Apple cider vinegar for me, please.

If my memory serves me correctly, I was on the "Apple Cider Vinegar Diet" just before converting to Atkins. Yep, 10 years ago I would've done just about anything to not be a size 16 high school freshmen, much less worthy of a Homecoming date other than my BFF. Sob story over. Of course I "saw the light" and am today embarrassed to even admit to my past weight loss endeavors. But hey, most of us have been there at some point in our lives. Well, a lot of us, anyways...

Ends up, vinegar does show some favorable results. While I cannot personally confirm those results myself (as far as weight loss is concerned, anyways), research is in support.

According to WebMD:

Diabetes.

The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits.  Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.

Weight Loss. 

For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss.  White vinegar (and perhaps other types) might help people feel full.  A 2005 study of 12 people found that those who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of white vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than those who just ate the bread. 

An article published in the New York Times states, "One study by Italian researches showed, for example, that when healthy subjects consumed about 4 teaspoons (20 milliliters) of white vinegar as a salad dressing with a meal that included white bread with a little less than 2 ounces (50 grams) of carbohydrates, there was a 30 percent reduction in their glycemic response, or rise in blood sugar, compared with subjects who had salad with a dressing made from neutralized vinegar. In 2004, a study published in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association, found similar effects in people with diabetes or insulin resistance who consumed a vinegar solution or placebo before a carb-heavy meal."

This research was of interest especially since I specialize in diabetes. Who'd have thought apple cider vinegar did such wonders to blood glucose!? While this research is surely fun trivia knowledge, diabetics should obviously not put the fate of their disease on the shoulders of apple cider vinegar.

Have you ever tried something "fad" to lose weight or be healthy? A certain diet? Food product? Exercise? Routine? Supplement?

I have a laundry list: Atkins, Apple Cider Vinegar Diet, South Beach...the list goes on and on. All I can say is that I've committed my life and career to healthful, balanced living, eating, and exercising! Live and learn, right?