Home More advice Food & Dining
What health benefits does pickle juice offer?
SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS Although there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence supporting the use of pickle juice as a method of preventing dehydration and muscle cramps, the is little scientific evidence supporting or refuting these ideas. Dale, et al. examined the effectiveness of pickle juice as a preventative measure for exercise-associated muscle cramps compared to Gatorade. This study compared the pickle juice from Vlasic Pickles to the carbohydrate sports beverage Gatorade. The two beverage samples were analyzed in a food-composition laboratory to determine the amount of salt, potassium, calcium and magnesium in each product. Pickle juice was found to have considerably more salt than the carbohydrate beverage. Dale et. al. concluded that pickle juice can be used as a remedy for muscle cramps. However, the study warns of the danger of ingesting large amounts of salt and suggests that athletes should dilute the pickle juice with a sufficient quantity of a hypotonic or isotonic solution. Two ounces is the suggested serving size of pickle juice.
Medical professionals believe that salt plays the major role in preventing the dehydration that causes muscle cramps, but it does not necessarily have to come from pickle juice. Kurt Spindler, the Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Medicine Center, suggests that athletes salt their food to avoid muscle cramps.
CONCLUSION More scientific research is needed to determine the effectiveness of pickle juice as a muscle cramp remedy. If you are an athlete that does not like pickles, do not fret. It seems that you may be able to receive the same benefits by increasing your salt intake. But remember, there can be too much of a good thing. If you are on a salt-restricted diet, you may want to look elsewhere for a muscle cramp remedy.
Maybe a little weird, but I like it too. Drinking pickle juice can be good for you, in rare specific situations, like if you are low on salt from sweating a lot of it out. Like when exercising, lactic acid is released in your muscles that cause the pain and cramping, they're like tiny shards of glass twisting in your tissue. Pickle juice may be an ingredient to enable your body to begin to reduce the lactic acid, therefore reducing the pain, in certain circumstances.
It acts by replenishing salt lost to sweating and helping your muscles by helping to retain water which is utilized to clear and rebuild. Pickle juice has approximately 20 times more electrolytes than Powerade and 7 times more than Gatorade. It is a substitute for salt tablets (sip small amounts and stop and remember to drink lots of water later) and will stop cramps (again, sip small amounts only and stop, and drink 2-3 glasses of water in the next hours after).
I love (dill) pickle juice but alas, with high blood pressure I can no longer imbibe the bitter brine because of the high sodium content, but when I was younger I loved it when it was very cold.
In the long run, it is bad for you, especially for your kidneys, and even if you are young (and can take it!) pickle juice should only be drunk as an occasional treat and in small amounts. Usually, if your body is low on sodium, you will actually crave salt. That is when it will most likely taste the best!
Considering it is vinegar, of course it has a whole lot of health benefits, and not just for leg cramps!! I LOVE pickle juice and used to drink it in large quantities, as I learned it instantly cured any/all hangovers, got rid of heartburn, acted as an energy booster, etc...and my health has always been amazing. I decided to stop drinking it years ago due to the fact I learned that it has good amounts of Polysorbate 80 and the red and/or yellow dyes in it which are horrible for your kidneys and they cause all sorts of health issues. Now I just drink the raw apple cider vinegar, instead. It's a detox...cleans the blood and also acts as a heavy metal chelator. It is delicious in hot/iced tea, mixed with tomato juice or V-8, mixed with cider or apple juice, great in vinaigrette's, etc. If vinegar was "really" bad for you as some studies might light to say...than I would have a myriad of health problems by now at age 42...(since I've been drinking it for the past 22 years in quantities of NO LESS then 1/4 a day and up to 1 cup a day). I have wonderful health and most people think I am half my age when they meet me.
http://infertility.suite101.com/article.cfm/polysorbate80causes_infertility
from:Coaching Management (also check out the new Pickle pops - Bobs Pickle Pops go to PicklesforProfit (dot com) Now you can get the health benfits in a cool new frozen pop!! The frozen pop has less sodium then a slice of bread, yet it is the 2oz that is often recommended.)
"But while fluid intake is an athlete’s best weapon against heat and dehydration, athletic trainers acknowledge that pickle juice may serve a purpose in that regimen. Some athletic trainers have reported that, when used in moderation as a supplement to a sound hydration routine, pickle juice has helped to avoid cramping, and even treat cramps after they have occurred. Other athletic trainers have offered anecdotal reports of mustard and vinegar doing the same thing. But no scientific studies have been conducted to establish why these folk remedies sometimes work. " Check out PicklesforProfit (dot com) try the cool new pickles pops..athletes love them, kids of all ages love them and we have heard Emerl loves them too!
Laurie(at)PicklesforProfit(dot com) The cool new snack for your funraiser! You can try them too!
Drinking pickle juice can be good for you, in rare specific situations, like if you are low on salt from sweating a lot. When exercising, lactic acid is released in your muscles that causes pain and cramping. They're like tiny shards of glass twisting in your tissue.
Pickle juice may be an ingredient to enable your body to begin to reduce the lactic acid, therefore reducing the pain, in certain circumstances.
It acts by replenishing salt lost to sweating and helping your muscles by helping to retain water which is utilized to clear and rebuild.
Pickle juice has approximately 20 times more electrolytes than Powerade and 7 times more than Gatorade. It is a substitute for salt tablets and will stop cramps. Take small sips of the pickle juice and drink plenty of water afterwards.
In the long run, it is bad for you, especially for your kidneys. Even if you are young pickle juice should only be used as an occasional treat and in small amounts. Usually, if your body is low on sodium, you will actually crave salt. That is when it will most likely taste the best!
I love the stuff it's great for knocking out hunger cravings in between meals and keeping late night snack cravings away. Just 2oz is my serving and that's all I need. If I don't moderate the my pickle juice it gives me undesirable effects in the bathroom. Everything in moderation should be a way of life. But I don't think pickle juice is bad for you because there have been significant findings about the positive effects of vinegar. May God care for and comfort those who are lonely and in pain for thinking that no one loves them. There is always someone. Jesus sacrificed himself to prove his love for us. Shouldn't we love him in return? He will never leave you nor forsake you, he is always with you. The gift that God gave us besides saving us from our sins by the love that Jesus had for us. Is the right to choose and decide whether to love him in return. Because God doesn't want to make you love him, even though he wants your love, he wants it willingly. I know this has nothing to do with pickles but I felt I needed to share. Thanks for listening.
Sue90,
I wasn't advocating that he drink an entire liter of Pickle Juice under any circumstances. I know it has high sodium, and I told him such. That's the point.
In one of the (admittedly, few) scientific studies on the affects of pickle juice, Dale, et al. examined the effectiveness of pickle juice as a preventative measure for exercise-associated muscle cramps compared to Gatorade. The two beverage samples were analyzed in a food-composition laboratory to determine the amount of salt, potassium, calcium and magnesium in each product. Pickle juice was found to have considerably more salt than the carbohydrate beverage. Dale et. al. concluded that pickle juice can be used as a remedy for muscle cramps.
Two ounces is the recommended serving size.
Sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium all have roles to prevent muscle cramping. A good sport drink should have all of these. Pickle juice has tons of sodium chloride (I don't know about potassium, but someone above said it has a lot, so I'll assume it does). It also has acetic acid (from the vinegar) which helps the body produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Straight vinegar has produced similar results to pickle juice in treating and preventing muscle cramps, as has mustard. It's been hypothesized that the acetic acid in vinegar, which is in both pickle juice and mustard, may be the magic ingredient.
Dear cribviddotcom, One liter of the stuff contains 10,000 milligrams of sodium our daily intake of sodium is 2,500 mg. There is no proof that it has any benefits at all. If you need to drink pickle juice to be thirsty to drink water then something is wrong here...Just drink more water???? There is no benefit...they hype was when some athletes drank (a shot glass) for the sodium that would have been about equivalent to a bottle of GatorAid...but they didn't want to drink that much liquid when on the court...so this is where it stemmed from. Sue...good luck
Salt is completely irrelevant to muscle cramps, so it makes no sense to put salt on food for that. The pickle juice is actually very high in potassium, which many people are deficient in. The potassium is what helps the muscle cramps, and it is absolutely fact. It's obvious that if the medical community knows potassium help cramps (deficiency will cause cramps) then a high potassium substance would help them too. The salt has nothing to do with it. And sports drinks are loaded with sodium also, and corn syrup now, which is horrible for you anyway.
I was actually just curious of the heath facts of pickle juice, I knew the salt intake was a lot in large quantities but the rest of the knowledge is interesting, I actually read every post that was on here. Some people find it strange to like pickle juice but I find it a waste not to drink it, and drinking it I find that I'd rather drink it over pop (soda) any day of the week... I can't drink straight water without making myself sick so it's nice to know that pickle juice isn't too bad for ones health.
I am totally confused by all of these answers because for the past week I have eaten all of the pickles and drank ALL of the juice of 6 jars of kosher dill pickles. For some reason I am not able to control my urge for it. I received a call from my doctor today, my blood work from yesterday showed my potassium is extremely low. He prescribed 30mlg of potassium ch 10% for 2 days. I'll have blood work again. I also eat a lot of prune & spinach. We'll see what happens.
Pickle juice actually helps me when my acid reflux is acting up or when the upper portion of my stomach becomes full of gas and starts to hurt. I had a gastric bypass about 8 years ago and I am still doing great, but I get very gassy now. I had nothing at home and decided to try a few swallows of pickle juice because of the vinegar in it. It worked great!! I found a new rememdy and it tastes great too!
Pickle juice is 30x more concentrated than commercial sports drinks in sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Vinegar has also been touted as a home remedy to treat nausea, which may be why many pregnant women crave pickles so much. However, the recommended daily intake is about 2 oz, because of the high sodium content. It's actually very healthy for you...who knew?
Hi,
Pickle juice contains large quantities of salt, a chemical compound that helps the body retain water. It's endorsed by the Philadelphia Eagles as being a great way to stay hydrated.
Scientific studies have also shown that pickle juice is a great way to combat muscle cramps, especially in the legs.
Hope that helps!
I have a thyroid condition and I have found that every year in the winter I will get a serious craving for pickles (high in potassium). I can sit and eat 5 huge pickles without budging. When this happens I know it is time to go get my thyroid levels checked and more than likely have my meds changed. Weird huh?
I had some of a giant cookie at a birthday party last tuesday and was horribly constipated for 4 days. My Uncle told me to drink a coffee cup full of pickle juice before breakfast... I will spare you the details by saying simply that I am no longer constipated :)
Just drink the stuff! decide for your self about pickle juice, but me personaly love pickle juice. I play soccer and often get leg cramps. I just drink about a kid's cup full of pickly juice and the cramps easily go away.
My father was from eastern Europe and he used to call the pickle juice "Russell". He would drink the pickle juice and say, "Russell --- the best thing for a cold."
a swallow of pickle juice a morning seems to help bring my blood pressure down and give me a boost of energy.