jupiterimages

Last week, That's Fit reported on the results of a Japanese study that found that vinegar may be able to suppress body fat accumulation. While the research was conducted on mice, not humans, and the findings are preliminary at best, injecting a healthy dose of vinegar into your diet isn't necessarily a bad idea.

"Eating salads and tossing them with a lot of oil and vinegar is a wonderful part of a well-balanced diet," says Keri Gans, registered dietitian and spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. "[Using vinegar] is a really healthy, low-calorie way of cooking, and if people get used to using vinegar instead of a lot of heavy fats, they could lose weight."

But if you rarely use vinegar when cooking or frequently suffer from heartburn (vinegar slows digestion and increases acid activity in the stomach), proceed slowly.

"Everybody's GI system runs differently, so who's to say how somebody would react to too much vinegar?" says Gans, who suggests starting by swapping oil and vinegar for mayo in tuna or broiling chicken with balsamic vinegar and topping with Rosemary.

As for tossing back a cup-full of vinegar to lose weight, "You never go by one study," says Gans. "I don't think that consumers should change their behavior based on one study, especially one conducted on animals."

For more recipes with vinegar, search AOL Food's recipe database.