Not only is vinegar good for descaling kettles, cleaning windows and pickling onions, but it seems that it could help you to keep the weight off, too.

An old housewives' tale has it that cider vinegar is good for the waistline. The supermodels Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum seem to be on to it too and have been known to take a swig of vinegar before a meal, believing that it helps them to maintain their figures. Researchers in Japan have now found some evidence that vinegar does, indeed, appear to have a fat-burning effect after all.

Before you rush out to buy a bottle of Sarson's, it is worth noting that the scientists carried out their study on laboratory mice rather than on human beings. Nevertheless, they found that when the mice were fed a high-fat diet along with vinegar, they developed up to 10 per cent less body fat than mice that were fed a high-fat diet and just water. It seems that the acid in vinegar - acetic acid - switches on genes that make certain fat-burning enzymes spring into action, helping to suppress the accumulation of body fat.

What's more, two other studies have shown that vinegar-taking mice also had lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure compared with those on water. Somewhat tantalisingly, Tomoo Kondo, from the Central Research Institute in Handa, Japan, reveals that further research, this time on people, also looks promising. It seems that subjects who were given 15ml of vinegar daily lost fat, particularly around their stomachs.

Research has also shown that it takes the edge off appetite by slowing the speed at which our stomachs empty. This means that you probably eat less during a meal and feel full for longer after it, so you are less likely to snack in between meals. Thankfully, you need only about four teaspoons of vinegar to slow down stomach-emptying - an amount that can be found in a generous serving of French-style salad dressing. Lemon juice, which contains citric acid, has a similar effect, and it is likely that lime juice does as well.

The natural acids known as lactic and propionic acid, produced during the fermentation of sourdough breads, have also been shown to make people feel more full for longer and to reduce the rate of digestion compared with other breads, making Mediterranean-style diets, which often feature salad with a vinegar-based dressing and sourdough bread, particularly good for your waistline.

The bottom line is that adding vinegar, lemon or lime juice to your meals will do no harm and may help a bit in the battle of the bulge. Just don't think that you will lose much weight by sprinkling extra vinegar on your chips.

你知道吗？醋的用处多多，不但能泡醋拌洋葱、清除旧壶上的水垢，擦去玻璃窗上的污迹，看来还能帮你瘦身呢。

长久以来主妇婆们流传着一种厨房秘方：食用苹果醋（美国人喜欢喝果醋，咱们是米醋更好--译注）可以让腰间的赘肉跑光光。超模辛迪·克劳馥和海蒂·克拉姆看来就是深谙此道，她们在每餐之前喝上一大口苹果醋，深信这样有助于保持曼妙身材。现在日本的研究者们发现了一些证据，表明醋确能起到燃烧体内脂肪的奇效。

请先别急着冲下楼狂买镇江香醋，有必要提醒您现在的研究成果还仅限于实验室，小白鼠的确瘦了，大活人还未必。然而话又说回来了，小白鼠们在享用了一顿高脂肪大餐后，那些边吃边佐以醋饮的小家伙们比边吃边喝点白开水的同伴们确实要少长点膘，差别最多可达10%.学者们觉得是醋里面的酸物质--醋酸--接通了小鼠体内的某些基因，"通电"后的基因（通过转录）蹦达出许多专管燃烧脂肪的蛋白酶，这些活跃的酶有助于抑制脂肪堆积。

喝过醋的小鼠们还有另两项好处，比起它们喝水的倒霉同伴来，前者的胆固醇水平和血压都要更低些。来自日本半田中央研究所的近藤君还做了更进一步的人体实验，结果也很惹人心痒。数据显示，每天摄入15毫升醋的受测者们都变瘦了，特别是在胸部和上腹部的位置。

研究还揭示了醋能减缓胃清空的速度，从而使人的食欲下降。这就意味着您可以正餐吃得少些，饱胀感却比以前维持得更久，因此不大会在两餐间忍不住大嚼零食了。对于怕酸的人来讲，谢天谢地，只需要喝下四调羹的醋就能起到减缓胃排空的效果，这点醋也就是一道普通的法式色拉的酱料的水平。能和醋媲美的还有柠檬汁，其中的柠檬酸也有和醋酸相似的效用。

酸面包（酸面包是面包家族中一个比较独特的品种，它的发酵是酵母和嗜酸性乳杆菌共同作用的结果--译注）发酵过程中天然产生的乳酸和丙酸，也能使食用的人有更久的饱胀感，和别的面包比起来，酸面包能减缓消化的速度。地中海风味的食谱，常常有一道用醋酱浇头的色拉和几片酸面包，因而对那些在意自己小蛮腰的女士来说特别值得推荐。

最后一个贴士：饮用果醋、柠檬汁或酸橙汁无碍健康，有助瘦身。但请记得不要在你的薯条上狂洒酸醋，然后一厢情愿地等着大肚腩瘪下去。