Patrick Totty
Here's a sour little bit of good news for type 2s: taking two tablespoons of vinegar at bedtime can lower fasting glucose levels the next morning by as much as 6 percent.
Researchers at Arizona State University knew that taking vinegar with meals has been shown to lower glucose levels, so they decided to see if it would have any effect during sleep. They studied four men and seven women, ages 40 to 72, who were not taking insulin. The subjects had a fasting glucose of 7.6 mmol/L before the study, compared to 5.5 mmol/L or lower in people without diabetes.
The study called for the participants to measure their fasting glucose levels for three days, then follow a standardized meal plan for two days. At bedtime, one group consumed 1 oz. of cheese with water while the other accompanied the cheese with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. After two days, participants who had drunk vinegar went vinegar-free for three to five days to allow their systems to eliminate all traces of the substance. They then shifted to cheese and water, trading places with the other group.
After the experiment, researchers found that the vinegar treatment had reduced fasting glucose levels by an average 4 percent, compared to 2 percent in subjects who had received a placebo. The best news was that for six of the participants whose normal fasting glucose was greater than 7.2 mmol/L the drop in glucose averaged 6 percent.
Researchers said that more study will be required before they can declare that vinegar is a useful adjunct therapy in the treatment of diabetes.
Source: Diabetes Care, November 2007
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