A simple but little known trick for reducing the blood sugar spike after meals is to have a tablespoon or two of vinegar beforehand.
In 2019 H. O. Santos et al. reviewed the evidence from dozens of studies examining the effect of vinegar on blood sugar levels and found that:
Acute and short-term studies show that vinegar intake has a beneficial effect on the glycemic profile […]
One study in particular looked at ten men with type 1 diabetes and found that drinking 30ml of vinegar (2 tablespoons) five minutes before a meal lowered their blood sugar spike afterwards by almost 20%. Not bad for such a simple trick.
This study by Mitrou et al. was a placebo-controlled trial where subjects were randomly given either 30ml of vinegar and 20ml of water, or 50ml of water (as a placebo). The men drank this five minutes before eating 75 grams of carbs (bread, cheese, turkey ham, orange juice, butter and a cereal bar, so at least they got a free lunch for their troubles).
In the placebo group blood glucose levels peaked at 11.6 mmol/L, but in the men who drank vinegar blood glucose only rose to 8.6 mmol/L.
As a result, vinegar compared to placebo reduced BG […] by almost 20%.
To make sure the results of the study weren’t affected either by the mens’ starting insulin or blood glucose levels, Mitrou et al. carefully controlled both to make sure they were the same in all of the men before the test began.
How does it work?
The magic ingredient in vinegar is acetic acid.
Acetic acid:
- Slows down the breakdown of starch into glucose
- Slows down how quickly your stomach empties (gastric emptying)
- Encourages your muscles and liver to take in more glucose from your blood and convert it into glycogen
How to add vinegar to your meals
Necking vinegar by itself is not much fun, so here’s a few, slightly more palatable, ideas for adding vinegar into your diet.
Apple cider vinegar drink
Whatever meal you’re having, just add one or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a large glass of water beforehand and away you go. This is probably the most effective and versatile way of consuming vinegar, it is a bit of an acquired taste I’d say though.
Hot sauce
This is definitely the most fun way to add some vinegar to your diet.
As you’re generally consuming the hot sauce at the same time as your meal, rather than chugging it beforehand, this method won’t be as effective as having the vinegar before the meal, but it’s better than nothing!
Also (if your spice tolerance is as low as mine), hot sauce does have the added benefit of massively slowing down how quickly you eat. This will help reduce your post-meal blood sugar spike even more and also reduce your risk of over-eating all in one go.
Just make sure you pick a sauce which doesn’t have any added sugar and you should be good to go!
Salad dressing
If you want to be ultra-healthy, add a vinaigrette to a salad as a starter or a main meal. Not only will you get the benefit of the vinegar, but the leafy greens in the salad will also help slow down digestion.
This is particularly good option when you’re eating out a restaurant, most places you go will offer some sort of salad, and having it as a starter times it perfectly before your main meal.
Just watch out for added sugar in the ingredients! A lot of salad dressings like balsamic glaze have added sugar in them, which sort of defeats the point of using it for better blood sugar control.