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Vinegar (VIN) ingestion at mealtime reduces postprandial glycemia and may benefit individuals with diabetes; hence, the medicinal use of VIN has increased in recent years. This study examined the safety and tolerance of medicinally ingested VIN in type 2 diabetics. Participants (n = 27) were stratified by gender, age, and body mass and randomized into three groups: commercial VIN pills (the reference treatment [REF] (30 mg of acetic acid daily), pickles (PCK) (approximately 1,400 mg of acetic acid daily), or VIN (2,800 mg of acetic acid daily). Participants continued their normal eating habits during the 12-week trial. At baseline and weeks 6 and 12, fasting blood and urine samples were collected, and adverse changes in bowel movements, frequency of burping or flatulence, and episodes of acid reflux were recorded. Reporting frequency for adverse events did not vary significantly by group during the trial; however, 50-56% of PCK and VIN participants reported at least one treatment-emergent adverse event at week 6 as compared to 11% of REF participants (P = .110). Urinary pH was significantly reduced in VIN participants at week 12 as compared to the other groups (-9% vs. +3% and +2% for the PCK and REF groups, respectively, P = .023). At week 6 there was a tendency for aspartate aminotransferase concentrations to increase in the VIN group as compared to the other groups (+17% vs. +8% and -8% for VIN, PCK, and REF, respectively; P = .090). These data indicate that chronic VIN ingestion may influence hepatic function and metabolic pathways aside from glucose metabolism.

Social reintegration of veterans following military service is a complex, nonlinear, and highly individualized phenomenon, yet much of the existing literature on transition of veterans represents a narrow and limited perspective of transition and trauma—mostly written from an external (nonveteran) perspective. We present an alternative based on concepts of personal and social transformation through collaborative, veteran-led social science research designed from an interdisciplinary Adlerian (social systems) perspective. Participants are military-connected students, defined as service members, veterans, family members, and mental health practitioners experienced in working with military and veteran populations. Research projects described were designed by the students, and these typically involved informal data gathering and self-reflection, combined with extensive review of current interdisciplinary literature in the military psychology field. A case study of informal participative research with a cohort of female Navy Chief Petty Officers by the first author is presented as an example. Conclusions and recommendations support further extension of this cohort-driven adult learning model as a means of combining personal growth and social transformation by including military, veteran, and family perspectives in research and literature directed toward veterans’ social and mental health programs and policies.

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