The Blood Sugar Lowering and Metabolic Effects of Vinegar

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

This article discusses some of the beneficial effects of vinegar.

A high blood sugar of more than 140 mg/dl or 7.8 mmol/L two after a meal (post-prandial) is predictive of atherosclerosis in everyone (diabetics and non-diabetics)

The study that made that conclusion is in a previous article. After-meal high blood sugar predicts Atherosclerosis better than Fasting blood sugar and HbA1c.

Atherosclerosis leads to the most common causes of death worldwide: heart attacks and strokes.

Moreover, high blood sugar levels also lead to weight gain, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and other common diseases.

Diseases Associated with the Metabolic Syndrome

This article features the work of Santos and colleagues in their review article, Vinegar (acetic acid) intake on glucose metabolism.[1]

The article included animal and human studies showing several mechanisms on how vinegar can lower blood sugar.

Briefly, there are three ways a daily intake of about 10 to 30 ml (about one to two tablespoons) of vinegar can lower post-prandial blood sugar.

  1. Vinegar slows the effect of amylase, a carbohydrate digestive enzyme.
  2. Vinegar increases the glucose (sugar) uptake in skeletal muscles and the liver.
  3. Vinegar causes molecular changes in cells, resulting in greater use of fat as a source of energy and better cell energy production.

Vinegar and carbohydrate digestion

Enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract are needed to digest food. In particular, the alpha-amylase (∝-amylase) enzyme is present in the saliva, stomach, and intestines and breaks down carbohydrates into glucose.

Taking vinegar inactivates alpha-amylase in the stomach and slows the release of glucose until the food reaches the small intestines.

Johnstone et al. found that blood sugar was 20% lower two hours after a meal in both diabetics and non-diabetics if they took two teaspoons or ten gms of apple cider vinegar with a test meal of a bagel and orange juice.[2]

Interestingly, they also found that vinegar did not decrease blood sugar when the subjects consumed dextrose and orange juice. That means vinegar would not lower the post-prandial blood sugar if sugared drinks like pop or soft drinks are taken with a meal.[2]

Another finding is that vinegar lowers blood sugar if taken with a meal and not five hours before a meal. [2]

Vinegar dressing in salads

Brighenti et al. concluded in their study that four tablespoons of vinegar (one gram of acetic acid)[1] added to olive oil as a dressing to 100 gms of sliced lettuce lowers after-meal blood sugar by 31.4%. The challenge meal was 50 grams of white bread. [3]

Vinegar helps store glucose in the muscles.

Mitrou et al. found that giving vinegar to insulin-resistant individuals increased glucose storage in the muscles and reduced the need for insulin secretion, thus preventing high insulin levels that can lead to weight gain.[4]

In their study, the subjects had 30 mL of apple cider vinegar or a placebo before a test meal consisting of bread, cheese, ham, orange juice, butter, and a cereal bar (equivalent to 75 g of carbohydrates).[4]

The apple cider vinegar group had lower insulin levels than the placebo. The vinegar group also had more muscle blood flow and glucose uptake.

Glucose must enter the muscles to lower blood sugar and provide the material to make glycogen, the storage form of glucose needed when we move or exercise.

The effect of vinegar in increasing glucose storage and preserving the glycogen content of the muscles after strenuous exercise has been replicated many times in animal studies.

Vinegar improves metabolism

In their article, Santos et al. cited many studies showing improved metabolism. We will cut through the technical terms and go to the bottom line.

The addition of vinegar to meals results in the following:

  1. More fat burning (lipolysis)
  2. Less fat formation (lipogenesis)
  3. Increase glucose uptake in the liver and the muscles as described above.
  4. The formation of higher numbers of mitochondria is the fuel source for almost every cell in the body.
  5.  Greater endurance or exercise capacity results from more mitochondria present in the cells.

The metabolic effects of vinegar are summarized in the image below.

Source: Santos HO et al., Vinegar (acetic acid) intake on glucose metabolism: A narrative review, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2019.05.008

To conclude, adding vinegar to the early part of the meal helps reduce post-prandial blood sugar and lowers the risk of atherosclerosis formation.

Furthermore, vinegar can also increase exercise capacity by making the cells produce more mitochondria to make fuel out of the glycogen stored in the muscles, which is also increased by vinegar.

I have been adding vinegar to my meals. It did not cause any stomach upset or heartburn to me. In contrast, I find that if I eat more sweets than usual, it can cause gastric reflux.

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Related:

  1. Ways to Lower After-Meal Blood Sugar when Eating White Bread
  2. A High-Protein Breakfast Can Lower Blood Sugar the Whole Day
  3. Eating rather than skipping breakfast results in lower blood sugars the whole day
  4. Pistachios improve insulin resistance and inflammatory markers
  5. Pistachios decrease after-meal blood sugar
  6. A surprising reason why people get heart attacks
  7. After-meal high blood sugar predicts Atherosclerosis better than Fasting blood sugar and HbA1c
  8. How often do you do the post-prandial sugar test?
  9. Blood Glucose Spike and its Prevention
  10. Testing Post Prandial Glucose Level after a Feast
  11. After-meal blood sugar spikes as a cause of vascular failure
  12. Veggies Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike
  13. A Healthy Lifestyle is as effective as Voglibose and Nateglinide in Lowering 10-year Cardiac Mortality
  14. Intermittent fasting Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction
  15. Walk After Meals to Prevent Sky High Blood Sugars

Reference:

  1. Santos HO et al., Vinegar (acetic acid) intake on glucose metabolism: A narrative review, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2019.05.008
  2. Johnston CS, Steplewska I, Long CA, Harris LN, Ryals RH. Examination of the antiglycemic properties of vinegar in healthy adults. Ann Nutr Metab. 2010;56(1):74-9. doi: 10.1159/000272133. PMID: 20068289.
  3. Brighenti F, Castellani G, Benini L, Casiraghi MC, Leopardi E, Crovetti R, Testolin G. Effect of neutralized and native vinegar on blood glucose and acetate responses to a mixed meal in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Apr;49(4):242-7. PMID: 7796781.
  4. Mitrou P, Petsiou E, Papakonstantinou E, Maratou E, Lambadiari V, Dimitriadis P, Spanoudi F, Raptis SA, Dimitriadis G. Vinegar Consumption Increases Insulin-Stimulated Glucose Uptake by the Forearm Muscle in Humans with Type 2 Diabetes. J Diabetes Res. 2015;2015:175204. doi: 10.1155/2015/175204. Epub 2015 May 6. PMID: 26064976; PMCID: PMC4438142.

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