Aug 15, 2024 12:00:00

Drinking vinegar every day may improve symptoms of depression

Vinegar is known to have

various health benefits , such as suppressing blood sugar levels and reducing visceral fat, and some people may incorporate vinegar into their diet for health reasons. A new paper published by a research team led by Arizona State University in the United States showed that 'drinking vinegar every day may help improve symptoms of depression.'

Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Daily Vinegar Ingestion Improves Depression and Enhances Niacin Metabolism in Overweight Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/14/2305

Vinegar Has a Surprising Effect on Depression, Study Finds : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/vinegar-has-a-surprising-effect-on-depression-study-finds

Depression is the most widespread mental illness in the world, but commonly prescribed antidepressants have the risk of serious side effects and vary in effectiveness. Therefore, the search for simple and effective adjunctive therapies other than antidepressants is important to reduce the damage caused by depression. In recent years, treatment with a healthy diet and nutritional supplements has also been seen as a promising option.

The researchers conducted a four-week study in which 28 overweight but otherwise healthy adults were given either two tablespoons of wine vinegar twice a day or a pill containing a small amount of vinegar once a day. The subjects were non-smokers aged 18-45, not on a diet, and did not consume large amounts of alcohol.

The subjects met with research staff before and after the study to have blood samples taken and to have their physical measurements taken, and were also asked to complete two standard mental health tests , the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) .

Analysis of the results of the mental health tests showed that there were no significant differences between the groups on the CES-D, but the PHQ-9 showed that depressive symptoms decreased by an average of 42% in the group that took vinegar directly and by an average of 18% in the group that took vinegar tablets.

In addition, analysis of blood samples revealed that the group that consumed vinegar directly had an 86% increase in

nicotinamide, a B vitamin, which is said to have beauty and anti-inflammatory properties .

This study had several limitations, including a small sample size, low levels of depression in patients at the start of the study, and non-significant improvements in PHQ-9 scores in secondary analyses adjusting for baseline survey scores.

However, the research team commented, 'These data support the possibility that daily vinegar intake for 4 weeks improves self-reported depression symptoms in generally healthy adults and that changes in niacin (nicotinamide) metabolism may be involved in this improvement. Future studies should be conducted on a larger scale and include populations at high risk for clinical depression.

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