Cures Similar to Vinegar for Diabetes

Diabetes is a common health problem that leaves the body unable to regulate glucose levels. Patients have to follow a careful diet and take insulin injections to maintain safe blood-sugar levels. Proponents of alternative medicine may advocate vinegar as a supplement to help you control your diabetes.

Vinegar and Diabetes

• As of yet, the only so-called cure for diabetes is a full pancreas transplant; even after such a surgery, you must take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of your life to stop your body from rejecting the new organ. Vinegar -- or anything like it -- does not constitute a cure for diabetes. However, some dieticians believe that vinegar may be a useful supplement to a diabetic diet. If you take two tablespoons of vinegar before a meal, some studies show, glucose levels will not spike nearly as high as expected. While more scientific research is necessary before this claim can be fully trusted, the findings are encouraging. It is thought that the effect might be caused by vinegar preventing the breakdown of carbohydrates in the stomach, instead flushing the carbs out of the body before excess glucose is released. Again, this is not a proven remedy and certainly not a replacement for insulin therapy and careful diet management.

Foods similar to vinegar

• If vinegar has any positive effect on glucose regulation, it's likely due to the presence of acetic acid. If you'd like to try supplementing your diabetic diet with vinegar-like products, you'll want to foods with acetic acid. These include cheese, dried vegetables, cereal, mustard, and broths. Check for acetic acid on the nutrition label of the foods you purchase.