The Apple Cider Vinegar diet is just another fad

The Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) diet may not work if you’re not monitoring your food intake. Photograph by Phongnguyen1410/Wikimedia Commons Images

Everyone suddenly wants to guzzle apple cider vinegar in the hope that they may drop a few kilos. To begin with, what is apple cider vinegar? It is a fermented drink made from pieces of apple soaked in sugar and water. It is acetic in nature and when it is drunk in a diluted form, it increases the alkalinity in the digestive system. “Apple cider vinegar has its benefits – it’s great for the skin, hair and scalp,” says Mumbai-based holistic nutritionist, speaker, and exercise physiologist Luke Coutinho, “But adding it to a diet is just a complete fad.”

 When diluted with water and drunk before a meal, apple cider vinegar reduces the acidity in the system.  “But you have to ensure that the apple cider vinegar includes the mother culture and it is of good quality,” says Coutinho, “Most brands that you get in India are so refined that they prove to be useless.” If you are looking to use apple cider vinegar as a digestive, Coutinho suggests you take the pure extract in the form of a pill. “But it’s not going to make you lose weight,” says the nutritionist, who has also authored books such as Eat Smart, Move More, Sleep Right – Your Personal Health Coach, and The Great Indian Diet, “To lose weight you have to control portions, eat the right quantity of food, the right kind of food at the right time.” The ACV diet is just another of those con jobs being touted as a miracle diet.

Coutinho also cautions against drinking apple cider vinegar without diluting it. “It always has to be diluted. When drunk on its own, it can burn the tissues of the oesophagus.”