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Type 2 Does apple cider vinegar actually work for lowering blood sugar?

GIAMARIE

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12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
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Toxicity
Hello!

My blood sugar is quite high today, and I've already had a lot of water and exercises. It came down a little bit, but I'm just wondering are there any ways to reduce the sugar spike if it happened again? I've seen articles online saying apple cider vinegar works, but have anyone already tried it? Does it actually work?

Many thanks!
Gia
 
I don't believe it would help at all. There are various threads on here where it's mentioned but I don't think there are many positive comments about it. I feel like if it worked, there'd be alot more people talking about it as an option.
Certainly isnt going to work instantly if it does.
 
There is a lot of articles for and against using apple cider vinegar to lower blood sugar & cholesterol, I use it in cooking quite a bit but only because I like the piquancy & flavour it gives, I also use it to make my own flavoured vinegars, but I always have done even before T2 so I don’t know either way if it does what they purport it to.

Do be careful if you do decide to give it a try, don’t drink it straight as it can upset your gut and actually burn your throat, use it in salad dressing or sprinkled on veggies & salads. If you drink it dilute it in lots of water. The best cider vinegar to use is the one that has the “mother”
 
Not a new idea. I first encountered it soon after diagnosis in 2003. It had zero effect in my case.

I'm fairly sceptical. Diabetes is a very individual disorder and we're all different, but a bowl of pasta and the biscuit mentioned in the video would send my blood glucose soaring with or without a vinegar appetiser.

I really enjoy my meals, it must be said, and don't feel deprived with a LCHF lifestyle. It helps to focus on the many delicious foods we can safely eat and not dwell too much on those high carb 'goodies' that are best avoided.
 
You're new on insulin, which means you and your diabetes team need to find the right doses for you, both your basal and the amount of mealtime insulin depending on the amount of carbs you eat.
If I were you in this situation, this is what I'd focus on for now.
 
I have started to have a teaspoon mixed in with my salads and a splash of lemon. Tastes nice but not sure if its as good as claimed. I do have green tea a lot and that generally gives me good readings. Not today though, poorly
 
Tried it a couple of years ago, did not seem to do anything for me unfortunately.
But you can always try, maybe it does help you. Make sure to use one with the "mother" in it and to dilute it with plenty of water to prevent any harm.
 
I often get cider vinegar to put on my salads - but I'd be more inclined to credit the salad stuff than the vinegar - and the various herbs and spices I add to meals are often mentioned as being good for treating diabetes - again, I am more likely to be working with the meal rather than the seasoning to get alterations in my blood glucose.
I do sometimes wonder how I would cope if I ever needed insulin and got the advice to eat carbs and administer X amount of insulin.
Would I shoot off to the supermarket to fill the freezer with ice cream?
Sigh.
Probably.
I can resist anything but temptation.
 
People like this lady - the glucose goddess - are often not medically trained people. They come to their conclusions by using technology and medical statistics. Are they able to consider possible medical disadvantages or long term consequences? I don't know. (Ivor Cummings is another one)
 
The Glucose Goddess Jessie Inchauspé has a MSc in biochemistry from Georgetown University. She does seem to investigate a lot of scientific research into glucose biology. I think that makes her a little more believable that some of the pundits you here.

Some of the things she says such as the order you eat food to reduce glucose spike is well known. In Japan there was a NHK documentary on glucose spikes where they tested a large group of people. Surprisingly, many people who don't have diabetes do suffer from glucose spikes. See

 
Didn't make a whole lot of difference for me, as I was low carbing anyway, but drinking something acidic can potentially reduce hunger significantly (just like drinking some water with lemon or lime juice), so it might keep people from eating overmuch?
 
Personally, I don't find 'The Glucose Goddess's' advice appropriate for me. My neighbour has one of her books and I see that it was well reviewed by several (medical doctors and others) in the 'Low Carb community.
Strangely my neighbour gave up trying to use her suggestions because he found that he literally could not stomach the Apple Cider Vinegar.

People's metabolisms are different, so what works for BG control or weight loss may well work for one person but not another. That doesn't make the doctor or person advising/promoting the method a quack (unless they claim 100% success).
For BG control for me there are no BG hacks that work to my satisfaction (not even alcohol), so for me there is no substitute for cutting the carbohydrates!
 
I tried it. Can't say it made much difference at all to my BG levels. I also tried Chia seeds on my breakfast eggs for a couple of weeks, which was another suggestion that seems to be all over the internet. They made no difference either. On the other hand a 20 min swim seems to have a long lasting effect for me, BGs stay lower for a good 24-48 hours after a swim !!
 
Yes I wear a cgm and the difference is remarkable, I usually just sprinkle it on my food - it’s certainly no worse than chucking ketchup on it!!! Also add Bragg liquid aminos and it tastes just like a brown sauce but sans sucre. I follow a Keto diet so maybe if coupled with high carbs the effect would be muffled
 
I watched the video by the so-called "Glucose Goddess" but I
note that several critics have posted a few negative comments
both about her motives and her methodologies:

Most of Inchauspé's "glucose hacks" have been described as
being nothing new. Professor François Jornayvaz, department
head at Geneva University Hospitals, states: "She hides behind
a pseudoscientific appearance to advocate a method which, in
my opinion, doesn't work and is based on very little evidence.
The scientific studies she cites are highly anecdotal, if not outright
false, or not applicable to what she proposes."

While acknowledging that reducing sugar intake and avoiding
ultra-processed foods are generally accepted dietary recommendations,
the experts criticized her use of a small-scale study involving only
11 patients with type 2 diabetes to support her claim that altering
the sequence of food consumption can lead to a 75% reduction in
blood sugar spikes.

The specialists argued that extrapolating such significant conclusions
from a limited study population was scientifically unsound.

Some have commented that Inchauspé is above all, good at marketing!
Critics say she has used the medical topic of blood sugar to create a
business with a "cult-like" following.

—I'm the eternal skeptic LOL, and I usually ignore a lot of these sorts of
health gurus marketing (literally) their messages on YouTube. From what
I've researched elsewhere, there are no health enhancements or clinical
reasons to be using apple cider vinegar, other than, of course its use on
salads etc.
 
And that's why we use glucose meters which are completely unbiased and don't have a hidden agenda to see what works for us.
 
No type of acid is, but if you like it - and I do - eating it on food shouldn't pose a problem. And we shouldn't clean our teeth for at least an hour afterwards. I also add a slosh to a mug of Bovril or Marmite. No need for us to deny ourselves if we enjoy this but equally I doubt if it has the magic properties we hear about.
 
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