Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar To Lose Weight: Healthy or Hype?

Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar To Lose Weight: Healthy or Hype?

Apple cider vinegar is all the rage, but is drinking it in an attempt to lose weight actually effective?

Dietitian and founder of "The Nutritious Life," Keri Glassman, asked our audience whether they think drinking apple cider vinegar for weight loss is healthy or hype.

While the dietitian does keep the ingredient in her pantry for cooking with, she says that "taking apple cider vinegar for weight loss … is hype."

It's true that there are some benefits to apple cider vinegar as an ingredient, according to Keri.

"Apple cider vinegar has been shown to help increase satiety — so it may make you feel a little more satisfied — it has also been shown to help control blood sugar levels. It also has some antioxidants and some amino acids in there," she says.

"However, it's not necessarily the weight loss miracle that people [say it is]. And taking those shots may also burn your esophagus, and that is not going to help anyone."

So when it comes to the acidic liquid, you do have to be careful. You can and should keep apple cider vinegar in your pantry like Keri does, but you don't need to drink it straight.

"I keep it with my oils and vinegars, but what I like to do is just use it as another healthy ingredient," Keri says. She mixes apple cider vinegar with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), a little bit of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to make one of her favorite salad dressings.

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"Incorporate it into your diet, but don't necessarily feel like you have to have the shots."

Dr. Ian Smith shares Keri's take on the health food trend.

"There have been very few studies that have documented that it can actually help with weight loss," he says. "There's one small Japanese study that says that [for] people who had it on a daily basis, it reduced their hunger or it increased their satiety, their feeling of fullness."

He also cites another study that says apple cider vinegar can help reduce blood sugar levels in your system, particularly for Type 2 diabetics.

But, Dr. Ian echoes Keri's warnings about consuming apple cider vinegar in moderation.

"Apple cider vinegar is mostly apple juice," the doc explains, "and what happens is, the sugar is converted into alcohol, and that alcohol is fermented by bacteria — which gives you acetic acid."

So keep this in mind: Because of the acidity, too much apple cider vinegar can be harmful to your tooth enamel, Dr. Ian says. It can also affect or even burn the back of your throat, and it can affect your stomach, he continues.

"So if you're going to have this, remember, small amounts," the doc emphasizes.