Apple cider vinegar is promoted as a low-calorie elixir that relieves acid reflux, supports gout treatment, and can even detox and cleanse the entire body. If the claim is taken seriously, there may be no more excellent tonic than drinking apple cider vinegar while fasting.
However, fasting is all about forgoing food and taking only water for a period of time. So how will this apple cider affect your fast? Here’s what you need to know:
Apple Cider Vinegar: What Is It?
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is vinegar made from the fermentation of crushed apples. Because acetic acid is produced during fermentation, ACV is highly acidic. As a result, it possesses numerous helpful features that other home treatments do not.
Benefits Of Apple Cider Vinegar
There are different varieties of apple cider vinegar such as capsules, tablets, and gummies. The most you can benefit from is when it is in liquid form; particularly the diluted apple cider vinegar which contains an insignificant amount of calories per serving. It has almost no fat, carbohydrates, protein and no fiber.
There may be a few studies on the numerous benefits of ACV but you can include it in your diet without significantly adding weight gain. Still, it’s best to stay realistic with your expectations when it comes to weight maintenance.
Here are possible other health benefits of apple cider vinegar:
- Lowers cholesterol
- Improves heart health
- Reduces cancer risk
- Blood sugar levels are lowered.
- Digestion is improved
- Benefits hair health
- Insulin sensitivity is improved.
- Improves acne
- Reduces bloating
- Blood pressure is lowered.
- Aids heartburn
- Reduces belly fat
What Is Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is the concept of limiting one’s food intake to specific times of the day. Because the body does not receive any carbs to burn during this time, it turns to burning stored fat as its preferred energy source.
It is a powerful tool for long-term fat loss, but it is essential to remember that you should adopt a fasting routine to your specific body factors in order to lose fat effectively.
Other aspects that influence intermittent fasting results are the volume of training and other physical activity, recovery capability and patterns, diet composition ratios, exercise program type, eating habits and lifestyle.
If you wish to adapt intermittent fasting, you should begin with a basic intermittent fasting regimen and track your progress. The regimen can then be adjusted to match your body’s needs to eliminate fat as quickly as possible.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
The benefits of intermittent fasting extend above the weight loss goal. Intermittent fasting can also result in increased lean muscle mass, enhanced health and performance, improved digestion, and improved immune function.
According to several research1, following intermittent fasting may promote memory and mental performance, cardiovascular health, type 2 diabetes, and cancer treatment effectiveness.
It’s important to remember that the long-term consequences of intermittent fasting have yet to be fully established but currently suggest some intriguing short-term benefits. Furthermore, while the potential benefits of fasting are fascinating, there is insufficient evidence to say that it is more successful for weight loss or increasing health than a basic healthy eating regimen.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
Numerous kinds of intermittent fasting make it a more approachable practice than most people believe. The following are two of the most popular fasting methods:
16:8
The 16:8 fast requires restricting your eating to an eight-hour window each day. During the 16-hour fasting period, your body burns stored energy, repairs cells, and triggers autophagy. Autophagy is the process where it allows your body to break down and recycle old or damaged cells so your cells can operate more efficiently. It’s your body’s natural cleaning out process that begins when your cells are stressed or deprived of nutrients
After your 16-hour fasting period, in the next eight hours you can eat whatever you want and as a bonus, there’s no calorie counting needed.
The 24-hour Fast
Involves fasting for 24 hours 1-2 times per week; non-caloric beverages such as water and unsweetened tea will still be consumed.
It may seem strange to consider not eating for longer hours, but your body requires time to rest, relax, and assimilate nutrition while tending to your routine repair functions to preserve your health. Furthermore, we have a natural fasting rhythm that happens when we sleep.
Other Types of Intermittent Fasting
The Warrior Diet
This is a more challenging strategy which requires fasting or under-eating for the rest of the day and then consuming calories during a four-hour window at night.
Twice-a-Week or 5:2 Fast
With this method, you choose two days each week to consume 500 calories and then select the remaining five days where you eat normally without restricting calories.
Alternate-Day Fasting
Alternate-day fasting is considered as one of the most extreme forms of intermittent fasting. It roughly equates to not eating anything for 36-hours, and then eating whatever you want for the remaining 12 hours in the 48-hour cycle; repeating everything again.
Questions About Drinking ACV While Fasting
Can you drink Apple Cider Vinegar While Fasting?
Any food or drink other than water will break your fast if you fast for religious or therapeutic reasons. If you fast to regulate blood glucose levels, activate fat-burning mechanisms, and enhance insulin sensitivity, apple cider vinegar will not break your fast.
One of the critical goals of intermittent fasting for weight loss is to minimize the frequency with which the glucose-storing hormone insulin is secreted. Because you are not eating during fasting, you will not stimulate the hormone release.
Most fluids that aren’t water, basic tea, or coffee will trigger an insulin reaction and so, therefore, break a fast. However, because acids like lemon juice and vinegar (in moderate amounts) have so few carbohydrates, calories, and micronutrients, they should not cause insulin release.
Here’s a summary of apple cider vinegar nutrition per tablespoon:
- Five calories
- 0 grams of fat
- 0 grams of protein
- 1 gram of carbs
- 1 gram of sugar
Can I Drink Apple Cider Vinegar Everyday?
Yes, you can drink apple cider vinegar daily, but like everything, drink it in moderation. Start with one tablespoon and mix it into your salad dressing, or add it to a cup of water as a drink.
How Do You Use Apple Cider Vinegar?
When using apple cider vinegar, there are two essential factors to remember. It must first be diluted. Undiluted apple cider vinegar is highly acidic and can be detrimental to your intestines. On its own, apple cider vinegar can be harsh on your stomach and induce stomach problems and in the long run, can lead to chronic acidity. It is always advisable to dilute apple cider vinegar in water before drinking it.
Second, go with the original form. This implies refraining from taking it in capsules or gummy substitutes to reap the full benefits of ACV. The advantages found in apple cider vinegar were conducted using the liquid and original forms of apple cider vinegar.
When Is The Best Time To Drink Apple Cider Vinegar?
ACV, or vinegar in general, has been used before a meal. This is almost like “stimulating” your body for dinner.
Using apple cider vinegar before breakfast makes the most sense, especially if you want to mix it with intermittent fasting. When you fast, your blood glucose levels should remain steady as your body burns fat for fuel. By consuming the vinegar before your first meal, you can help ease the transition from a fasted to a fed condition and stabilize your blood glucose level following your first meal.
Therefore, you can use apple cider vinegar before each of your meals, and the most beneficial time to use ACV with intermittent fasting is before you break your fast.
Does Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Break a Fast?
You can break your intermittent fast when you consume food containing calories and substances your body must process and metabolize.
But to answer the question, no, it does not. Your body will remain in ketosis if you maintain a low carbohydrate consumption. As a result, it uses stored body fat as a direct source of fuel for the body rather than carbs.
One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar contains only 0.1g of carbs. Its total calorie intake is also only three calories. As a result, it is clear that ingesting apple juice while fasting will not break the fast significantly if it is diluted before usage.
Unlike food, apple cider vinegar or coffee, for example, does not break the fast, and the benefits of fasting can be improved. Both coffee and apple cider vinegar increase the activity of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) in the body. With ACV it is believed that AMPK activations are maintained, enhancing the benefits of intermittent fasting.
What Is The Ideal Quantity When Taking Apple Cider Vinegar?
If you want to add apple cider vinegar to your diet, start with 1-2 tablespoons in a glass of water. This equated to about 20-30 mL apple cider vinegar in 250 mL water. The acidic levels are reduced by diluting it, making it safer to consume.
Apple cider vinegar is also available in capsules, candies, and gummies. However, it is not recommended to consume these when fasting.
Benefits Of Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar While Fasting
CAN BOOST YOUR NUTRIENT LEVELS
During a fast, your body is not only deprived of essential food requirements such as protein and carbs, but it also lacks other vital components required for proper body functioning.
This is why malnutrition can occur when you engage in prolonged involuntary fasting.
Apple cider vinegar contains various vitamins, including B1, B2, B6, and C. Furthermore, this drink contains folic acid, acetic acid, biotin, and pantothenic acid.
If you are deficient in iron, salt, potassium, calcium, or magnesium, ACV break may be just what you need to compensate for the nutrient loss caused by fasting.
BOOSTS YOUR ENERGY LEVELS
Excessive body weakness is one of the most significant barriers to sticking to intermittent fasting.
Energy is required to move, think, and conduct regular biological tasks. This is usually caused by the food you eat.
There is no direct fuel source if you are fasting. Indeed, the initial stages of intermittent fasting are marked by exhaustion, lethargy, and mental fog.
Taking apple cider vinegar may help to improve your circumstances by supplying natural vitamins to your body. Fasting with apple cider vinegar can thus be a rapid treatment for lethargy.
BALANCE YOUR SUGAR LEVELS
A study has been shown that apple cider vinegar aids in blood sugar levels. It suggests that taking ACV may improve insulin sensitivity by 19–34% during a high carb meal and significantly lower blood sugar and insulin response2.
GREAT FOR YOUR SKIN
Most people experience acne and other skin disorders due to germs accumulating around their pores. ACV used topically, can assist in cleansing your skin and improving its appearance.
HELP TO FIGHT BAD BACTERIA IN YOUR GUT
Apple cider vinegar has natural probiotics or “friendly bacteria” may help with gut health. ACV can destroy microbes in your stomach or at least try to regulate bad bacteria in the gut.
GREAT FOR HEART AND BLOOD HEALTH
Fasting might put extra strain on your heart if you are predisposed to cardiac problems in the first place. Fasting affects the levels of blood biomarkers. Adding apple cider vinegar while fasting can help with this.
Taking an apple cider vinegar break can help you balance triglyceride, cholesterol, and lipoprotein levels. It can improve heart health dramatically.
Potential Side Effects Of Apple Cider Vinegar
Increases Risk for Hypoglycemia When Used With Insulin
You’ve probably heard that apple cider vinegar benefits the health of persons with type 2 diabetes since it can help lower blood sugar levels. However, those with this condition should approach apple cider vinegar with caution. A study3 has found that consuming ACV daily decreased the rate of gastric emptying among insulin-dependent diabetes patients with diabetic gastroparesis. The delay in gastric emptying may make it difficult to control blood sugar and may lead to more low-blood-sugar episodes.
Stomach Issues, Especially for People With Gastroparesis
The apparent appetite-regulating effect of apple cider vinegar stems from the fact that it slows the stomach’s emptying process.
That’s excellent if you’re trying to stretch feelings of fullness and consume fewer calories throughout the day. Still, it’s not so fantastic if you have gastroparesis, an illness in which the stomach cannot empty itself usually.
Esophageal Burns
Because apple cider vinegar is so acidic, it may irritate the throat. It could potentially cause an esophageal burn. One study4 described what happened when an apple cider vinegar tablet lodged in a woman’s throat for roughly half an hour: pain, difficulty swallowing, and perhaps esophageal damage. The study’s authors found that acid burns could be caused by apple cider vinegar.
Interactions With Other Medication
Certain medications may be affected by ingesting apple cider vinegar. It may have an effect on those who use diuretics, laxatives, or insulin. Before using apple cider vinegar, check with your doctor or pharmacist to ensure you’re not allergic to it.
Decreased Potassium Levels
Excessive consumption of apple cider vinegar may result in low potassium levels, which can cause weakness and exhaustion, constipation, muscle cramps, and abnormal heart rhythm. This is especially concerning for those who take medications that reduce potassium, such as diuretics used to treat high blood pressure.
Tooth Erosion
It has the potential to damage tooth enamel permanently. As a result, there are others who may be skeptical about apple cider vinegar, and even those who support it recommend diluting it first and never drinking it straight.
Chemical Burn on the Skin
As a toner, apple cider vinegar is occasionally administered topically to the skin. Some individuals use it as a home cure and credit it with cleaning up skin issues such as acne and aging symptoms. Before you think of apple cider vinegar as the answer to clear skin, keep in mind that irritations may occur.
The Takeaway
Drinking apple cider vinegar during a fast is acceptable if you are not fasting for religious or therapeutic reasons. When including it in your diet, remember that little is more. Applying a 1:10 ratio of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water will help you gain health advantages while on your fast.
