Vinegar As Diabetes Treatment

The American Diabetes Association says approximately 7.8 percent of Americans have diabetes, and some with the disease have not been diagnosed. This figure includes both adults and children. An individual who have a fasting blood glucose level of 12 mg/dl or higher has diabetes. Many people, including experts and research professionals, are turning to alternative methods of treatment for diabetes.

Just a Spoonful of Vinegar

• Professor Carol Johnston of Arizona State University East campus did some reading about diabetes in 2005. Her reading prompted her to conduct a study regarding vinegar and diabetes. It wasn't long and she began developing menus that would help prevent diabetes.

  Johnston found that a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet worked exceptionally well. Though the diet was working, Johnston was afraid that people would lose interest staying on the diet because of the drastic changes in eating that were necessary to follow it. Instead, Johnston decided to try an alternative diet. Taking just two tablespoons of vinegar before each meal, whether it be plain or mixed in a salad dressing or other food, dramatically reduced the spikes of blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that usually come after a meal.

  For someone with type 2 diabetes, this spike can be dramatic and drastic. Other complications may arise, such as heart disease. Johnston's initial study included 29 volunteers. About one-third of the volunteers had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. One-third showed signs of becoming diabetic, and the remaining third were normal.

  People in the study were either given a vinegar drink or a placebo drink before being served a high-carbohydrate breakfast. After the first week, volunteers continued taking either the placebo or the vinegar drink, but they switched. Patients who had been taking the vinegar drink were now taking the placebo and patients who were given the placebo were now taking the vinegar drink. The participants' blood was sampled after each meal, regardless of whether or not they were taking the placebo or the vinegar drink.

  Those who drank the vinegar before the meals showed the most improvement. Findings showed that the vinegar drink cut the blood-glucose rise within the first hour after a meal in half. The results were the best for patients who were pre-diabetic and had not yet been diagnosed with the disease.

Fasting Blood Sugar Levels and Vinegar

• A study conducted at Arizona State University in 2007 determined the effects that apple cider vinegar may have on fasting blood sugar levels in those who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The study was conducted with 11 volunteers who had been diagnosed with type 2. All diabetic participants were not taking insulin, but were taking an oral anti-diabetic medication. Half the group was given two tablespoons of vinegar and one ounce of cheese just before bedtime and the other half was given one ounce of cheese just before bedtime. Each morning, the participants' fasting blood sugar levels were measured.

  Researchers found that the average fasting blood glucose level fell by just 2 percent in the placebo or cheese group, while fasting blood glucose levels fell by 4 percent in the vinegar and cheese group. Taking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and one ounce of cheese just before bedtime was shown to lower fasting blood glucose levels the next morning.

Why is Vinegar Effective?

• Fermented foods that contain lactic acid or acetic acid may be helpful in lowering blood sugar or glucose levels. They work because they help store excess glucose in the liver, which reduces the rate of glucose production within the body. Vinegar is just one example of fermented food that contains acetic acid. Experts are still working on the exact levels needed to drastically reduce blood glucose levels.