Remember a few months back I told you about vinegar and diabetes? I have another fantastic tip on vinegar for you. You can blunt the effects of a high cholesterol diet by adding some vinegar!
In rats, recent research suggests that just adding a small amount of acetic acid to your diet does the job. Whats even more interesting is how it works.
Rats fed 0.3% acetic acid had significantly lower cholesterol levels. But they had lots more bile salts in their intestines. Bile salts are made from cholesterol. This finding suggests that the acetic acid stimulates the liver to eliminate cholesterol. Also, the acetic acid inhibited the rats livers from making lipids (fat bodies). Too many lipids are associated with heart disease.
Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar. It is the simplest of fatty acids, only two carbons long. (Fish oil is a fatty acid chain up to 22 carbons long. Meat fat is a mix, but has a lot of stearic acid, a saturated fat of 18 carbons.)
The corresponding amount of acetic acid in a human would be roughly about 7.5 calories. That is about the amount in one tablespoon of vinegar.
Now think about this. How soon will it be before you see ads on TV suggesting that your doctor has information on a cholesterol and blood sugar lowering remedy that does not even cost two cents per dose? Do not count on it happening in our lifetime.
Action to take: I do not recommend rich diets. I continue to encourage less consumption of animal products (plant products do not contain cholesterol). However, it appears that you can offset some of the toxic problems allegedly associated with a higher fat diet by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to these meals.
However, this information is even more exciting than just protection from fats and cholesterol. Increasing your excretion of bile salts is an excellent way to detoxify your liver. Acetic acid is also a good way to eliminate excess sodium (salt) from your body). You do not need an expensive supplement. Just get some organic balsamic vinegar. Add it to your salads. Your taste buds will cheer. And you will be pulling poisons from your liver and eliminating unnecessary sodium, while you remedy ingested cholesterol. What a combination!
Ref: Fushimi, T., K. Suruga, et al. Dietary acetic acid reduces serum cholesterol and triacylglycerols in rats fed a cholesterol-rich diet, Br J Nutr., 2006; 95(5): 916-24.