Is Pickle Juice Good For You? The Sour Truth Revealed

I’m completely amazed. Before last week I had never heard of drinking pickle juice or its health benefits. However, I was feeling very nauseous and a co-worker of mine suggested pickle juice. Say what? Pickle juice. Yep. So I thought, what the heck? I’ll get some pickle juice. I ordered some online – very reasonably priced, especially for the amount needed. Within a few minutes of drinking pickle juice, my nausea had subsided. And this was the beginning of my journey of researching pickle juice benefits – yes, even for seniors. Let’s Answer the question: Is Pickle Juice Good For You?

Tell Me More About Pickle Juice

When I began my research, I remembered all the times I saw pickle-flavored foods in the store and thought it strange. Though I like pickles, I wasn’t interested in having it as a flavor of potato chip, pop cycle, or candy cane. Just thinking of it makes my mouth pucker, much like thinking of eating a lemon.

Shortly after experiencing the benefits of pickle juice on nausea, I researched and found that athletes have been using pickle juice for years in relieving muscle cramps and muscle soreness. Maybe this pickle fad has something to it.

Since I wasn’t consistent with going to the gym, I became sore each time I went. So what better time to give pickle juice another try. After getting home from a personal training workout, I drank pickle juice, and again to my amazement, I didn’t experience any muscle cramps or soreness. Usually, I’m sore for a few days after working out; not being sore was unusual.

So my skepticism began talking to me – maybe I didn’t work out hard enough, and that’s why I didn’t experience my usual soreness. A couple of days later, I returned to the gym. After another workout, I again drank pickle juice. And still, the same result; no muscle soreness. This was fantastic, well, except for one thing – now I couldn’t use the excuse that I was too sore from working out to go again, lol.

Another story is of a co-worker’s husband who was experiencing pain from his job that involved a lot of manual labor. He had been in pain for a few days, and I mentioned pickle juice and the results I had with it. When she got home, she told him about the pickle juice, and he tried it. His muscle pain became much less.

Scientific Proof of Pickle Juice Benefits – Not Much

Does scientific research support my results? When I did my research, there weren’t many scientific studies on the benefits of pickle juice.

Some studies point to the ingredients of sodium and vinegar as being the possible reason people experienced pickle juice benefits. Since salt and vinegar, both found in pickle juice, may help with replenishing electrolytes, maybe replenishing these attributes led to the lack of soreness I experienced.

Another theory is that when you consume pickle juice it triggers a reflex in the mouth, sending a signal to the nerves to stop muscle cramping.

Yet, another theory is that it is just a placebo effect.

Benefits to Drinking Pickle Juice

Reported Benefits of Drinking Pickle Juice

• Decrease muscle soreness
• Relief of muscle cramps
• Nausea
  • Salt alleviates nausea – maybe this is why you hear of a pregnant woman craving pickles.
• Helping to Lose Weight
• Blood sugar levels
  • Pickle juice may also lower blood sugar levels by slowing digestion after a meal.
• Hangover relief
  • Hangovers are partially caused by dehydration. It’s thought that because of the salt content of pickle juice after drinking it, you become thirsty and thus drink more water. Becoming rehydrated helps relieve the hangover.
• Hiccup relief
  • It’s suggested to take 1/2 tsp every few minutes until hiccups are gone.
• Digestive system
  • Fermented foods are good for the digestive system and overall gut health. Thus, fermented pickle juice encourages the growth of good bacteria and flora in the stomach. Digestive conditions that may be helped include indigestion, constipation, and gastritis.
• Antioxidants of vitamins C & E

Possible Side Effects of Pickle Juice

Though I didn’t experience any adverse effects from drinking pickle juice, there are a few that are possible, namely:

• Stomach Pain
• Gas
• Diarrhea

What to Watch Out For

Sodium

Pickle juice contains sodium, so it’s crucial that before consuming pickle juice to consult with a doctor if you have high blood pressure (hypertension) or if you need to monitor your salt intake. If you do, it’s best to avoid drinking pickle juice as it contains 690 mg of sodium, and the FDA’s daily recommendation is 2300 mg.

Pets

Pickle juice can be bad for animals, so it’s best to play on the safe side and not give it to your pets unless your veterinarian advises otherwise.

How Much Is The Recommended Pickle Juice Dose?

The recommended dose is 1 ounce for every 75 pounds of body weight. If you weigh 150 lbs, then 2 ounces would be the dose. If you weigh 225 lbs, then 3 ounces would be the recommendation. Again, remember to check with your doctor if you have health issues or if you need to monitor your sodium intake and levels.

To keep adverse side effects at bay, don’t drink over the recommended dose. It doesn’t take a lot to experience the benefits.

Options: Buy Or Make Pickle Juice

You can easily buy pickle juice, and it’s reasonably priced.

Recipe

If you prefer, you can also make pickle juice at home.  Here is an example of one recipe I found on yummly.com

Ingredients:

2 cups of filtered water (purified )

1 cup white vinegar (5% acetic acid)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon pickling spice

OPTIONAL:

Dash  of sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed or 4 fresh dill sprigs

clove of garlic ( partially crushed)

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, on low to medium heat, continually stirring to dissolve all salt and sugar.

Pickling spice can be added to the pan or the container. It can be added loose or within a tea ball (for those who like clear pickle juice).

Let cool, pour into a container, and store in the refrigerator.

Gently shake 1 time per day to redistribute herbs and spices if pickling spices are used.

If the resulting mixture is too vinegar-heavy, add more filtered water.

Bottom Line

I found drinking pickle juice beneficial in the treatment of nausea and warding off post-exercise soreness. I will continue to use it on an as-need basis and not as an everyday supplement. Though I don’t have high blood pressure, I don’t want to include something continuously in my diet that isn’t necessary.

There aren’t many scientific studies done on pickle juice’s effectiveness or benefits. Maybe one day soon, more research will be done. Can you imagine how many people could be helped with this simple drink, being so reasonably priced compared to pharmaceutical or over-the-counter drugs?

---

Popular Posts

---

Take-Away

I hope in your reading Pickle Juice Benefits – Yes, Even for Seniors that you gained some information on the subject.

I would love to hear about your experience(s) with pickle juice. Please comment below.