Vinegar and Diabetes, Do's and Don'ts

[Ashka9]

The limited available research suggests that vinegar taken before a meal may lower blood glucose from 20% to 33%.[10,12] The response may depend on the type of glucose load—that is, a more pronounced response with a high-glycemic vs low-glycemic meal or glucose-containing beverage.[11,14]

Large amounts of vinegar can be irritating to the stomach and may cause nausea.[15] Hypokalemia (theoretically through renal potassium loss that occurs with bicarbonate production from acetate in vinegar) has been reported with long-term ingestion of 250 mL of vinegar per day.[16] Erosion of dental enamel also has been reported.[17] Patients should limit consumption to a maximum of 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar diluted with water twice daily. Drinking through a straw may increase palatability and reduce contact with the teeth. A more palatable way to consume vinegar is to combine it with olive oil as a salad dressing.

Vinegar tablets also are available, but they may contain varying amounts of acetic acid. Patients should avoid very concentrated vinegar tablets; concentrations of nonneutralized acetic acid greater than 20% can damage the esophagus.[18]

For patients who want to add vinegar to their daily diet, blood glucose should be checked more frequently and medication regimens may need to be adjusted accordingly. Vinegar could reduce postprandial hyperglycemia and delay gastric emptying, so the dose of preprandial, short-acting insulin may require an adjustment. In patients with insulin-dependent diabetes and gastroparesis, blood glucose must be monitored more frequently to prevent hypoglycemia.

It should be emphasized to patients that the use of vinegar should not replace healthy eating habits, exercise, or any glucose-lowering medications.\

medscape.com/viewarticle/86...

[cure]

Ashka9 I think there is some link between Hypokalemia and hypertension.... can u elaborate more plz??

[Ashka9 in reply to cure]

The presence of mineralocorticoid excess should be suspected in any patient with the triad of hypertension, unexplained hypokalemia, and metabolic alkalosis. Avoiding hypokalemia is beneficial in several cardiovascular disease states including acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and hypertension. In hypertensive patients, it seems beneficial to aim for serum potassium levels 3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L. (That's why we are told to eat fruits like banana and others having good potassium to counteract the effects of high sodium in salt that we generally tend to eat in excess and if not excess...for hypertensive patients, however, potassium rich foods can help in leveling the sodium/potassium ratio)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The main findings show that, among the randomized controlled trials reviewed, the sodium-to-potassium ratio appears to be more strongly associated with blood pressure outcomes than either sodium or potassium alone in hypertensive adult populations.

advances.nutrition.org/cont...