Why Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help With Weight Loss?

TL;DR

Apple cider vinegar aids weight loss because its acetic acid lowers an overly alkaline body's pH, which stimulates the thyroid and acidifies the stomach. Most bodies become too alkaline from chronic stress and high cortisol, blocking mineral absorption. Drinking two teaspoons in water before each meal improves digestion and helps mobilize calcium.

Transcript

• Hey, Dr. Berg here. In this video, we're gonna talk about apple cider vinegar. What are the benefits? What are the myths? First of all, here's a myth, that apple cider vinegar contains a lot of nutrients. It really does not. It doesn't have a lot of vitamin A. It doesn't have a lot of vitamin C. It doesn't have a lot of minerals. What it does hav... Read More

Key Insights

• Apple cider vinegar is not valued for nutrients; it contains little vitamin A, vitamin C, or minerals. Its real benefit comes from acetic acid, which drives the effects behind its many claimed health uses.
• Most bodies checked over years of practice are too alkaline, not too acidic, according to Dr. Berg. This contradicts the common belief that everyone is too acid, and it shapes why acidifying with vinegar helps.
• Blood pH is the true indicator of body pH, but testing is difficult and expensive because blood oxidizes and changes pH once removed from the body. Symptoms of acidosis versus alkalosis are used to judge instead.
• Acetic acid has a pH of about 2.5, close to stomach acid. This makes apple cider vinegar useful for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion, which stem from a stomach that is too alkaline and a valve that fails to close.
• Stomach pH rises and becomes more alkaline with age, especially past 50, 60, and 70. This reduces the ability to digest protein and absorb minerals like calcium, so more acid is needed as a person ages.
• An overly alkaline body cannot absorb calcium properly, causing it to deposit in soft tissues as cataracts, arthritis, kidney stones, gallstones, and tartar. Vinegar lowers pH to mobilize this trapped calcium.
• High cortisol from chronic stress causes alkalosis by making the body lose acid (H-plus) and potassium through the urine. Per the Ciba Encyclopedia of Endocrinology, this alkaline state blocks calcium and triggers twitches, cramps, and nerve pain.
• High-protein diets like Atkins or ketosis produce guanidine, a very alkaline waste that causes twitching, nerve pain, and arthritis. Apple cider vinegar acts as an antidote, flushing this residue from the liver and body.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does apple cider vinegar help with weight loss?

According to the video, apple cider vinegar helps with weight loss because its acetic acid corrects an overly alkaline body by acidifying it. Dr. Berg says drinking one of his vinegar drinks before eating three times a day helps you lose more weight because it stimulates the thyroid and acidifies the stomach. He frames excessive alkalinity as a common problem that, once corrected, supports metabolism and weight loss.

Q: What is the real reason apple cider vinegar works?

The real reason is acetic acid, not nutrients. The video states apple cider vinegar does not contain much vitamin A, vitamin C, or minerals. Instead, its acetic acid lowers the pH of a body that is too alkaline. Even a slight change in pH creates large effects because pH is critical for transporting minerals, allowing enzymes to work, stimulating the thyroid, and increasing metabolism.

Q: Is apple cider vinegar actually nutritious?

No. The video calls the idea that apple cider vinegar contains a lot of nutrients a myth. It does not have much vitamin A, vitamin C, or many minerals. What it does have, and what Dr. Berg considers even more important, is acetic acid. So the benefit comes from the acid itself rather than any vitamin or mineral content in the vinegar.

Q: How does apple cider vinegar help with acid reflux and heartburn?

Dr. Berg says heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion are actually conditions where the stomach is too alkaline and the valve at the top does not close, letting acid regurgitate upward. Taking apple cider vinegar adds acid so the valve starts closing and the acid stops coming up. He claims people feel much better and that it helps with GERD, acid reflux, and indigestion, contrary to the belief that these come from too much acid.

Q: What causes the body to become too alkaline?

The main cause given is high cortisol from stress. Citing the Ciba Encyclopedia of Endocrinology, Volume 4 by Frank Netter, MD, the video says high stress and high cortisol cause alkalosis, making the body too alkaline. The adrenal response causes you to lose acid (H-plus) and potassium through the urine, and since losing potassium makes you more alkaline, the two effects reinforce each other over time.

Q: Why does calcium build up in the body when pH is too alkaline?

When the body is too alkaline, it cannot absorb calcium and minerals properly, so calcium starts building up in the soft tissues instead. The video lists this soft tissue calcification appearing as cataracts on the eyes, arthritis on the joints, neuritis on the nerves, kidney stones, gallstones, and tartar on the teeth. Dr. Berg also recommends fat-soluble vitamins D and K2 to help transport calcium out.

Q: How does apple cider vinegar affect potassium levels?

The video explains that alkaline bodies tend to lose potassium, and losing potassium makes a person even more alkaline. Apple cider vinegar does not directly add potassium; instead it helps by stopping the loss of potassium and making the body more acidic as it should be. Retaining potassium is credited with helping conditions like high blood pressure, constipation, weakness, fatigue, and irregular heartbeats.

Q: How do you make Dr. Berg's apple cider vinegar drink?

The drink comes from chapter 10 of his book and is called the cranberry drink. You use two teaspoons of Bragg's apple cider vinegar in water before each meal, add a teaspoon of lemon juice (he likes Italian Volcano organic lemon juice), and a teaspoon of pure cranberry juice made from whole cranberries with no added grape or apple juice. If you have a very slow metabolism, he suggests omitting the cranberry juice.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video argues apple cider vinegar works not because of nutrients, which it lacks, but because of its acetic acid. Dr. Berg claims most people's bodies are excessively alkaline rather than too acidic, and slightly lowering pH produces large effects on minerals, enzymes, and thyroid function.

• Acetic acid's very low pH of around 2.5 makes vinegar helpful for heartburn, acid reflux, and indigestion, which are framed as symptoms of a too-alkaline stomach. As people age, stomach pH rises, impairing protein digestion and mineral absorption, and causing calcium to deposit in soft tissues.

• Stress and high cortisol drive alkalosis and loss of acid and potassium, producing eye twitches, calf cramps, nerve pain, and other symptoms. Dr. Berg recommends drinking two teaspoons of Bragg's apple cider vinegar in water before each meal, part of a cranberry drink recipe that aids weight loss.