Examination of the Antiglycemic Properties of Vinegar in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Background: Vinegar reduces postprandial glycemia (PPG) in healthy adults. This study investigated the vinegar dosage (10 vs. 20 g), timing (during mealtime vs. 5 h before meal) and application (acetic acid as vinegar vs. neutralized salt) for reducing PPG. Methods: Four randomized crossover trials were conducted in adults (n = 9–10/trial) with type 2 diabetes (1 trial) or without diabetes (3 trials). All trials followed the same protocol: a standardized meal the evening prior to testing, an overnight fast (>10 h) and 2-hour glucose testing following consumption of a bagel and juice test meal (3 trials) or dextrose solution (1 trial). For each trial, PPG was compared between treatments using area-under-the-curve calculations 120 min after the meal. Results: Two teaspoons of vinegar (∼10 g) effectively reduced PPG, and this effect was most pronounced when vinegar was ingested during mealtime as compared to 5 h before the meal. Vinegar did not alter PPG when ingested with monosaccharides, suggesting that the antiglycemic action of vinegar is related to the digestion of carbohydrates. Finally, sodium acetate did not alter PPG, indicating that acetate salts lack antiglycemic properties. Conclusions: The antiglycemic properties of vinegar are evident when small amounts of vinegar are ingested with meals composed of complex carbohydrates. In these situations, vinegar attenuated PPG by ∼20% compared to placebo.

Effects of two different types of fast food on postprandial metabolism in normal and overweight subjects

“…Several studies have investigated the effects of vinegar on postprandial insulin and glucose and found that vinegar ingestion with a meal reduced postprandial insulin and glucose, although our dose of vinegar (5 g) was small compared with doses used in other studies, for example, between 18 and 28 g, [28][29][30] and probably does not entirely explain the observed differences.…”

“…Research has identified a range of food-related factors known to affect the GI of food and thus postprandial hyperglycemia, but has focused on single nutrients or food items rather than on mixed meals. [15][16][17][18][19] It is interesting to investigate how various factors in combination affect GI, for example, within a fast-food meal. Fast food is popular and worldwide sales are enormous.…”

AMPK activation—protean potential for boosting healthspan

“…Moreover, in post-menopausal women, vinegar administration boosts flow-mediated vasodilation, an effect likely attributable to AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of eNOS (Sakakibara et al 2010). Regular vinegar use may modestly improve glycemic control in human diabetics, and inclusion of vinegar in meals acutely lowers the postprandial glucose response, apparently by slowing the absorption of starch or polysaccharides Ostman et al 2005;Johnston et al 2010). These observations are intriguing in light of the common folkloric belief that apple cider vinegar can confer wide-ranging health protective benefits.…”

Minimizing Postprandial Oxidative Stress in Type 2 Diabetes: The Role of Exercise and Selected Nutrients

“…In patients with T2DM, 20g of wine vinegar has been shown to reduce postprandial glucose and insulin AUC when added to a high, but not to a low, glycemic index meal (Liatis et al, 2010). In a four part investigation, the anti-glycemic properties of vinegar were investigated (Johnston et al, 2010). Pertinent for the present discussion, trial 4 examined whether a "vinegar pill" (i.e., the neutralized salt of acetic acid, sodium acetate) possessed antiglycemic effect in individuals with T2DM, when compared to 20g of traditional vinegar (1g acetic acid), and placebo.…”