Do Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies Work?
Apple cider vinegar is renowned for its health benefits. Its taste, however, can be off-putting for some people. That’s why manufacturers of wellness products have started making it available in alternative forms such as gummies. This can give you the benefits without the taste. Here’s what you need to know about them.
The ingredients list is important
In simple terms, apple cider vinegar gummies will only deliver meaningful benefits if they contain a meaningful quantity of apple cider vinegar. This should therefore be the first point to check. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you should also check the setting agent. These days, it will probably be pectin but it could potentially still be gelatine.
Apple cider vinegar gummies will usually contain some form of sweetener. This will generally be glucose syrup and/or sugar. These are both fine for vegans. Again, however, if you’re vegan, it’s best to double-check in case it’s something like honey. Some apple cider vinegar gummies may add extra ingredients for added health benefits and/or for extra color and flavor.
If you’re concerned about the sugar content in apple cider vinegar gummies then you can relax. A reputable brand will keep this to a minimum to ensure you still get all the health benefits of apple cider vinegar. It’s also likely to be less damaging to your teeth than the acid in liquid apple cider vinegar.
The health benefits are the same
Assuming you choose a reputable brand of apple cider vinegar gummies, you will get the same health benefits as you get by drinking regular apple cider vinegar. All that changes is the taste.
Apple cider vinegar is probably best known for its beneficial effect on digestive health and weight management. It does, however, offer a wide range of health benefits. Here is what you need to know.
Apple cider vinegar is essentially acetic acid
Apple cider vinegar is made in a three-step process. Firstly, apples are crushed to release their juice. Secondly, the juice is fermented in yeast to convert its sugar to alcohol. Thirdly a “mother” is added.
The mother releases the bacterium “acetobacter aceti”. As its name suggests, this converts the alcohol to acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar and the source of many of its benefits. The mother is left in organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and is safe to eat. It may not, however, be pleasant to eat.
High-quality apple cider vinegar will also contain a small amount of potassium together with some amino acids and antioxidants. There are richer sources of all of these but they are a nice booster to the acetic acid itself.
Acetic acid is antibacterial
Vinegars in general tend to have antibacterial qualities. This is due to their acid content. These antibacterial qualities work both outside and inside the human body. This is one of the reasons why vinegars are often recommended as alternatives to chemical cleaners.
Realistically, apple cider vinegar is far too expensive to use for household cleaning. It can, however, be very useful for cleaning the human body of bacteria. This helps promote gut health all year round. It can also help to provide some protection against seasonal illnesses in fall and winter.
Acetic acid helps regulate blood sugar
You’re probably already aware that you should moderate your sugar intake. You may not, however, be aware that you also need to regulate your sugar intake. In other words, you want to avoid your sugar levels becoming either excessively low or excessively high. These can both have very unpleasant short-term and long-term consequences.
If you have excessively low blood sugar, then the obvious remedy is to consume some form of sugar. Just be very careful to eat what you need and no more. If you panic and eat more sugar than you need, you can end up swinging from low sugar to high sugar. This brings a different set of problems.
If you have excessively high blood sugar then apple cider vinegar can help you to bring it down. It does this in two ways. Firstly, the presence of an acid in the stomach helps to counterbalance the alkalinity of sugar. It slows down the digestive process and, hence, smooths out sugar levels.
Secondly, acetic acid, the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar, seems to influence the body’s responsiveness to insulin. Insulin is the substance that processes sugar. It’s hugely important to maintain the body’s ability to process sugar effectively. This helps to minimize the likelihood that a person will develop diabetes.
Acetic acid can help with weight management
Apple cider vinegar is low in calories but is known to make people feel full after eating it. It is widely believed that this is connected to its impact on blood sugar levels. Essentially, the presence of acetic acid leads to sugar being digested more slowly. As a result, the energy it provides is released over a longer period instead of creating a “sugar rush”.
It should, however, be noted that the benefits of apple cider vinegar are not sufficient to outweigh the drawbacks of an unhealthy lifestyle. If you are serious about weight management, then you need to start with a healthy, balanced diet and sufficient exercise. Apple cider vinegar can, however, give your regime a useful boost.
Arguably, anything that helps weight management is at least worth consideration. Excess weight is linked with a number of health conditions. This includes extremely serious ones such as diabetes.
Acetic acid may improve heart health
A range of studies in animals suggests that acetic acid is beneficial for heart health. In particular, it lowers several of the non-genetic risk factors including cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It has also been shown to lower blood pressure. This is also beneficial for kidney health.
It should, however, be noted that, at present, there is limited research on whether acetic acid has the same benefits for humans. That said, apple cider vinegar is perfectly safe to eat. You could therefore opt to use it as part of your overall heart-health-management routine.