Take
Vinegar to reduce Diabetes
Vinegar in the daily
diabetic menu does help diabetics keep blood sugars lower by effectively
lowering the glycemic index of foods (slowing the rate at which carbohydrates
are converted to glucose), and here's how it works:
Most diabetics are aware of the glycemic index as an explanation of high
blood sugar spikes. The higher the glycemic index, the faster the glucose
released by digestion is absorbed.
Vinegar essentially overrides the glycemic index. Vinegar, or a vinegar
and oil salad dressing, "soaks up" bicarbonate in the lower digestive
tract. Without this bicarbonate, the sugars released by digestion are absorbed
much more slowly.
When sugars are absorbed slower, blood glucose levels go up less. In
type II diabetic patients, sometimes the pancreas can't make enough insulin for
a sudden "dump" of glucose into the bloodstream, but it can keep up
with slowly released sugars.
Vinegar, in effect, raises the glycemic index of food. Vinegar won't
affect your blood sugars if you aren't eating carbs, but if you aren't eating
carbs, your blood sugars are going more slowly, anyway. Moreover, eating starchy foods and vinegar at
the same time reduces the release of insulin, and indirectly slows the storage
of fat. (The less insulin there is in circulation, the less insulin there is to
move fatty acids into fat cells.)
Sourdough breads have a similar benefit, as does yogurt. They reduce
both blood sugar levels and insulin release.
There's another potential benefit from vinegar for type II diabetic
patients. As the glycemic index of food goes up, appetite and drive to eat go
down. Consuming vinegar at every meal, whatever other effects it may have,
reduces appetite and makes it easier to eat less.
Dr Mercola
Website - Friday, February 15, 2008
Tessa’s
Comment: The extra
acidity of vinegar or lemon juice with every meal will aid digestion too. As we get older, available acid in the
stomach decreases, especially if on antacids.
So this is worth a try. Let me
know how you go, we can publish results next time