Apple cider vinegar makes for a tasty salad dressing or marinade, but new research has found that it also could be useful in boosting weight loss efforts.

Daily consumption of small amounts of apple cider vinegar — which is made from fermented apple juice and contains the active ingredient acetic acid — may aid weight management in people who are overweight or obese, according to a study published earlier this month in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. 

The small study focused on 120 people from Lebanon, ages 12 to 25 years, who had obesity or were overweight. Some participants were randomly assigned to drink apple cider vinegar diluted in a cup of water once a day, first thing in the morning, for a period of 12 weeks. Other participants were given a placebo liquid to drink each day.

Compared with the people given the placebo, the participants who drank the apple cider vinegar lost “significant” amounts of weight, losing an average 15 pounds over the course of the study. The apple cider vinegar drinkers also saw reductions in BMI and waist measurement. There were also improvements in metabolic markers — which are used to gauge someone’s overall health — such as levels of blood glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol.

“These results suggest that apple cider might have potential benefits in improving metabolic parameters related to obesity and metabolic disorders in obese individuals,” the study authors said. “The results might contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the use of (apple cider vinegar) as a dietary intervention in the management of obesity.”

The authors note that there are some limitations, including the study’s small sample size and short 12-week period, which is not enough to gauge possible longterm side effects.

Furthermore, while apple cider vinegar has shown to have several possible health benefits — like killing harmful bacteria, managing diabetes and improving heart health — it is not necessarily a “magic pill,” registered dietitian nutritionist Michelle Routhenstein told Healthline.

“(Apple cider vinegar) needs to be looked at in conjunction with overall diet and physical activity, as well as stress and sleep management, to have a significant long-lasting impact,” Routhenstein said.