Apple Cider Vinegar

If apple cider vinegar were the wonder drug some people claim, it would be made by Pfizer instead of Red Cheek.

Some far-reaching claims have been made about apple cider vinegar, which is available in liquid form and as a pill supplement. The catalog of conditions it may help cure—heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity—reads like the Centers for Disease Control’s Most Wanted list. The claims are largely based on nutrients in the vinegar which are understood to help fight these diseases, such as potassium for heart disease, beta-carotene for cancer, and fiber for weight loss.

Apple vinegar does contain beneficial vitamins and minerals, and may help with the absorption of minerals such as calcium. Of course, these nutrients can also be found in other healthy foods, and often in greater quantity. Consider eating more leafy green vegetables (for potassium), spinach (beta-carotene), or even a nice bran muffin (fiber).

Fermenting apple juice reduces its vitamins and minerals.

If you’re especially impressed with all the nutritional properties of apple cider vinegar, we have another swell idea for you: Eat an apple. “You have to consider how much of the nutrients you’re going to get in a tablespoon of vinegar as compared to a whole apple,” says nutritionist Samantha Heller. “When you ferment something, its composition changes. For example, you’re not going to have the [nutrient-rich] skin of an apple or all of the fiber in it… the fermentation process that creates vinegar takes a lot of that out by filtering and processing.”

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

Using vinegar daily for cooking and in dressings is fine—it adds depth and zest to food and can make a great substitute for fatty flavorings.

Just don’t misinterpret “all natural” labels as an “all clear” to drink vinegar by the cupful. Nature’s kitchen cooks up plenty of substances that are unhealthy, some even in small doses—arsenic, mercury and foxglove, for example. As Heller reminds us, “Vinegar is generally about 5 percent acetic acid, depending on the type. It’s an acid, so you certainly don’t want to take a lot of it. You know how when you have a little too much vinegar your eyes water and you cough a little? That has to tell you something.”

Studies have suggested vinegar may increase satiety and help control diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association has quoted a 2005 study that implies “adding a little vinegar to the diet may help you feel full longer. It may also help control blood glucose and insulin levels.”

Heller explains, “The study showed some possible benefit, not necessarily to apple vinegar but to vinegar in general. It may help with what they call the ‘postprandial rise’ in glucose and insulin. So when your blood sugar goes up after you eat, it may help manage that rise and help people control their blood sugar. But that’s so preliminary and such a small study—there were only 12 participants—that I certainly wouldn’t recommend somebody with type 2 diabetes go around drinking tons of vinegar.”

Apple Cider Vinegar has been reviewed for accuracy by nutritionist Samantha Heller, the nutritional coordinator for the YMCA in Fairfield, Conn.

Confused by health myths and misinformation? Each week, Rich Maloof talks to leading health experts to bring you the straight facts on a broad range of health topics.

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Rich Maloof is a regular contributor to MSN Health & Fitness. He specializes in health as well as technology and music. Rich has also written for CNN, Yahoo!, Women's Health, Billboard and the “For Dummies” book series.