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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchA four-week randomized trial found that healthy adults with overweight who drank vinegar daily reported a greater reduction in one depression-symptom questionnaire score than a comparison group. The result is preliminary: it does not show that vinegar treats clinical depression, and a second symptom measure did not show a statistically significant difference between groups.
What diet change did the trial test?
The likely study behind the headline, published in 2024 as “Daily Vinegar Ingestion Improves Depression and Enhances Niacin Metabolism in Overweight Adults,” tested daily vinegar intake for four weeks. Participants received vinegar supplying 2.95 grams of acetic acid per day—described by the study authors as four tablespoons—or a comparator vinegar pill containing very little acetic acid. The study’s publisher page was not accessible in the available record, so this identification is likely, not confirmed. Study abstract
What changed after four weeks?
Participants completed two self-report measures of depressive symptoms. Average PHQ-9 scores fell 42% in the vinegar group and 18% in the comparator group; the between-group difference was reported as statistically significant (p = 0.036). Average CES-D scores fell 26% and 5%, respectively, but the between-group difference was not statistically significant. These measures capture reported symptoms; neither result demonstrates that vinegar prevents or treats a depressive disorder.
Who took part—and who was not studied?
The vinegar trial involved healthy adults with overweight, not a group selected because participants had diagnosed depression. Its results therefore cannot establish that the intervention helps people with clinical depression, or that the change was caused by vinegar in a way that would hold for other populations. The outcomes were questionnaire scores over a short period, not a clinical assessment of recovery.
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Another four-week diet finding has a different context
A separate study can also be associated with a four-week improvement in self-reported depression symptoms, but it examined a very different intervention. The Fast Track to Health trial followed 141 adolescents with obesity in Australia through a structured 52-week program. Its first four weeks used a very-low-energy diet; later participants followed intermittent or continuous energy restriction. Symptom reductions observed by week four were maintained through week 52, with no difference between those later diet approaches. This was not a standalone test of an ordinary diet change. Jebeile et al., JAMA Pediatrics (2024)
That adolescent study also reported that 17 participants (12.1%) needed support or referral for depression and/or disordered eating. The authors emphasized screening and monitoring during obesity treatment. The findings are not a reason to try a restrictive diet without appropriate clinical oversight.
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What the findings do—and do not—mean
- The vinegar trial offers a preliminary signal on one self-reported measure, not proof of an effective depression treatment.
- The vinegar study’s CES-D comparison did not show a statistically significant difference between groups, despite the reductions within each group.
- The vinegar trial also reported changes in nicotinamide concentrations and the NAD+ salvage pathway. Those exploratory findings do not establish why symptom scores changed or prove a treatment mechanism.
- Neither study supports stopping or replacing prescribed mental-health care with vinegar or a restrictive diet. Anyone concerned about depression should discuss symptoms and treatment options with a qualified health professional.
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