Can I Drink Apple Cider Vinegar During Fasting?
In contrast to aged vinegar, rice vinegar, and balsamic vinegar, which appeared in the East and were mainly used as condiments, drink apple cider vinegar has existed in Europe for thousands of years.
Besides being used as a condiment for drinks or salads, apple cider vinegar has received a lot of attention in the health field In recent years, with the rise of light fasting diets, more and more people are paying attention to the role of apple cider vinegar in them. However, this acidic and somewhat pungent liquid does contain a small number of calories.
So can you drink apple cider vinegar during a fast or not? Does apple cider vinegar help to lose weight? When is the best time to drink it?
Why Fasting Can Lose Weight?
When you fast, your body is activated by AMPK, the AMP-activated protein kinase found in all eukaryotes. It is a cellular energy sensor and a significant regulator of metabolism, sensing and regulating the balance of energy supply and demand, hence the name miracle protein.
When activated, it has health-promoting effects such as reversing diabetes, improving cardiovascular health, treating mitochondrial disease, and even extending life span.
Relationship Between AMPK & Light Fasting
When you fast for some time, your body’s energy levels drop. That’s when AMPK senses this change and starts working. In its efforts, the fatty acids in your body are mobilized to provide your body with energy instead of using food as fuel. Your body becomes a fat burner and weight loss begins. At the same time, autophagy is activated. Autophagy works primarily to remove and degrade damaged cellular structures, aging organelles, and biomolecules that are no longer needed.
Can I Drink Apple Cider Vinegar During A Fast?
After fasting, the body enters nutritional ketosis and begins to burn fat as a source of energy, similar to a ketogenic diet. To maintain a state of ketosis, you must severely limit your carbohydrate intake. Otherwise, when you eat enough carbohydrates, your body will begin to burn carbohydrates instead of body fat.
Information from the USDA nutrition database shows that one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar contains about 3 calories and less than 0.5 grams of carbohydrates. Although it includes a bit of carbohydrate, apple cider vinegar has little to no effect on fasting ketosis unless you take it in large amounts.
Benefits of Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar During the Fasting
Apple cider vinegar is obtained from apples through secondary fermentation and contains many kinds of vitamins and minerals, and it is good for health when consumed in moderation, and it is also good for weight loss when consumed in moderation during the fasting period.
Activate AMPK and Help Burn Abdominal Fat
Light fasting will activate AMPK. When AMPK is activated in the hypothalamus, it will feel a lack of energy in the body. To replenish energy, it will urge you to eat by increasing your appetite and hunger. This is why when you first start fasting, you will feel hungry.
Ideally, to lose weight, you want to activate AMPK in your liver, fat cells, and muscles and inhibit AMPK in your hypothalamus so that you can burn fat and store energy while reducing hunger, and the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar has this amazing function of reducing AMPK levels in the hypothalamus and thus reducing hunger. Also, apple cider vinegar has the effect of boosting metabolism, which can help improve the weight loss effect of light fasting.
Suppress Appetite and Help Weight Loss
The most difficult part of the fasting process is hunger, and for newbies, whether they can carry through this hurdle is the key to the success of fasting and weight loss. Apples in the process of fermentation into apple cider vinegar will produce acetic acid, which has the effect of suppressing hunger.
In a 12-week randomized clinical trial, two groups of overweight or obese participants were placed on a low-calorie diet plan, with one group also taking 30 ml of apple cider vinegar daily.
At the end of the trial, the weight, BMI, hip circumference, visceral fat index, and appetite of the group of participants taking apple cider vinegar were significantly lower than those of the other group.
Regulate Blood Sugar
The most effective and healthy way to lower high blood sugar is to eat less sugar and refined carbohydrates. And many studies have proven that apple cider vinegar has the same effect of regulating blood sugar.
- One study showed that among people following a high-carb diet, apple cider vinegar increased insulin sensitivity by 19-34% and significantly lowered their blood sugar and insulin response.
- In a study involving five healthy adults, participants who consumed 50 grams of white bread followed by some vinegar water reduced their blood sugar levels by 31.4%.
- A small study of diabetics showed that drinking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bedtime reduced fasting blood sugar by 4% the next morning.
Insulin resistance not only contributes to metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes but is also one of the root causes of overweight and obesity. Therefore, lowering blood sugar and improving insulin sensitivity can promote fat-burning and weight loss.
When Is The Best Time To Drink Apple Cider Vinegar?
The health benefits of apple cider vinegar are not immediately apparent and need to be consumed over a long period to see results. If you use it as a dressing for vegetable salad, then you can always eat it with your food; if you want to use it to help lose weight, you can drink it before your meal; if you want to use it to lower your blood sugar, it is best to drink it after your meal.
How To Drink Apple Cider Vinegar?
No matter whether you want to improve your health or lose weight, drinking 15-30ml a day is enough, if you drink too much it may produce some bad reactions, such as eroding your teeth. It is even more important to control the amount of apple cider vinegar during fasting so as not to consume too many carbohydrates and spoil the fast.
Apple cider vinegar is very acidic and can damage tooth enamel and the digestive tract. Therefore it is best not to drink it directly, but to dilute it with a glass of plain water before drinking. Or take apple cider vinegar capsules.
Conclusion
Apple cider vinegar contains only a very small amount of carbohydrates, so it can be consumed in moderation during a fast. Consistent consumption of apple cider vinegar can help suppress appetite and reduce hunger, as well as regulate blood sugar and improve metabolism. All these effects help to improve the weight loss results of light fasting.