In this article, we are going to discuss benefits of apple cider vinegar and lemon for weight loss. It will be a comprehensive and in detail study.
It is an age-old saying especially in ancient Ayurvedic Scriptures, that food is the ultimate medicine that our body needs. It is our food habits that totally decide the overall well-being of a human. About 95% of diseases originate from the gut and are mostly linked to unhealthy and unhygienic food habits. Better food choices can transform life into a better state in no time. A healthy body is a house to a healthy mind and Apple Cider Vinegar is one such healthy food item that is beneficial for the body in a number of ways.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Lemon for Weight Loss: Why To Choose?
It can be a common question why one will choose Apple Cider Vinegar when there are more healthy foods in the market like solely Apple, turmeric, Neem, etc. The answer to these with a few reasons is
The wide role of Apple Cider Vinegar. While healthy foods like Neem solely deal with blood purifying, turmeric deals with anti-microbial properties; Apple Cider Vinegar has a wide range of benefits that we will discuss later in the article.
Secondly, the taste of Apple Cider Vinegar is quite nice as compared to its competitors like Neem, Gilroy, turmeric, etc. It tastes like normal vinegar but with a slight undertone of sweetness.
Apple itself is much healthier and already there is a common saying “ An apple a day keeps the doctor away”.Consuming Apples will provide a much better taste, but it will come with a significant amount of fructose that might lead to a slight spike in blood glucose levels which is not at all beneficial for diabetes patients. On the other hand, Apple Cider Vinegar does not spike blood glucose levels but rather controls them. It would not be bad to say that while Apples prevent diseases, Apple Cider Vinegar can be considered a doctor because it cures many diseases.
Next on the list of reasons will be the versatile use of Apple Cider Vinegar in cuisine. The consumption process of Apple Cider Vinegar is very flexible; it can be consumed diluting with water, with salads, and as pickle juice. Only ensure to not heat it so that the nutrients constituent remains the same.
Process of Making, Constituents, And Nutritional Value of Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is made by fermentation of apple juice with the help of the bacterial strain acetobacter which converts the ethanol to acetic acid.
Apple Cider Vinegar has both acetic acid inherited from fermentation by acetobacter and malic acid which is inherited from apple juice. This both gives a sweet and sour taste to the vinegar, the sour taste being dominant and the sweet taste being an undertone.
The Apple cider vinegar has 94% water, 3% Acetic acid, 1% Malic acid, and traces of carbohydrates with zero fat and proteins. Talking about its nutritional value it has a significant amount of potassium the quantity being 73 mg per 100 gm and some amount of magnesium, sodium, calcium, and a few other micronutrients in traces.
Benefits And Usefulness Of Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar has a vast spectrum of benefits and usefulness. It is a present-day superfood, and it is evident by the fact that to commercialize its benefits certain companies have started producing Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies which makes its intake much more convenient. So here are the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar.
1) Weight Loss and healthy digestion – Apple Cider Vinegar itself does not have any nutritional value that helps to lose weight, but various research has found that Apple Cider Vinegar when consumed with salad or by diluting it with water before a meal suppresses the appetite thereby leading to less intake of calories. As the calorie intake is reduced people generally start losing weight.
Moreover, Apple Cider Vinegar has Acetic acid in it and our stomach also needs a pH of 2 to digest food which is met by HCl produced in the stomach. Theories suggest that Acetic Acid being acidic helps in digestion and enhances the release of pepsin, the enzyme needed to digest protein. Thus, healthy and proper digestion means a healthy body and less accumulation of undigested nutrients in the body, leading to a significant loss of weight.
2) Maintains Blood Glucose level and helps with Type 2 Diabetes – Today diabetes patients have a lot of synthetic ways like external administration of insulin via injection in the body to help cope with Type 2 Diabetes. Still, Apple Cider Vinegar is the best natural way to control blood sugar levels, especially for people with insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is a syndrome in which the cells of the body do not respond to insulin and are unable to readily take up glucose from the blood thus leading to a spike in blood glucose level.
Apple Cider Vinegar is said to improve insulin sensitivity, which is totally the opposite of insulin resistance.
Insulin sensitivity helps the cell to intake glucose from blood thus lowering blood glucose levels.
Moreover, we saw in the first point that Apple Cider Vinegar suppresses the appetite. Thus, it keeps a feeling of fullness in the stomach which prevents frequent munching on snacks and thus helps reduce sudden spikes in blood glucose levels.
4) A Strong Antibacterial Agent – Apple Cider Vinegar is a strong antimicrobial agent. It helps fight both fungal and bacterial infections. These characteristics of Apple cider vinegar are inherited from the acetic acid present in it which due to its acidic pH interferes with the pH of different microbial structures thereby creating an imbalance in the body of the microorganism and at last destroying it and proving acetic acid to be a potent antimicrobial agent.
Acetic acid can be used in areas of cuts and wounds as it serves as an antiseptic.
5) Helps in Skin Care – Apple Cider Vinegar is mainly used as a toner in skin care. The skin itself is slightly acidic and this acidity in the skin is known as the acid barrier. The acid barrier helps our skin fight various germs and foreign particles. The acetic acid in Apple Cider Vinegar helps enhance these characteristics. It also helps to restore and rebalance the pH of the skin after using soap as soaps are alkaline.
Moreover, Apple Cider Vinegar removes dead skin cells, dirt, and pollutants from the skin and thus acts as a natural exfoliating agent.
Due to the potent antifungal properties of Apple Cider Vinegar, it can be used for Eczema and ringworm on the skin as well as hairs.
Another astonishing benefit of Apple Cider Vinegar in skin care is that it can help in any outgrowth on the skin like skin tags, warts, acne, etc. Just soak some Apple cider vinegar in a cotton bud or sterilized gauze and then apply it to the affected area. The high concentration of minerals in Apple Cider Vinegar, namely potassium, calcium, and magnesium, will pull out fluid or the watery content from the outgrowth due to natural diffusion where water moves from low to high concentration. This will eventually lead the outgrowth to dry and after someday it will fall off from the skin. These are the benefits and usefulness of apple cider vinegar.
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6) Can be used as a natural preservative for food – Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best natural preservatives. It is due to the above-discussed antibacterial properties of it which does not let bacteria grow over time on the food. A portion of normal cooked food can stay fresh for about 8 hours without refrigeration and much less than 8 hours during summer or hot and humid climatic conditions. But if a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar is added to the food, then its time of freshness increases a little and does not start to stale quickly in hot and humid conditions.
These characteristics also make Apple Cider Vinegar a great pickling agent.
Side-Effects of Apple Cider Vinegar
It is quite evident to us that too much of everything is always harmful. Even life-saving materials if used too much in quantity can cause harm.
For example, just think of Paracetamol. It is the most widely used compound during fevers and the most popular antipyretic drug in the market. It reduces fever in no time, but there is a proper dosage. If the dosage is not followed and one takes more than 2 tablets at a time then this life-saving drug can be proven to be fatal even causing death.
Apple Cider Vinegar is no exception. The same thing also goes with Apple Cider Vinegar. If consumed too much in quantity then it can cause the following problems:
1) Tooth Decay – Acidic nature often leads to erosion of the tooth enamel. Apple Cider Vinegar being acidic in nature causes this problem when taken too much in quantity. It is better not to brush your teeth just after having apple cider vinegar as it can cause the enamel to corrode faster. It is better to brush after 30 minutes of consumption. Moreover, avoid having apple cider vinegar raw, always dilute it with water.
2) Hypoglycemia- Hypoglycemia is the state of less blood sugar in the bloodstream. It is as harmful as high blood sugar. This causes a lot of other associated problems like nausea, headache, blurred vision, and the most fatal being diabetic coma.
3) Interference in neurotransmission across the body – The minerals present in Apple Cider Vinegar are potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. The ions of these elements are an important factor for neurotransmission in our body. The excess accumulation of these elements can cause problems in the body.
4) Esophageal burn – The Apple Cider Vinegar causes burns in the oesophagus due to its acidic nature.
5) Skin burn – Similar to tooth decay and esophageal burn, when applied too much on the skin Apple Cider
Vinegar can also burn the skin, causing a deep brown patch on the affected area.
6) Loss of Appetite – As mentioned earlier, Apple Cider Vinegar suppresses the appetite, so prolonged consumption of it in large quantities can cause a complete loss of appetite which will slowly make the body weak.
7) Drug interaction- It is found that Apple Cider Vinegar interacts with certain types of drugs like certain diuretic drugs, diabetes medication, and Digoxin (Lanoxin).
Note: If someone is on any of these medications or undergoing any medication, should consult their doctor first and then take Apple Cider Vinegar.
Dosage of Apple Cider Vinegar
It is better not to consume more than 30 ml of Apple Cider Vinegar per day. If someone is having Apple Cider Vinegar gummies then consider having only one per day.
Always remember to consume Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with water; do not consume raw as it may burn your mouth. To dilute 30 ml Apple Cider Vinegar, use 250 ml water.
Q1. Can I stop my medicines and totally depend on Apple Cider Vinegar for a cure?
I will say no because it is not recommended to do anything outside your doctor’s advice. I will suggest that you have a consultation with your doctor and then take the decision. If not satisfied with the treatment from your doctor, then you have a choice for many other doctors. From my side, I will always suggest consulting a doctor first.
Q2. Can Apple Cider Vinegar be used as a supplement of calcium as it has calcium in it?
No. Not only calcium but you cannot use it as any dietary supplement because it has these nutrients in traces. It does not have any nutritional benefit at all. It is a taste enhancer and has medicinal value in it.