By Amanda Woerner for Life by DailyBurn If you’re looking for a magic elixir that will help you lose weight, the online forums extolling the benefits apple cider vinegar might have you sold. But before you start swigging it straight from the bottle (because, gross), does this Dr. Oz-backed tonic really have any merit?While whipping up apple cider vinegar-based salad dressing is one thing, the benefits of drinking it straight from the bottle are questionable at best. And there are real risks, too. “A lot of cleanses focus on juices or beverages, so it’s possible that apple cider vinegar is getting looped in as part of this trend,” says Lisa Cimperman, RDN, LD, a clinical dietitian at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. But unlike downing green juice, drinking too much apple cider vinegar could actually be harmful to your health. The Sketchy Claims Surrounding Apple Cider VinegarLauded as a way to improve everything from weight loss to indigestion, apple cider vinegar has even been said to help people control diabetes.

“But the fact is that we don’t have the research to uphold any of these claims,” Cimperman says.Related: Is It Possible to Drink Too Much Water? In fact, apple cider vinegar might make some health conditions worse—particularly if consumed in excess. “People tend to think more is always better, but if individuals were to take in large amounts of apple cider vinegar, it could cause severe negative health consequences,” Cimperman says. [consumed] in tablet form, there have been reports of it burning an individual’s esophagus because it is highly acidic.” That acidity might also be bad news for people suffering from acid reflux, or heartburn. “It can potentially irritate the esophagus as it’s going down, and not only that, then there’s more acid [in your stomach] to potentially reflux back out,” Cimperman says. If you’re looking for digestive relief, Cimperman recommends sticking to a diet rich in fiber and probiotics, instead.Related: Are Medicinal Mushrooms the New Kale?

When it comes to controlling diabetes, leave that to your doctors, please! Many people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes also have a condition called gastroparesis, which can prevent the stomach from properly emptying. This can make it more difficult to manage blood glucose. “If someone with gastroparesis were to take apple cider vinegar, it could make that condition even worse,” Cimperman says.What About Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss?Claims of “Drink this, lose weight!” generally sound too good to be true for a reason. One recent study of 14 people showed that those who drank a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with 8 ounces of water before a meal had lower blood glucose levels. This may be because vinegar interfered with the body’s digestion of starch. “By blocking digestion of starch, that would result in a calorie reduction of your meal,” Cimperman says. “So that’s possibly where [those weight claims] came from, but it’s hard for me to say.” Other minor studies have shown similar benefits, but Cimperman says weight loss claims “often grow out of a very small study that gets blown out of proportion.”

In other words, don’t bank on apple cider vinegar when clean eating and good old-fashioned exercise will do. If you’re set on incorporating apple cider vinegar in your diet, do it in moderation. “My advice would be to do no more than one to two teaspoons and mix it in water or some other beverage to dilute the acidity. You never want to take it just straight,” Cimperman says. Even better: Mix it with olive oil and use it to top your salads as a low-calorie alternative to your usual ranch dressing. Lime Green Beaded Door CurtainIt’ll be tastier than chugging it, that’s for sure.Ae Performance T Shirt For SaleRelated: 16 Recipes to Detox the Healthy WayYellow Striped Curtains Drapes Is Apple Cider Vinegar Good for Weight Loss?

Lainey Younkin, M.S, R.D., Find out if drinking apple cider vinegar can help you lose weight. "Be sure to drink unpastureized unfiltered vinegar, such as Braggs, which also has probiotic benefits. If you're up on the latest weight-loss trends, you've likely come across apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar advocates say that drinking a couple of tablespoons each day can help you lose weight by suppressing appetite, stimulating digestion and burning fat. Most vinegar lovers drink it diluted with water as a beverage. But, before you pucker up to apple cider vinegar, check out what the research actually says. Apple Cider Vinegar: Calories and Nutrition Apple cider vinegar has very few calories: only 3 per tablespoon. The compound in apple cider vinegar believed to have beneficial effects on health is the acetic acid, which is actually found in all commercial vinegars, including red-wine and balsamic. Apple Cider Vinegar and BMI Sipping apple cider vinegar isn't a weight-loss cure-all by any means.

However, there is one small study that shows a little bit of promise. When obese adults in Japan were given vinegar to drink—groups drank either no vinegar, 1 tablespoon or 2 tablespoons daily—those who drank vinegar had lower weight, body mass indexes (BMIs) and body fat after 12 weeks compared to people who didn't drink vinegar. The vinegar drinkers also had smaller waists and decreased their triglyceride levels. Before you go guzzling vinegar, remember this was a very small study and it also happened to be conducted by a vinegar producer. Don't Miss: The Best Foods for Weight Loss Apple Cider Vinegar and Blood Sugar Whether you have diabetes, prediabetes or are just trying to keep your blood sugar in check, apple cider vinegar may help. Adults at risk for type 2 diabetes had slightly lower fasting blood sugar levels (by about 9 percent), compared to a control group, after drinking 1 tablespoon of vinegar twice a day for 12 weeks, according to a study in the Journal of Functional Foods.

This suggests that apple cider vinegar may have a positive impact on blood sugar and insulin levels. Though the people in this study didn't lose weight, it might be worth trying a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before lunch and dinner to help control blood sugar levels. Must Try: Healthy, Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes Other Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar Apple cider vinegar has also been shown to lower triglycerides, improve cholesterol levels and decrease fat storage in the liver. When rats (with and without diabetes) were fed vinegar for four weeks, they had a reduction in triglycerides and LDL ("bad") cholesterol and an increase in HDL ("good") cholesterol. However, not enough human studies have confirmed these effects, and more research needs to be done. Apple Cider Vinegar and Teeth If you do choose to drink apple cider vinegar, dilute it with water to protect your teeth. According to Julie Brann, D.M.D., a dentist in Phoenix, apple cider vinegar has about the same acidity level as sodas.