Your body needs a strong and healthy gut for it to digest food properly, absorb nutrients, and produce energy. When it comes to losing weight, taking care of your gut should be a top priority. There are many ways you can do this, but perhaps the most basic one is by eating nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. Taking supplements like probiotics, fiber, and caprylic acid can also be beneficial.
In terms of beverages that promote gut health, one of your best bets would be apple cider vinegar. But what exactly is this drink and how does it affect your body? We asked Jennifer Hanway, Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist, to find out. Keep reading to learn more.
What You Need To Know About Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar
From its name alone, you can obviously tell that apples are the key ingredient to apple cider vinegar. Basically, it's produced by fermentation. Yeast is added to the apple juice which turns it into alcohol. From this step, the alcohol gets fermented again and eventually transforms into acetic acid–aka, the final product, ACV.
According to Hanway, "While apple cider vinegar can have some benefits for weight loss, it's certainly not a miracle worker." She clarifies that it will not "replace the keys to healthy weight loss." Ultimately, if you want to lose weight you should still focus on healthy eating and regular physical activity. Apart from having a targeted exercise program, Hanway recommends following a diet that is "low in carbs and high in protein and vegetables."
As for health benefits, Hanway mentions that apple cider vinegar can actually help lower your blood sugar levels. She says, "When we eat foods that are high in sugar or refined carbohydrates, this causes our blood sugar levels to increase." Once this happens, "our pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin, which tells our body to store our food as fat." Hanway shares, "Clinical studies have shown that consuming ACV either as part of a meal, or directly afterwards can significantly lower our postprandial blood glucose (our blood sugar level after eating)."
How Apple Cider Vinegar Can Improve Gut Health
When you add apple cider vinegar to your salads and raw vegetables, Hanway says "it can help break down the tough to digest fibers." When food is easy to digest, it allows your body to absorb as much vitamins and minerals as possible.
She adds, "When you choose organic, unfiltered ACV it usually comes with 'the mother,' which is the darker strands of yeast and bacteria formed during fermentation. While these aren't clinically proven probiotics, consuming a diverse range of fermented foods can be beneficial to the health of your microbiome."
Time to stock up on ACV!
