Research paper
Liatis S, Grammatikou S, Poulia KA, Perrea D, Makrilakis K, Diakoumopoulou E, Katsilambros N. Vinegar reduces postprandial hyperglycaemia in patients with type II diabetes when added to a high, but not to a low, glycaemic index meal. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010 Jul;64(7):727-32. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.89
Why we cite it
A study of vinegar’s effect on postprandial glycaemia in relation to the meal’s glycaemic index in type 2 diabetes. The authors’ own priority claim is narrower: ”To our knowledge, the effect of vinegar on high-fiber/low-GI meals has not been examined in the past” (corrected 2026-09-19 from ”First study to test vinegar’s effect … in relation to the glycemic index”, which was wider than the authors’ claim). Reports that vinegar’s effect appeared with the high-GI meal and not with the low-GI one. Scope: sixteen patients with type 2 diabetes divided into two groups — eight per group. *In group B the addition of vinegar ”did not affect” the glucose area under the curve (229 ± 38 vs 238 ± 25 mmol·min/l) — a null in eight people, and in group A the insulin difference was ”of marginal statistical significance” (P = 0.056). The practical distinction the section drew is a reasonable reading of the pattern; it is not something these numbers demonstrate. The authors draw it themselves: ”We conclude that the addition of vinegar reduces postprandial glycaemia in patients with T2D only when it is added to a high-GI meal.” So this caution is the library’s, about the authors’ own only* (noted 2026-09-19). Suggests the mechanism may involve slowed carbohydrate absorption that cannot be further delayed when fiber already achieves this.