Drinking pickle juice may sound unappealing, but it offers several potential health benefits, including hydration, relief from muscle cramps, and improvements in blood sugar and gut health. Athletes have long recognized the benefits of this briny beverage, and now, research is beginning to uncover the reasons behind its effectiveness.
Hydration and Electrolyte Replenishment
For most people, drinking water for hydration after a workout is usually sufficient, especially for moderate exercise lasting an hour or less. However, during intense, prolonged exercise or in hot climates, the body loses significant amounts of electrolytes like sodium and potassium through sweat. Drinking something with sodium and potassium can help you get hydrated faster. Pickle juice contains a lot of sodium. It also has some potassium. After a sweaty or lengthy exercise session, sipping some pickle juice can help your body recover to its normal electrolyte levels more quickly. Pickle juice can be a valuable tool for replenishing these lost electrolytes and promoting faster rehydration.
Muscle Cramp Relief
According to an older study from 2010, dehydrated healthy men experienced faster relief from muscle cramps after drinking pickle juice. It took about 1/3 cup of pickle juice to have this effect. Pickle juice relieved cramps more than drinking the same amount of water, and it also helped more than drinking nothing at all. The vinegar in pickle juice may help with rapid pain relief. Vinegar may help stop nerve signals that make tired muscles cramp. A 2024 study of individuals with cirrhosis of the liver, a condition that causes painful muscle cramps, found that just sips of pickle brine when drunk at the start of cramps lessen the severity of the cramps without causing serious side effects. This could be because the vinegar in pickle juice may help with rapid pain relief. Vinegar may help stop nerve signals that make tired muscles cramp.
Weight Management
If you’re trying to lose weight, you’re probably not too psyched about consuming high calorie sports drinks. It’s still a good plan to replace lost electrolytes after exercising hard, for a long time, or in hot weather. Plus, if your muscles are cramping, you’ll probably want relief as fast as possible. Pickle juice to the rescue! Pickle juice contains no fat, but it can have some calories. It can have anywhere from zero to 100 calories per 1-cup serving. The amount of calories depends on what’s in the pickling solution. Pickle juice contains lots of vinegar. Research suggests that consuming a little bit of vinegar every day may help you lose weight. An early study from 2009 found that vinegar may reduce body weight, BMI, and body fat mass in adults with obesity. After 12 weeks, study participants who had consumed either about 1/2 ounce or 1 ounce of vinegar daily had lost more weight and fat than those who hadn’t consumed any vinegar. A 2024 study of adults with overweight and obesity found that three doses of apple cider vinegar a day for 4 to 12 weeks were associated with significant reductions in weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, and body fat ratio.
Gut Health and Probiotics
The vinegar in pickle juice can help your belly stay healthy, too. Vinegar is a fermented food. Fermented foods are good for your digestive system. They encourage the growth and healthy balance of good bacteria and flora in your gut. Fermented pickles are full of good bacteria called probiotics, which are important for gut health. Fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, and miso can help keep your gut healthy. But most pickles on grocery shelves are not fermented, wherein yeast, bacteria, and other microbes are used to preserve foods. Instead, pickles often get their sharp tang from soaking in a brine of vinegar and spices. For fermented pickles, try a health food store or make them yourself. Look for labels that say “naturally fermented.” When you open the jar, you should see bubbles on the surface, a sign of live bacteria inside.
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Blood Sugar Regulation
Some studies suggest that vinegar in pickle juice may help keep your blood sugar levels even. Studies show that vinegar can help prevent spikes and dips in blood sugar. Studies have shown that vinegar, the main ingredient in pickle juice, can improve the body’s response to insulin. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with type 2 diabetes. When consumed before meals, vinegar can help reduce blood sugar spikes after eating. When your blood sugar levels are steady, it can lead to fewer cravings and less energy storage as fat.
Antioxidant Properties
Pickle juice has significant vitamin C, a key antioxidant. Cucumber pickles are a great source of the antioxidant beta-carotene. Antioxidants help shield your body from damaging molecules called free radicals. Everyone gets exposed to free radicals, so having plenty of antioxidants in your diet is a good idea. Vitamins C and E also help boost your immune system function, among other roles they play in your body. Antioxidants in pickles have a number of benefits. The way they reduce damage-causing free radicals appears to have minor effects on general health. Studies show that regularly eating foods with beta-carotene may help improve thinking in people over age 65. These same studies show that eating diets high in antioxidants is more effective than simply taking antioxidant supplements. This makes pickles an excellent resource for people looking to get more antioxidants naturally.
Other Potential Benefits
Choose dill pickle juice for more potential benefits. Dill has quercetin in it. Quercetin has cholesterol-lowering properties. Dill has many other traditional medicinal uses. These include treating:indigestion, stomach cramps, gas, other digestive ailments. Even if it makes your lips pucker when you drink it, a little bit of pickle juice might make for sweeter breath. Bacteria in your mouth can cause bad breath. Both dill and vinegar have antibacterial properties. This potent combination may help freshen your breath after you drink pickle juice. Some athletes swear by pickle juice after exercise to quickly replace lost electrolytes.
Pickles and the Keto Diet
The keto diet severely limits your intake of fruits and certain vegetables that are high in carbs. Notably, raw cucumbers are very low in carbs. In fact, 3/4 cup (100 grams) of sliced cucumbers contains only 2 grams of carbs. With 1 gram of fiber, this amount provides about 1 gram of net carbs (2). Net carbs refer to the number of carbs in a serving of food that your body absorbs. It’s calculated by subtracting a food’s grams of fiber and sugar alcohols from its total carbs. However, depending on the type of pickle and the brand, the pickling process can significantly increase the number of carbs in the end product - particularly if sugar is added to the brine.
For example, dill and sour pickles aren’t usually made with sugar. A 2/3-cup (100-gram) portion of either usually contains 2-2.5 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fiber - or a minuscule 1-1.5 grams of net carbs (3, 4). On the other hand, sweet pickles, such as candied or bread and butter varieties, are made with sugar. Thus, they tend to be higher in carbs. A 2/3-cup (100-gram) serving of various types of sliced pickles provides the following amounts of net carbs (3, 4, 5, 6, 7): Candied: 39 grams, Bread and butter: 20 grams, Sweet: 20 grams, Dill: 1.5 grams, Sour: 1 gram.
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Pickles are made from cucumbers, which are naturally low in carbs. However, some varieties include large amounts of added sugar, which increases their carb content. Whether pickles fit the keto diet depends largely on how they’re made and many you’re eating. Keto generally allows for 20-50 grams of carbs per day. As 2/3 cup (100 grams) of sliced, sweetened pickles packs 20-32 grams of net carbs, these types may meet or exceed your daily carb allowance with just one portion (8). Alternatively, those without added sugar contribute far fewer carbs to your daily allotment. In general, try to limit yourself to pickle products with fewer than 15 grams of carbs per 2/3 cup (100 grams).
This means that you’ll have to read food labels carefully to choose lightly sweetened varieties - or forego sweetened types altogether and only eat dill and sour pickles. If you feel you can’t do without candied or bread and butter pickles, limit yourself to a small slice or two to ensure you don’t exceed your carb allotment. Pickles can be keto-friendly as long as they don’t contain added sugar. In general, you should select dill or sour pickles but avoid sweet, candied, and bread and butter ones.
Sodium Content and Potential Drawbacks
A big drawback with pickles is that they’re high in salt. Just one large dill pickle has more than 2/3 of the ideal amount of sodium an average adult should have for the whole day. Too much salt in your diet can raise your blood pressure, which in turn ups your chances of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Sodium can also leach calcium from your bones. This can weaken your bones and raise your risk of a broken bone.
Pickles are very high in sodium because it’s an important part of the brining process. Consuming too much salt in your daily diet can raise your high blood pressure. Anyone who is on blood pressure medication or looking to reduce their sodium intake should eat pickles in moderation or look for low-sodium options. Eating too much sodium can cause your kidneys and liver to work harder. Also, the high blood pressure that often follows diets high in sodium puts even more stress on these organs. As a result, eating too many pickles may be risky for anyone with liver disease or kidney conditions. Diets high in sodium may raise your risk of gastric cancer. High salt intake may damage your stomach directly, leading to cancer, or it may lead to infections and ulcers that eventually become cancerous. Diets high in sodium may be connected to an increased risk of osteoporosis. If you are not getting enough calcium, high amounts of sodium can further leach the mineral out of your bones, leading to weaker bones and a risk of osteoporosis.
While pickle juice has its benefits, one major drawback is its high sodium content. Consuming too much sodium can lead to health issues, particularly for individuals with high blood pressure or certain kidney conditions. Excessive sodium can also lead to water retention, which might affect your weight loss goals. Moderation is key when adding pickle juice to your diet. High sodium levels can exacerbate the conditions of individuals with high blood pressure or kidney problems. It is always best to consult a healthcare provider if you have concerns about how pickle juice might affect your health.
Read also: Tangy Keto Relish Recipe
Digestive Sensitivity
While many people can enjoy the benefits of vinegar without issue, some individuals may experience digestive discomfort when consuming acidic foods or drinks like pickle juice. Drinking too much pickle juice or vinegar can lead to stomach irritation or acid reflux in sensitive individuals. If you find that pickle juice causes any adverse effects on your stomach, consider limiting your intake or seeking alternative low-calorie options for flavor and hydration.
Homemade Keto-Friendly Pickles
If you’re concerned about the carb content of commercial pickles, you can make your own at home. Here’s a recipe for keto-friendly dill pickles that are ready overnight.
Ingredients: 6 mini cucumbers, 1 cup (240 mL) of cold water, 1 cup (240 mL) of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon (17 grams) of kosher salt, 1 tablespoon (4 grams) of dill seeds, 2 cloves of garlic.
Directions: Wash your mini cucumbers, then slice them into thin rounds and set aside. To make your pickling brine, mix the vinegar, water, and salt in a saucepan and warm over medium heat, gently stirring until the salt dissolves. Let your pickling brine cool before adding the dill and garlic. Divide the cucumber slices into two large Mason jars. Pour the pickling brine over them. Refrigerate your pickles overnight to enjoy the next day. You can adjust the seasonings for this recipe as you wish. For instance, if you like spicy pickles, you can add jalapeños or red pepper flakes to the pickling brine.
Incorporating Pickle Juice into Your Diet
Pickles add a tangy, juicy crunch to your meal and are common on sandwiches and burgers. They’re made by submerging cucumbers in a saltwater brine, and some are fermented by Lactobacillus bacteria. The brine makes pickles high in sodium, but they offer some vitamins, minerals, and fiber. What’s more, fermented pickles may support gut health by boosting the number of beneficial bacteria in your digestive system (1). Still, you may wonder whether pickles fit the ketogenic diet, which replaces most of your carbs with fat.
Drinking a small amount about 30 minutes before eating can help you feel fuller, which may lead to reduced calorie intake during your meal. Another good time to drink pickle juice is after a workout. The electrolytes in pickle juice can help replenish what you’ve lost through sweat, making it a useful post-exercise drink. You can experiment with different timings to see what works best for you. A common recommendation is to limit your intake to about one ounce per day. This small serving can provide the potential benefits without overloading on sodium. You can gradually increase the serving size if you don’t experience any discomfort.
Pickle Juice vs. Other Weight Loss Drinks
Comparisons Between Pickle Juice and Other Weight Loss Drinks:
- Pickle Juice vs. Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is another popular drink known for its potential health benefits. Like pickle juice, it contains acetic acid. However, pickle juice has the added advantage of a lower calorie count and added electrolytes, making it a better option for hydration. If you enjoy pickles, you might find pickle juice more palatable than ACV, which can have a strong and tangy flavor. Ultimately, it depends on personal preference and how your body responds to each option.
- Pickle Juice vs. Lemon Water: Lemon water is a favorite among health enthusiasts for its refreshing taste and potential detox benefits. Lemon water may also help with digestion and provide vitamin C, but it doesn’t offer the same electrolyte replenishment after workouts. If hydration and electrolyte balance are priorities for you, pickle juice may be the better choice, especially if you enjoy its flavor.
- Pickle Juice vs. Sports Drinks for Hydration: Sports drinks often contain electrolytes and sugars designed to rehydrate athletes after intense exercise, but often at the cost of high-calorie counts and added sugars. Pickle juice is a low-calorie, low-sugar alternative that does the same.