Does Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Help You Lose Weight? A Dietitian's Response

You've been taking shots of apple cider vinegar (ACV), adding it to your morning glass of water, or making ACV smoothies because you heard it helps with weight loss. But does it really have that much of an impact on the scale?

POPSUGAR asked certified dietitian Leslie Langevin, MS, RD, CD, of Whole Health Nutrition, who said this is a pretty controversial topic. Leslie said that there isn't any harm in taking it regularly but that she wouldn't recommend it for a weight-loss supplement. She told POPSUGAR, "There is some evidence it can help with blood sugar levels and possibly weight loss, but we are very cautious about recommending things without a ton of evidence."

Some small studies on animals, mostly mice, show that it may promote feeling satiated so you end up eating less all day. Other studies say it may suppress the accumulation of body fat and reduce body weight, but again, that was tested on mice, not people. Taking ACV may also block starch absorption, which prevents blood sugar spikes, which in turn suppresses appetite.

These studies sound promising, but as mentioned above, there haven't been extensive studies proving that taking ACV daily will greatly impact your metabolism or help with weight loss.

This is great news if you hate drinking apple cider vinegar but have been forcing yourself to endure the sour flavor purely for weight-loss purposes. Leslie says it can't hurt to add vinegar to salads for taste or to add it to your morning lemon water, but don't jump to taking it as a weight-loss aid since more research needs to be conducted to prove it's worth it.

Translation: ACV is no magic weight-loss elixir! She suggests to "fix your underlying diet and exercise problems that are not allowing you to lose weight."