It’s one of the most well-known wellness trends out there: taking Apple cider vinegar, or ACV, injections. Experts, influencers and common people assure that this living vinegar can provide countless benefits, from regulating blood sugar to supporting weight loss and even lowering cholesterol levels. So it’s no wonder companies want to capitalize on these health claims and find ways to make it easier for consumers to include apple cider vinegar in their diets.
One way companies have come up with it is through apple cider vinegar supplements, with a mark, Goli, bursting onto the scene in 2019 with an apple cider vinegar gummy bear.
But today, the National Advertising Division (NAD) published its recommendation that Goli will “discontinue or modify its advertising to avoid conveying the unsupported message that the amount of ACV contained in its gummies is associated with the health benefits of traditional liquid ACV.”
The nonprofit BBB National Programs National Advertising Division (NAD) provides independent self-regulation of product marketing claims to “guide the truthfulness of advertising in the US.”
What are the benefits of apple cider vinegar?
Anecdotally, ACV is considered a beneficial supplement by many people, and there are countless studies supporting certain benefits.
“There is some data to suggest that ACV, when taken in adequate amounts, may offer some health benefits, including improved insulin sensitivity. However, more high-quality studies are needed to make specific claims.” “Some studies suggest that vinegar, and not specifically apple cider vinegar, offers some potential health benefits,” he says. lauren manager, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian in our board of medical experts.
As Manager points out, because current studies are small or conducted in animal models, current research does not conclusively support the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Why is NAD recommending that Goli stop marketing their gummies as having the same health benefits as ACV?
NAD has been reviewing many of Goli’s marketing claims for about a year, from March 2021 when the division recommended that Goli discontinue its skin health claims.
In its recent report, NAD determined that Goli’s use of the terms “Apple Cider Vinegar” and “ACV” in its advertising “reasonably conveys the message that the product provides the health and nutritional benefits of apple cider vinegar.” traditional apple”.
However, NAD states that this message is not supported due to the fact that “The health benefits associated with apple cider vinegar are linked to a much higher amount of acetic acid, the ‘active’ ingredient in ACV, than is present in the suggested intake of Goli’s ACV Gummies.”
READ MORE: Supplements to give up in 2022, dietitians say
How is liquid ACV different from ACV gummies?
NAD’s decision is based on the fact that ACV gummies are very different from liquid ACV in both form and function.
Most ACV gummies do not contain a high enough concentration of apple cider vinegar as a liquid dose.
For example, a two-gummy serving of Goli ACV gummies is said to contain 1 gram of apple cider vinegar, which the company says is the equivalent of a dose of liquid apple cider vinegar. However, this concentration is significantly lower than that typically involved in ACV studies, and those studies only use liquid ACV.
Following the recent proceedings, Goli has agreed to permanently discontinue the claim that two gummies equal one dose of liquid ACV, and the company will also stop claiming that these gummies contain “All the ancient benefits of traditional ACV.”
Another big difference between gummies and liquid ACV is the presence of “the mother.”
Liquid apple cider vinegar may come with “the mother,” which is the combination of yeast and bacteria that form during fermentation. This is the cloudy substance you may see in your bottle of ACV. This substance contains polyphenols (plant-based antioxidants) and other potentially beneficial compounds; however, ACV gummies may not necessarily contain the same compounds.
“Certain gummies say contain the mother in its composition. However, it’s not clear what effect the processing of the supplement has on the function of ‘the mother,'” says Manaker.
For example, Goli says that they “source a high-quality apple cider vinegar powder for our product, made from real apple cider vinegar that contains the mother at the time of manufacture,” and they are careful to avoid saying that the mother is present in your processed supplement.
At this time, there are no studies on the effectiveness of ACV in gummy form.
While there are small studies examining the benefits of liquid ACV, there are currently none in a gummy version.
“Unfortunately, there are no studies evaluating the effectiveness of ACV gummies. Assuming that taking this ingredient in gummy form can have the same health effects as taking it in liquid form may be a stretch. We can’t say for sure until we have quality clinical trials to assess effects,” says Manaker.
If you want to get the benefits Goli claims, there are ways to do so without taking this supplement.
“People can take Goli AVC gummies for a healthy immune function, heart health, and antioxidant support (all benefits listed on their website), but these benefits may not be due to the vinegar,” Manaker says. In addition to ACV, these gummies are made with synthetic forms of vitamin B12 and folic acid. , so people may experience results like more energy because of the extra vitamins they’re putting into their body.” In other words, you’re basically taking a B-complex vitamin when you have Goli ACV gummies.
Manaker recommends that people rely on products that have adequate evidence to support their use, but more importantly, they should focus on their diet to improve their health.
“People can easily get antioxidants if they strive to eat a balanced diet full of fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. heart health supportEvidence-based solutions like drinking green tea may be a more effective solution. And for weight management goals, there’s nothing like eating a balanced diet and including physical activity in your day to help maintain your ideal weight,” she says.
“Another option is to explore a high quality multivitamin that not only contains B vitamins (as provided by Goli), but also other nutrients that people are often lacking, such as vitamin D to support a host of health goals. There are plenty of solutions out there that have good data to back up their use and can be great options to fall back on instead of popping an ACV jelly bean every day,” says Manaker.
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Editor’s note: Although Goli has settled with NAD on certain points, the supplement company will appeal the decision, “because it ‘does not agree’ with NAD’s findings that its advertising conveys unsupported implicit messages, that its statement of recommended dosage is in dispute with the NAD, and with the NAD’s exercise of jurisdiction ‘over these matters and over other advertising that is at issue in pending federal litigation.'”
