[Lulika]

Hi there everyone!
Sorry I havent been posting as much lately, a combination of too much work and demanding kids!
But I have been reading the posts and I miss you guys!
I am doing fine, losing weight steadily (about 2lbs a week on average) and keeping my BG's quite well under control.

Anyway, I was at my local store today and saw Apple Cider Vinegar food supplements...they are tablets, you are supposed to take 3 a day. There was a leaflet on the stand, which was proclaiming that these supplements would help with weight loss, all natural, etc etc. So I bought some. I am a sucker for this type if thing!
I get home and start looking them up on the Internet and it turns out that Apple Cider vinegar is not only supposed to help with weight loss but also has benefits for diabetics. I have no idea if this is true, but I would like to try them, for the weight loss help more than anything. My question is, has anyone here tried these? And does anyone know if taking a natural supplement of Apple Cider Vinegar could interfere with Metformin? Thanks! Have a great week everyone

[morrisma]

Lulika,
Never heard of this but you are more than welcome to be our guinea pig! Keep us posted.

Great news on the 2lb a week steady loss. That's the best!

[adiantum]

* waves to Lulika *

Many people swear by apple cider vinegar for all kinds of reasons. Looking forward to your response to it.

Congrats on the bg & continued weight loss

[princesslinda]

I will have a shot of apple cider vinegar before a higher carb meal and i've noticed it does improve post meal readings...but tastes nasty (I mix Apple cider vinegar, splenda and water). I've never had the capsules before.

Search in the old posts, there are some about the benefits of vinegar on blood sugar.

[ant hill]

Hello Lilika, I have tryed this and it's not what you call a drink as per say. YUCK!!!
I'll look at some apple cider yeah, But this stuff nup, Not for me. Sorry Lilika.

[Scrabblechick]

If you don't mind the taste, I've heard it can help. It won't hurt you or interact w/ any meds, that's for sure. It's supposed to be good for what ails you. I make salad dressing from it and keep a bottle around.

[Lulika]

Thanks guys...the apple cider stuff I have is in tablet form...you take 3 pills a day. I wouldnt like to drink vinegar, but these are just swallowed with water. Should I ask my doctor before taking them first?

[princesslinda]

Do what makes you most comfortable as far as calling your doctor before taking them, though I think you'll be fine...really its probably no more vinegar than you'd have on a salad. I took it with the metformin with no problems.

I regularly start my meals with a vinaigarette dressing as I feel i'm getting the vinegar this way and it tastes much better.

[Hammer]

Years ago I tried drinking the apple cider vinegar drink that health food stores were selling. It was still strong tasting, but it was mixed in some way that made it a bit less vinegary tasting. I drank a bottle or two, and to be honest, it didn't do anything for me. I wasn't diabetic at the time, but it was supposed to do all these wonderful things for your body.(it didn't). I can't say whether or not it will help lower your BG numbers, but if you try it and it does, I'll go back and buy some more.

[slipperyelm]

Lulika? Aren't you British? You've got me chuckling because of my stereotype of Brits putting vinegar on their food...and because it reminds me that when I was a child, my family put vinegar on so many of our vegetables: any thing that was green and anything from the cruciferous family. My Mom's line of the family has been on the North American continent since 1634, and it amuses me to think that this vinegar habit may have been passed down through nearly 400 years. I don't know anyone else who uses vinegar as a condiment at the table, and my own offspring does not.

I don't think the vinegar tablets would hurt you at all. They would be mostly acetic acid , a little fumaric acid (that typical tart apple taste) with some unfermented inclusions from the apple juice, plus some stray bacteria and molds. Yeah, all that stuff is in there if it is not distilled vinegar. Distilled vinegar is the perfectly clear vinegar that is less expensive.

Honestly, Chinese OTC medicines scare me, though I do have some in my cabinet. It is their manufacture and possible lack of regulation that scares me. If I were going to experiment, I would rather use the vinegar sold as a food ingredient. I would feel a bit more confident that it is truly apple cider vinegar and only apple cider vinegar.

You say you have kids wearing you down? Perhaps they would enjoy learning how to make ACV at home. It is a simple, but sometimes alarming process to see. If you have ever been in an apple orchard in fall, you probably noticed the smell of vinegar in the air. Apple sugars want to ferment to vinegar rather than to alcohol. There are special little crocks made just for fermenting fruits and vegetables. Oddly, my Chinese friends here in the USA could not find the type they wanted for their preserved vegetables and had some one make the purchase in China for them. I've seen them on internet markets, but the price was unjustifiably high. Anyway, if you ask your neighbors about crocks for making vinegar or preserved vegetables you should be able to find one and they will help contain the smell and a good humidity level while it is brewing.

My own kid who wore me down went off to college knowing a lot of chemistry, in part because of our never ending kitchen experiments. Don't I sound like the mad kitchen scientist?

Anyway, I say, give the ACV a try: it shouldn't hurt. Personally I'm skeptical, but that's a good starting point for an experiment isn't it? Do let us know what you experience.

[fgummett]

Mmmm... Sarson's malt vinegar on chips... wrapped in newspaper

I was at a MM Carb counting session tonight and the Dietitian mentioned that vinegar will tend to slow down the BG spike after a meal... I found this counter-intuitive as I thought an acid would help to break down food faster, but she said otherwise.

[Lulika]

Thanks all for the replies!
Yes I am Brit, born and raised and yes Slipperyelm, we always would eat chips (french fries) with vinegar! I had no idea that was funny, but I love the taste with a bit of salt!
I am going to try these tablets, just for the experiment. I am not too worried about them as they are not manufactured in China, but in Sweden, so not what you would call Chinese traditional medicine. I looked up the company on the Net and they make all manner of Health products.
I did mention kids wearing me down but I meant the kids I teach at school, not my own kids at home
Anyway, one ACV guinea pig reports for duty...I will let you know if anything happens, good or bad!

[Hammer]

Oh yeah... vinegar and salt on french fries. The french fry carry out stores you find in malls, all offer vinegar as a condiment on fries.(you wouldn't think that a carry out eatery could survive by just selling french fries, but they do.) I personally don't care for it, but a lot of people do.

If you've never tried it, go to the food store and get a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. That'll give you an idea of what it tastes like.

[alicat61]

Hi,
My Dad used to take apple cider vinegar everyday for his joints. He would mix a tablespoon with apple juice and water. It wasn't to bad. It seemed to help him (we also put it in our stud bulls feed for their joints ) as for the blood sugar lowering I don't know But I might have to buy some tommorow as I have a painful hip and back. (and as I'm now checking my blood sugars 4 to 6 times a day I will be able to see if there is any change!)

[adiantum]

I'd rather be a guinea pig to this research ....


" Bar of chocolate a day for research

RESEARCHERS in Norwich, southeast England, have set themselves an easy challenge: finding 150 women prepared to eat a bar of chocolate a day.

The chocolate is free, and made specially for the trial by a Belgian chocolatier. The intention is to see whether it improves the women's health.

The volunteers must be past the menopause, must suffer from Type2 diabetes, and must already be taking statins to reduce their cholesterol levels.

They will also need the approval of their GPs.

Post-menopausal women with Type2 diabetes are usually advised to avoid chocolate. Rich in sugar and fat, it is definitely not part of their recommended diet.

Chocolate is also rich in flavonoids, compounds that have been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease.

Companies that make chocolate have seized on the research -- some of which they have funded themselves -- to encourage the belief that chocolate can be good for you.

Until now, few of the trials have met the highest standards of scientific rigour. A team from the University of East Anglia plans to put that right.

The volunteers, all post-menopausal women who are not taking HRT, will be divided into two groups. Half will eat thespecial chocolate, the other half a normal bar as a placebo.

Ultrasound scans will measure the thickness of the wall of the carotid artery and the volume of plaque, the material that blocks the arteries in heart disease.

Peter Curtis, who is co-ordinating the study, said: "The chocolate has three times the amounts of flavonoids you would find in a normal high-cocoa chocolate. This has been achieved by a special extraction process that retains the chemicals we think are the important ones."

It tastes, he says, "quite nice", with a flavour like caramel. Soy has been added to provide an even greater dose of flavonoids.

Aedin Cassidy, professor of diet and health at the university, who is heading the project, said: "We hope to show that adding flavonoids to their diets will provide additional protection from heart disease and give women the opportunity to take more control over reducing their risk of heart disease in the future."

The Times
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