Vinegar and heart health in people and animals
What it found
Vinegar shows promise for heart health in animal studies, but human trials are few and modest.
The authors say the evidence is still preliminary.
What they found
Studies in people
Human trials are limited
A study of 120 obese Lebanese students found that apple cider vinegar over 12 weeks reduced body weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides. But a meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials found no significant decreases in BMI, body fat, LDL, or cholesterol.
Diabetes and blood sugar
Meta-analyses found that apple cider vinegar or acetic acid lowered fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, and triglycerides in diabetic patients. There were no significant effects on HDL, LDL, or fasting insulin.
Inflammation markers
People who took two tablespoons of vinegar with meals daily for 4 weeks had lower levels of two inflammatory markers, interleukin-1 and interleukin-12. Other markers did not change.
Animal and lab studies
Animal studies show benefits
In rats fed high-cholesterol or high-fat diets, different vinegars lowered triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol, and raised HDL. They also improved liver function and antioxidant status.
Studies in people and animals
Safety and dosing
Commercial vinegar is 4 to 7 percent acetic acid. A study of 155 obese Japanese patients found that 15 mL or 30 mL of vinegar caused no adverse effects. But long-term use of 250 mL of apple cider vinegar for 6 years led to low potassium in one woman.
Other findings
How it might work
Vinegar contains acetic acid, polyphenols, amino acids, melanoidins, and tetramethylpyrazine. These compounds may act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, lower lipids, and improve blood vessel function, but the exact mechanisms are still unknown.
What the authors conclude
“Therefore, while vinegar may be considered a functional food with potential cardioprotective properties, its clinical application remains preliminary.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say vinegar may be considered a functional food with potential heart-protective properties, but its clinical use remains preliminary.
- They call for well-designed, large-scale randomized controlled trials to establish efficacy, safety, optimal dosage, and the role of individual bioactive components.
- They advise that rigorous investigation into long-term outcomes is essential before vinegar can be confidently integrated into evidence-based cardiovascular prevention and management.
How it was done
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and existing drugs can have side effects and cost too much for some people. The authors looked at vinegar as a cheaper traditional remedy that might help.
They reviewed published studies on vinegar and heart health, including animal experiments and human trials. They looked at how vinegar is made, its active compounds, its effects on the body, and its safety.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the evidence comes from animal studies, which cannot show what happens in people.
- The human trials were small, short, and had limitations, so they cannot prove that vinegar prevents heart disease.
- The exact compounds in vinegar responsible for any effects are not known.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Khyber Girls Medical College, Pakistan; Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, India
The paper
- Title
- Role of vinegar in cardiovascular health: A narrative review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Ijaz R, Haward R (2025). Role of vinegar in cardiovascular health: A narrative review. Journal of biological methods. doi:10.14440/jbm0033Free full textPubMed 41415882DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error