Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Apple Cider Vinegar: Blood Glucose Levels Reduced

Apple Cider Vinegar: Blood Glucose Levels Reduced

Apple cider vinegar can help blunt the rise in blood glucose levels after a meal that is high in carbohydrates, according to study published in Diabetes Care. The study was performed by Carol S. Johnston, PHD, et al.

Apple cider vinegar and blood glucose levels are linked in the reported study. The researchers studied both diabetic subjects (with type 2 diabetes) and non-diabetic subjects (either resistant to insulin or sensitive to insulin).

The study protocol involved having subjects who were fasting consume either an apple cider vinegar and water mixture or a placebo mixture, based on random assignment of subjects. The apple cider vinegar mixture used to test for effects on blood glucose consisted of 20 grams [approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons] of apple cider vinegar, 40 grams of water, and 1 teaspoon of saccharine.

Then, after a delay of two minutes, the subjects ate a test meal that consisted of a white-flour bagel, with butter, and orange juice. The test meal contained a total of 87 grams of carbohydrates.

The apple cider vinegar researchers took the subjects' fasting blood samples, and then took blood samples at 30 minute and 60 minute points after the test meal. Blood glucose levels and insulin levels in these blood samples were analyzed. The researchers estimated whole-body insulin sensitivity of subjects during the 60-minute period after the test meal, assigning a composite score to each subject.

A week later, the subjects were switched between groups for a cross-over test.

Results of the apple cider vinegar blood glucose study: Subjects with diabetes had elevated fasting blood glucose levels of about 55 percent. Subjects having type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance had elevated fasting insulin concentrations of 95 – 115 percent, as compared to control group subjects.

Drinking the apple cider vinegar mixture caused the insulin-resistant subjects' whole-body insulin sensitivity to increase during the 60 minute period after the test meal (34 percent, at significance level 0.01) and caused a lesser rise among type-2 diabetic subjects (19 percent, at the 0.07 significance level).

Apple cider vinegar reduced the fluctuations in insulin significantly in control subjects after the test meal and reduced the fluctuations in both glucose and insulin in insulin-resistant subjects.

Source: "Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes" at http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/1/281

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