Obesity has spread throughout the world and constitutes a form of malnutrition that also affects the population of countries with fewer economic resources, as indicated by research recently published in the scientific journal The Lancet. It is not surprising, therefore, that science seeks formulas to combat this public health problem, which is due to a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors and is linked to a higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes. type 2, cardiovascular diseases, some common cancers and osteoarthritis.
Recent interest in alternative weight management remedies has highlighted apple cider vinegar for its potential health benefits, including weight management. Now, a small clinical trial involving 120 Lebanese adolescents and young adults between 12 and 25 years of age (46 men and 74 women) who were overweight or obese has shown that this type of vinegar could have a positive effect on reduction in body weight and BMI in a dose-dependent manner. The findings have been published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.
Apple cider vinegar promotes satiety and improves insulin sensitivity
This vinegar, obtained from the fermentation of apple juice, contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenols that can contribute to its positive effects. Studies in rats and humans suggest that its consumption can reduce weight gain, blood sugar and lipid profile, in addition to promoting satiety and improving insulin sensitivity, which could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of apple cider vinegar to reduce weight and improve lipid and glycemic profiles in participants, who were randomly assigned to groups that consumed different doses of this vinegar or a placebo for 12 weeks. The authors conclude in their article that “the consumption of apple cider vinegar in overweight and obese people led to an improvement in anthropometric and metabolic parameters” and that this vinegar “could be a promising anti-obesity supplement that does not produce any side effects.”
Miguel Ángel Martínez González, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra and associate professor of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (United States), who has not participated in the research, warns in statements to SMC Spain that the results must be taken with caution: “There are several repeated measures over time, but they do not use the appropriate statistical methodology for repeated measures in a longitudinal design of this type. Apparently they only use t test [una herramienta estadística para hacer comparaciones] and they should have used other models that would allow fixed and random components to be assessed, but they also do not describe the total diet of the participants and how their caloric intake, consumption of fruits, vegetables, ultra-processed foods, etc. changes.”
“Apple cider vinegar could be a promising anti-obesity supplement that does not produce any side effects”
Helen Truby, professor and researcher of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Queensland (Australia), has also been critical of this research and in statements to the same medium points out that “there are some substantial problems in this study, which would make the conclusions drawn questionable.” ”, and highlights that “the weight of the subjects was not stable at the beginning of the study, so it is possible that they were in a weight loss process before starting to take the vinegar; diet and activity were self-reported, so we cannot be sure that these large weight losses were not due to lifestyle changes; Furthermore, the use of weight loss medications has not been reported.”
Although the researcher recognizes that the results are significant, she warns that “they should be reproduced in a more rigorously controlled environment before we can trust their conclusions. It would be wonderful if a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar resulted in substantial weight loss, but with the complexity of obesity and its treatment that we face, sometimes if something seems too good to be true, it often isn’t. ”.
