Good old-fashioned vinegar, an indispensible ingredient in zesty salad dressings and tangy pickles, is living up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as a health promoter. According to researchers with the Central Research Institute of the Mizkan Group Corporation, in Japan, this kitchen staple is a natural fat fighter that might help us control our weight.

The researchers showed that mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed up to 10 percent less body fat than the control group; acetic acid is the main component found in all vinegars. The study results also suggested that vinegar slenderizes by turning on genes which produce specific proteins that break down fatty acids in the body, thereby preventing fat accumulation and weight gain.

Source:
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009