When You've Had Enough to Eat, Push Away the Plate A friend of mine used to say that the best weight loss exercise is the Push Away: When you've had enough to eat, push away the plate. Easier said than done, right? When you're carefully watching your diet, trying to be as good as you can about saying "when," it would be nice to have someone in your corner, helping you draw the line to decide when enough is enough. In fact, you do have someone in your corner. But it's not a "someone," it's a built-in hormonal reflex that sends a "full" message from digestive organs to the brain. Now there may be a simple way to help get that message through loud and clear. Satiety is the feeling you get when you're full. And according to a new study, that feeling can be helped along with a little acetic acid, which is the component in vinegar that produces a sour taste. Researchers at the Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition, at Sweden's Lund University recently reported on a study in which 12 healthy subjects ate four "meals" of white wheat bread. One of the meals consisted of bread alone (a control meal), while the other meals were supplemented with different amounts of vinegar: 18, 23 and 28 grams. Each meal was separated by a week, and each was eaten in the morning after an overnight fast. For two hours after each meal, subjects rated their feeling of satiety while researchers took several blood samples from each subject. The results: Compared with the control meal, the highest level of vinegar intake (between two and three tablespoons) was associated with significantly lower blood sugar and insulin responses and an increased satiety score. This isn't the first we've heard of the benefits of vinegar consumption. In the e-Alert "In a Pickle" (2/22/05), I told you about a study from Arizona State University in which type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics drank 20 grams of apple cider vinegar (ACV) before a meal consisting of a plain bagel with butter and a glass of orange juice. As in the Lund University study, blood tests showed improved blood sugar and insulin profiles when ACV was consumed. If you're interested in trying some apple cider vinegar for yourself, keep in mind that the type you choose may make all the difference. In August 2003 I told you about an HSI Forum thread in which members discussed the various health benefits of apple cider vinegar. The consensus: Avoid the typical apple cider vinegar product that large grocery store chains carry. Instead, look for raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, available at many health food stores. A member named Jane offers this additional advice: "Never pour boiling water on it as that denatures it. If you're not used to cider vinegar, start with a teaspoonful in a glass of warm water 3 times a day. Gradually increase the dose as you get used to it. Since blackstrap molasses is also good for arthritis, I add a spoonful of that to my cider vinegar drink, which makes it more palatable besides adding a lot more minerals than honey would." When sugar is extracted from cane, blackstrap molasses is the residual syrup that remains at the very end of the extraction process. It contains the lowest sugar content of the molasses, but is highest in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. So if a small amount is added to apple cider vinegar, it probably won't create problems for most diabetics. Even so, diabetics and those who have pre-diabetic conditions should talk to their doctors before trying a regimen of apple cider vinegar. Sources:
"Vinegar Supplementation Lowers Glucose and Insulin Responses and Increases Satiety After a Bread Meal in Healthy Subjects" European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 59, No. 9, September 2005, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
"Vinegar May Help Dieters Eat Less" NutraIngredients, 7/9/05, nutraingredients.com
"Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes" Diabetes Care, Vol. 27, January 2004, care.diabetesjournals.org
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