Apple cider vinegar diet: What you eat

There are many diets and diet supplements that purportedly advocate weight loss. One of these is the apple cider vinegar diet. Apple cider vinegar, commonly referred to as cider vinegar, is a type of vinegar made using apples and is a common product used in household baking and cleaning.

Apple cider vinegar has long been touted as a home cure-all. A few teaspoons of cider vinegar a day, advocates say, can treat headaches, arthritis, asthma, sore throat, and fatigue, to name a few, plus lower cholesterol, and even be beneficial to those with cancer and diabetes. Its popularity lately though, has been as a weight loss supplement. Many apple cider vinegar diets can be found in magazines, books, and especially on the internet. Health food and supplement stores stock apple cider vinegar capsules for use in weight loss.
How exactly is apple cider vinegar supposed to induce weight loss? Even proponents of the diet and makers of cider vinegar pills dodge that question, but some suggest that apple cider vinegar burns fat, causes the metabolism to work more efficiently, reduces appetites, or "detoxifies". Many apple cider vinegar diet creators say they don't really know why it works; just that it has been an effective weight loss tool for centuries and that it treats cellulite too.

The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet
Does one really drink apple cider vinegar when they're on the cider vinegar diet? Well, yes. Each cider vinegar diet is arranged differently. On some diets, the only lifestyle change made is the incorporation of several teaspoons or tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily. With others, it may be the inclusion of apple cider vinegar tablets taken several times a day. Additionally, some diets may require the use of both apple cider vinegar and apple cider vinegar tablets.

One popular apple cider vinegar diet uses apple cider vinegar tablets in addition to certain recipes for weight loss. Here is an example of the daily eating guidelines for this apple cider vinegar diet:

Day 1

1 apple cider vinegar tablet taken with water upon waking;
Breakfast: Grapefruit half, oats porridge, coffee or tea;
2 apple cider vinegar tablets taken with water;
Mid-Morning: Fruit, half a glass of milk;
Lunch: Salad with egg and dressing;
Dinner: 1 apple cider vinegar tablet taken with water, fish, steamed vegetables, healthy salad, tea;

Day 2:

1 apple cider vinegar tablet taken with water upon waking;
Breakfast: papaya half, oats porridge, coffee or tea;
2 apple cider vinegar tablets taken with water;
Mid-Morning: Toast with honey;
Lunch: Healthy salad, fish if desired.
Mid-Afternoon: ½ cup yogurt
Dinner: 1 apple cider vinegar tablet taken with ½ glass water one hour before dinner, chicken, steamed vegetables or broccoli soup, coffee or tea.

This diet continues for the course of a week in a very similar fashion, with variation in the breakfast fruit, choice of dinner meat, and variation in mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. With such a virtuous menu, it may seem obvious that weight loss, even without an apple cider tablet, is inevitable. The diet is very strict on food combinations, and does not allow foods to be switched for other days. Day 4 for example, allows the dieter to imbibe in a piece of cheesecake or a chocolate éclair, but only on day 4, because the combination of other meals that day has been arranged for it.

Liquid apple cider vinegar diets work in a straightforward fashion: take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with each meal daily, for a total of 6 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar a day. Many proponents of the apple cider vinegar diet choose this method because they feel the cider vinegar is absorbed by the body faster than a tablet. Drinking apple cider vinegar is, however, not a pleasant experience, and many apple cider vinegar dieters mix it with apple juice or honey to make it more palatable.

Before anyone starts a new diet, especially one considered by many to be a quack remedy for weight loss, it is important to speak with a doctor who will advise as to the safety and efficacy of the diet plan.