Learn the top therapeutic effects of vinegar in our lives. Check out the article we found over at Mercola.com.
By Dr. Mercola
Vinegar has been produced and sold for thousands of years, dating back to before the 6th century. Vinegars flavored with fruit, honey, and malt were popular among the Babylonians, while Hippocrates used vinegar to manage wounds.
In 10th century China, some used vinegar to clean hands and prevent infections while in the early US vinegar was used to treat fever, poison ivy, croup, edema, and much more.
Today we know that vinegar, which is traditionally made through a long fermentation process, is
rich in bioactive components like acetic acid, gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, caffeic acid, and more, giving it potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and many other beneficial properties.
Vinegar remains popular around the globe for pickling fruits and vegetables, and it’s also commonly added to condiments and other food dishes for flavor. That being said, vinegar is emerging as a functional food that not only adds interest to your meals… it may also significantly benefit your health. As reported in the Journal of Food Science:
“Functional therapeutic properties of vinegar… include antibacterial activity, blood pressure reduction, antioxidant activity, reduction in the effects of diabetes, prevention of cardiovascular disease, and increased vigor after exercise.”
Top 10 Therapeutic Effects of Vinegar
1. Antimicrobial Properties
Vinegar is one of the best natural cleaning agents there is, and this is largely due to its antimicrobial properties. When added to food, the organic acids in vinegar (especially the acetic acid) pass into cell membranes to kill bacteria.
Foods fermented with vinegar have a natural arsenal of antimicrobial organic acids, including acetic, lactic, ascorbic, citric, malic, propionic, succinic, and tartaric acids.
One study found acetic acid to be lethal to even E. coli O157:H7, while other research has shown substances such as acetic acid, lemon juice, or a combination of lemon juice and vinegar to be effective against salmonella.
2. Antioxidant Effects
Antioxidants are a class of molecules that are capable of inhibiting the oxidation of another molecule. Antioxidants play a significant role in your health, as they can control how fast you age by fighting free radicals that result in oxidative stress.
Polyphenols and vitamins in many different types of vinegar help ward off oxidative stress due to their potent antioxidant properties. Examples of antioxidants in apple cider vinegar, for instance, include catechin, epicatechin, and gallic, caffeic, and chlorogenic acids.
3. Anti-Diabetic Effects
Vinegar is said to be anti-glycemic and has a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels. It’s thought that the acetic acid in vinegar may lower blood sugar by preventing the complete digestion of complex carbohydrates, which is accomplished either by accelerating gastric emptying or increasing the uptake of glucose by bodily tissues.
One theory is that vinegar might inactivate some of the digestive enzymes that break down carbohydrates into sugar, thus slowing the conversion of complex carbohydrate into sugar from a meal into your bloodstream. This gives your body more time to pull sugar out of your blood, preventing your sugar levels from spiking.
Quite a bit of research supports the use of vinegar as a diabetic treatment as well. One study found that vinegar treatment improved insulin sensitivity in 19 percent of individuals with type 2 diabetes and 34 percent of those with pre-diabetes.
4. Cancer
The antioxidant content of vinegar may make it useful against cancer, and a traditional Japanese rice vinegar called Kurosu has shown particular promise for reducing cancer risk. Kurosu vinegar has been found to inhibit the growth of a variety of cancer cells, including colon, lung, breast, bladder, and prostate.
Kibizu, a sugar cane vinegar from Japan, has been shown in cell studies to inhibit the growth of leukemia cells, while consuming vinegar may even reduce the risk of esophageal cancer.
5. Weight Loss
Vinegar may help you lose weight, as it appears to have an anti-obesity effect by increasing satiety and reducing the total amount of food consumed. For instance, when volunteers consumed two tablespoons of red raspberry vinegar daily for four weeks they lost weight, while those who consumed the same amount of cranberry juice gained it.
Further, in separate research, people who consumed a small amount of vinegar along with a high-carb meal (a bagel and juice) consumed less food for the remainder of the day. The reduction equated to about 200 to 275 calories a day – an amount that would result in a monthly weight loss of up to 1.5 pounds.
6. Heart Health
Vinegar supports heart health in multiple ways. As explained in the Journal of Food Science:
“Polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid, which is present in high levels in apple cider vinegar, could inhibit oxidation of LDLs and improve health by preventing cardiovascular diseases.”
It also appears to help lower blood pressure. One study showed that vinegar could lower cholesterol in laboratory rats, while another study on rats found their blood pressure could be lowered by the acetic acid in vinegar.
7. Heartburn and Acid Reflux
Acid reflux typically results from having too little acid in your stomach. You can easily improve the acid content of your stomach by taking one tablespoon of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water daily.
Read full article: Functional Health Properties of Vinegar
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