stomach, and thus slows down the rate of uptake of blood sugar from digested carbohydrates.
Vinegar taken with carbs thus reduces a spike of sugar in the blood and spreads it out over time. This would protect against insulin resistance, heart disease (from oxidative stress) and fat accumulation.
Following from ultrafilter - Why buy apple cider when white vinegar is cheaper than water.
ps The rice in sushi rolls is prepared with rice vinegar, which makes this rice more healthy than usual.
Personally, I take apple cider vinegar tablets before breakfast. They are slightly more expensive than white vinegar, but they have less flavor, and that’s worth something to me.
Maybe it is wrong to conclude that the reason for the reduction in postprandial glucose is due to delayed gastric emptying - and it instead a result of increased uptake by the liver.
One study uses gastrointestinal PEG as a marker, the other uses blood paracetamol. Then again the former uses rats as subjects rather than humans.
