Recent research shows that small amounts of vinegar, if consumed daily, can support your health in important ways. But how?
Since the Babylonians first made vinegar about thousands of years ago, cultures around the world have used it for medicinal purposes.
Hippocrates mixed apple cider vinegar with honey to treat respiratory problems among the ancient Greeks. Medieval Europeans believed it protected against plague, while the Chinese used rice vinegar to treat pain.
After numerous scientific studies, nutrition experts such as Erin Palinsky Wade of New Jersey are increasingly recommending vinegar to their clients, arguing that vinegar may provide a variety of benefits with few downsides.
The Harvard University website says that the history of vinegar dates back to 5,000 BC in Babylon, not only for cooking but as a medicine, preservative, and drink to enhance strength and promote wellness.
Vinegar is a mixture of acetic acid and water that is made through a two-step fermentation process. First, yeast feeds on sugar or starch from any liquid from a plant food such as fruits, whole grains, potatoes, or rice. This liquid ferments and turns into alcohol. The alcohol is then exposed to oxygen and acetic acid bacteria Acetobacter to ferment again over a period of weeks or months, forming vinegar.
The US Food and Drug Administration requires vinegar to contain at least 4% acetic acid, but commonly used vinegar may range up to 8%. Although acetic acid is responsible for the pungent, pungent flavors and aromas we recognize, vinegar also contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenolic compounds.
Flavors range from sour to savory to sweet. Some types of vinegar, such as balsamic vinegar, can be left to ferment for up to 25 years.
Vinegar and health
Ancient records from China, the Middle East, and Greece indicate that vinegar was used for medicinal purposes: as a digestive aid, an antibacterial balm to treat wounds, and a cough remedy.
Today, vinegar is often promoted as a multi-purpose treatment for everything from minor ailments to chronic diseases. But to be clear, current scientific research does not support the use of vinegar as an effective treatment for any of these conditions.
However, some animal studies and small human studies have suggested a health benefit from vinegar, which has led to its increasing popularity in the media.
Nutrients
Vinegar is low in calories and nutrients. Depending on the type, a tablespoon of vinegar contains between 2 and 15 calories.
Lower-calorie types, such as distilled vinegar, have no nutritional value, and others contain trace amounts of nutrients. Since most vinegars are sodium and sugar-free, they are an ideal ingredient to flavor foods on strict diets.
Vinegar can change the texture of foods, as it breaks down the chemical structure of protein, as happens when used as a marinade to tenderize meat and fish. Vinegar can also be used to make cottage cheese by adding it to milk. The acid in the vinegar separates the solid curd from the liquid whey.
What makes vinegar special?
One specific ingredient can explain the health benefits of vinegar: acetic acid. After ingestion, acetic acid turns into acetate, a fatty acid that is beneficial for digestion, metabolism, and energy production.
Every type of vinegar starts out as a form of sugar, also known as a carbohydrate — like apples, which are used to make apple cider vinegar.
Carbohydrates are pressed into liquid form and fermented by yeast into alcohol, which is then fermented into acetic acid. This process gives vinegar much more acetic acid than any other food, says Carol Johnston, a nutrition professor at Arizona State who studies vinegar.
The US Food and Drug Administration requires that all vinegars sold in the United States contain at least 4% acetic acid.
Some types of vinegar, especially balsamic vinegar, also tend to be high in polyphenols: compounds found in plants that protect us from cell damage, inflammation, and infection.
Apple cider vinegar
The most researched type is apple cider vinegar, and studies show that taking a little apple cider vinegar before or during meals can lower blood sugar, which is measured immediately after eating, and with continued use, it may contribute to better blood sugar control. Over the course of several months.
These effects are most pronounced with foods rich in carbohydrates, which may otherwise cause high blood sugar. “Obviously, drinking vinegar with a starchy meal will reduce the amount of glucose in your bloodstream,” Johnston says.
She and others have found that the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar affects certain hormones that slow the rate at which the stomach sends food to the intestines. Because glucose enters the bloodstream gradually, consuming apple cider vinegar regularly can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.
Studies also suggest that vinegar may promote a healthier weight, perhaps due to vinegar’s slow-acting effect on the stomach. Recent research found lower blood fat levels in overweight adults who took apple cider vinegar, indicating better heart health, as well as lower glucose levels.
Most of these benefits have been researched at a rate of 2-4 tablespoons daily. But larger studies are needed, says Safa Shaibib, a lecturer at RMIT University in Australia who published a research review on apple cider vinegar. “There is an impact, but we have to be careful in determining what kind of impact and how much.”
Fermenting vinegar may have advantages
The process of fermenting vinegar is different from fermented vegetables like cucumbers and cabbage, which may translate to some unique benefits.
The vegetables are fermented using healthy microbes. When ingested, the microbes pass through the gut microbiome, where they slowly produce many fatty acids that fight infection and inflammation.
One of these fatty acids is acetate. But when making vinegar, fermenting the fruit may work more directly. Fruit fermentation produces acetic acid, which turns into acetate long before it reaches your intestines, so it is absorbed faster, making it a valuable source of cell energy. “Basically, what you’re doing is bypassing the need for the microbiome to do the work,” Johnston says.
Fermented foods such as vegetables that contain live microbes provide equally important, or perhaps even greater, benefits.
“I’m a big proponent of including these fermented foods in the diet,” Hotkins says. “Apple cider vinegar is not a superfood because there is no such thing. Each of these foods is just part of an overall healthy diet.”
Balsamic vinegar
The benefits of apple cider vinegar may apply to some other types of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is usually sold in the United States simply because apples are popular here, not because they are particularly healthy or delicious. “It’s marketing,” Johnston says.
In the Mediterranean, they have a lot of grapes, so they have more balsamic vinegar.
Balsamic vinegar is rich in polyphenols. “The polyphenols are concentrated,” says Johnston, which results in a thicker, darker vinegar.
Balsamic vinegar, taken with food, may slow stomach enzymes to improve digestion.
Rice vinegar
Some findings suggest that rice vinegar offers similar benefits. Fewer studies have looked at other types of vinegar, such as coconut, pomegranate, or cane sugar. Limited research suggests that sugarcane vinegar, for example, lowers blood fats.
These types of vinegar contain less acetic acid and polyphenols than apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar. But they still provide more acetic acid than non-vinegar foods.
They may also contain at least some nutrients from their original food sources.
How to drink vinegar
While vinegar may be good for you, “it’s not a medicine,” notes Johnston. He adds that precautions should be taken with vinegar because acetic acid, in its concentrated forms, can damage teeth, mouth and throat. Avoid direct doses of vinegar. Mix it with water, juice or food.
People with chronic kidney disease should be especially careful with their consumption of vinegar, as their kidneys have a challenge processing the excess acid from the vinegar.
Palinsky advises diluting a tablespoon in a cup of water or liquid, and drinking through a straw.
It is also recommended to avoid eating more than 4 tablespoons per day. “The most you can eat is two tablespoons with one meal, and two tablespoons with a second meal that day,” Johnston says.
If you are new to drinking vinegar, start slowly with one tablespoon per day. “Continue taking it gradually to avoid any digestive problems,” Palinsky says.
To get the blood sugar benefits, take vinegar before your heavy meals, says Shibib.