Drinking apple cider vinegar on a regular basis could help manage type 2 diabetes, a US study has shown.
The distinctive vinegar, commonly used for home cooking and homeopathic medicines, has previously been linked to weight loss.
Now, a trial has found that consuming the ingredient at bedtime can help impact waking glucose concentrations in type 2 diabetes favourably.
The authors wrote: “Given the importance of maintaining acceptable blood glucose concentrations, there is much interest in identifying foods and diet patterns that will help individuals with diabetes manage their condition.
“Utilising a randomised crossover design with a three to five-day washout period between treatments, participants followed a standardized meal plan for two days, consuming either two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or water at bedtime with one oz of cheese.”
Avoiding refined carbs and sugar is by far the most effective and healthiest way to regulate blood sugar levels, but indulging in apple cider vinegar could also be beneficial.
The researchers said it works because “anti-glycaemic effect of acetic acid found in apple cider vinegar was attributed to reduced starch digestion and/or delayed gastric emptying”.
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The study involved a total of 29 people, which featured 10 participants with type 2 diabetes, 11 with insulin resistance, and eight people without diabetes or insulin resistance.
Each volunteer was randomly given either apple cider vinegar or a placebo drink and then asked to eat a meal consisting of a white bagel, butter and orange juice.
The research team discovered that those who had consumed the vinegar had increased insulin sensitivity and significantly reduced post-meal blood glucose and insulin levels.
The findings have been published in the Diabetes Care journal.
