The Vinegar Test

Swanson Health Products debunks a common test for vitamin quality. http://www.swansonvitamins.com

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[jtlbb2]

This video is deceptive. The reason is because, first off, the "vinegar" in pickle juice is a lot more diluted than the typical white vinegar you buy in a bottle. "Pickle juice" has a pH of about 4.9 so it is acidic but not nearly as acidic as stomach acid.

Vinegar, which typically contains 5% acetic acid by volume, has a pH of approximately 2.4.

Stomach acid is not just straight hydrochloric acid, it is a mixture collectively known as gastric acid.

[swansonvitamins]

Thanks for the comment. See our responses above.

[jtlbb2]

A vitamin tablet is meant to dissolve, a pickle is not. You're really comparing apples to oranges.

If I demonstrate that a rock won't dissolve in HCl within 24 hours, does that prove that a vitamin tablet won't? No, it's a silly comparison, just as silly as the pickle.

I say this video is deceptive because:

It makes it seem like the vinegar in preserving pickles has the same pH as white vinegar.

It makes it seem like vinegar would preserve a tablet instead of dissolving it.

[swansonvitamins]

Sorry for the typo. The 'less' in my original response was supposed to be 'more'. It should be clear by the fact that 10 raised (-1) is greater than 10 raised to the (-3) as noted in the same post.

[swansonvitamins]

The video is not meant to be deceptive, instead just a basic demonstration of the problems with 'The Vinegar Test' for supplements. As for the pickle, it will not dissolve in white vinegar within 24 hours.

[jtlbb2]

You're absolutely right about the vinegar test not being perfect, I'm not here trying to say that it is. But this video is still highly deceptive.

You also completely ignored my point about the pickles. Again, pickles are in a vinegar solution that is diluted and has a pH of approximately 4.98, much higher than white vinegar with a pH of approximately 2.4.

[jtlbb2]

swansonvitamins: You said "the less H+ [a solution has], the more acidic it is."

The opposite is true, the less concentration of H+ a solution has, the *less* acidic it is. If you understand the scientific notation of what you wrote, you'd see that.

The entire point is sort of moot because human gastric acid normally has a pH range of 2-3, not 1. White vinegar that is 5% acetic acid by volume has a pH of approximately 2.4, which falls into the range of gastric acid.

[swansonvitamins]

In our researching new formulations, we make sure to do in vitro assays that directly mimic a human stomach for all conditions to ensure that the product will be fully digested and effective in normal stomach conditions.

[swansonvitamins]

It may be true that a number of tablets may dissolve in a 98 degree glass of Vinegar, but it won't be quite the same environment as a human stomach as there is also a higher acidity level and movement in addition to heat. Without all those conditions, there are many things that will never be fully dissolved in Vinegar including pickles, herbs, and other things that use Vinegar as a preserving agent.

[swansonvitamins]

Yes, it's true that stomach acid is about a 1 on the pH scale and Vinegar is a 3... but to put that in perspective, that's 100 times the difference in potency. A pH of 1 has 10-1 moles/liter of H+, but a pH of 3 has 10-3 moles/liter of H+... the less H+ it has, the more acidic it is (for those who aren't chemists).

[jtlbb2]

Gastric acid's pH is typically around 1 to 2, so vinegar isn't that far off actually.

Fact is, most quality brand of vitamin tablets DO dissolve in a glass of vinegar (heat it to 98 degree Fahrenheit to mimic body temp). This is something anyone can challenge Swanson on. Heck, I've even taken brands such as Centrum and dissolved them in vinegar.

BTW I am a chemist and am more familiar with calculating pH and solutions than these two representatives.