What You Need To Know About Apple Cider Vinegar For Fat Loss
You’re here because you’re probably interested in losing weight and shedding off some body fat.
What better way to accelerate progress than to use everyone's favorite ‘natural fat burner’ - apple cider vinegar?
With tons and tons of influencers sharing their stories of how apple cider vinegar helped them drop ‘over 20 pounds’, it only makes sense for you to wonder if you could jump on the hype train and reap its benefits.
As a matter of fact, people have been promoting apple cider vinegar for a few years now.
Whether it’s bodybuilders in contest prep or its people using home remedies, apple cider vinegar has always made its way into the list of supplements that can actually help you lose fat and prevent fat gain.
If you’re new here, you have to know that the first step you have to be taking to lose fat is to eat in a calorie deficit.
If you aren’t doing that, no legal supplement is going to get you ripped.
But what if you’re putting in the work and a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar can get you shredded faster?
Hopefully, you will be able to make a well-informed decision after reading this article.
Let’s jump right into it!
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
As the name states, it is a vinegar derived from apples.
I won’t get technical, but the simplest way of describing this process would be taking apples, crushing them, adding yeast and bacteria and letting them ferment.
Vinegar can be made with any fermentable carb source.
So what makes apple cider vinegar so special?
One claim people make is that apple cider vinegar is healthy because of the presence of ‘mother’.
If you don’t know what ‘mother’ is, it is the thick deposit sitting at the bottom of the apple cider vinegar bottle which is created during the fermentation process.
Another claim most people like to make is that it has a good nutrient profile.
Check the label of an apple cider vinegar at the store and you’ll realize that it contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.
I know that hearing this makes it sound like this must be the ultimate ‘superfood’.
But let’s just wait for a little before we make that claim.
It turns out that these ingredients are in such small amounts that they almost have no impact.
Side Effects Of Overconsumption
Whenever you say that the quantity of something in a serving is less, the most obvious response you’ll get is ‘Why don’t we just up the dosage?’.
If you are thinking that increasing your apple cider vinegar intake will allow you to reap the benefits of these ingredients, let me tell you that that isn’t a great idea.
Excess consumption of apple cider vinegar could actually be harmful.
Here are some side effects of overconsumption of apple cider vinegar
1. It could lead to low potassium levels and bone loss which is supported by this study.
2. This study shows that the vinegar could lead to erosion of tooth enamel.
This is supported by this study as well where a 15-year-old girl had a seer dental decay consuming a cup of apple cider vinegar daily.
3. It could lead to esophageal (throat) burns.
While the only evidence we have is this study here which was based on a woman experiencing throat burns when an apple cider vinegar tablet was stuck in her throat, the fact that vinegar is classified as a ‘potent caustic substance’ by researchers in this study and that it should be kept in childproof containers makes it a possible reason for us to believe that it’s overconsumption could be harmful because of its acidic nature.
But let’s say you don’t really care about all this.
What if you just want to take the recommended amount to help you boost fat loss and change your body composition?
Can apple cider vinegar get you shredded?
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Effective At Burning Fat?
The short answer is no.
There is no evidence to support the claim that apple cider vinegar will be effective at dropping your body fat percentage.
If positive effects are present, they would be minuscule at best.
1. This Japanese study shows that obese subjects lost around 4 pounds over 12 weeks (which they gained back 4 weeks after the study was over).
This is very slow progress, and on top of that, we can’t be sure if this was from the apple cider vinegar or not as their calorie intake was self-reported in a diet dairy which is not a reliable source of data.
2. Another study showed that apple cider vinegar reduced the fat gain on rats who were made to over-consume apple cider vinegar.
But unless you’re a rat reading this who is planning to over-consume apple cider vinegar, this should be insignificant to you.
While there is some evidence to support the fact that apple cider vinegar can improve insulin sensitivity, the effects are not seen in healthy people, but only in those with diabetes.
All in all, there is still no proper evidence to support using apple cider vinegar for fat loss.
If this is really the case, then why is it so hyped up?
Why does everyone keep talking about it?
Why Do People Say Apple Cider Vinegar Works For Them?
1. Well, the first reason is the most obvious reason - Placebo.
When everyone tells you this is going to work, you just start working harder overall once you start supplementing with it.
Thus, you end up increasing your calorie deficit indirectly because of the placebo that apple cider vinegar is going to work for you.
2. The second reason is that apple cider vinegar could increase the feeling of fullness.
While this is great while dieting, the problem comes in when we realize why this is the case.
This study shows that people who consumed apple cider vinegar were full for longer and thus reduced appetite, but this was only because it made them feel nauseous.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather feel hungry than feeling nauseous.
If you are keen on increasing satiety, you could eat higher fiber foods, consume more protein, drink more water, try a higher fat macro split (in some cases), and try chewing your food and eating slower.
All of the above could potentially increase the feeling of fullness without making you feel like you’re about to throw up.
Conclusion
There is no evidence to support the claim that apple cider vinegar burns off body fat.
Overconsumption of apple cider vinegar can have potential side effects.
If you are using it and you are seeing results, do what works best for you.
The choice is yours and if you think it is worth it, there is no harm as long as your consumption is moderated.
If you want to get ripped, following these three steps will do more for you than any ‘hack’ or supplement on the market.
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References
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Gambon DL, e. (2012). [Unhealthy weight loss. Erosion by apple cider vinegar]. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23373303 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Hill LL, e. (2005). Esophageal injury by apple cider vinegar tablets and subsequent evaluation of products. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15983536 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
JB, K. (2015). Is vinegar an effective treatment for glycemic control or weight loss? - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26115563 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Kondo T, e. (2009). Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19661687 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Lhotta K, Höfle G, Gasser R, Finkenstedt G: Hypokalemia, Hyperreninemia and Osteoporosis in a Patient Ingesting Large Amounts of Cider Vinegar. Nephron 1998;80:242-243. doi: 10.1159/000045180 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Matthews, M. (2017). What 11 Studies Say About Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss. [online] Legion Athletics. Available at: https://legionathletics.com/apple-cider-vinegar-weight-loss/ [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Nuutinen M, e. (1994). Consequences of caustic ingestions in children. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7841737 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Spritzler, F. (2016). 7 Side Effects of Too Much Apple Cider Vinegar. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/apple-cider-vinegar-side-effects#section2 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
Willershausen I, e. (2014). In vitro study on dental erosion caused by different vinegar varieties using an electron microprobe. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24839821 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].
