My disturbing new healthful habit

I mentioned before that I'm living with my estranged father. More like just plain old 'strange' father amirite?

(synopsis: ) www.abovetopsecret.com...

So I come home from work one day and caught the weirdo standing in front of the fridge chuggin' from a pickle jar. He was downing pickle brine/ juice like it was Coca-Cola.

My mind was tasked for days trying to reconcile this otherworldly behavior. Is my dad an alien from beyond the realms? What wicked daemon would entreat him to drink pickle juice?

I wondered, I pondered, I paced the floors of my sanctuary beckoning an answer.

Then, the same mad spirit possessed me before long--

*******

I twisted the jar lid under the soft hum of the refrigerator light.
I pursed my lips and suckled the vinegary nectar.
A beautiful revelation had overtaken me.

*******

At first I took sips. Then I took mouthfuls. I was soon administering gulps.

Now, I have a glass jar of pickles sitting lonesome in the fridge with no brine, no juice, no joy left.

It has come to this.


Before you think I'm totes cray, you may be surprised to learn that pickle brine is actually chock full of the good stuff. I work a pretty labor intensive job, often working 10-12 hours a day. I used to suffer from the most horrid leg cramps. One particular doctor told me to drink pickle juice for the electrolytes. I scoffed at the advice for years!

However, a good swill after a day of hard, honest work has definitely helped prevent the late-night leg cramps.

Here are a few other benefits of drinking pickle juice:

1. It soothes muscle cramps

Dehydrated men experienced faster relief from muscle cramps after drinking pickle juice, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

About 1/3 cup of pickle juice is all it took to have this effect. Pickle juice relieved cramps more than drinking the same amount of water. It also helped more than drinking nothing at all.

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.


2. It helps you stay hydrated

For most people, drinking water for hydration after a workout is fine. Water is probably all you need if you’re exercising moderately or for an hour or less.

But it’s a different story if you’re exercising hard, exercising for longer than an hour at a time, or exercising in hot climates.

Drinking something with sodium and potassium can help you get hydrated faster. Sodium is an electrolyte that you lose when you sweat. Potassium is another electrolyte lost in sweat.

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.


3. It’s a fat-free recovery aid

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.


4. It won’t bust your budget

If you already eat pickles regularly, you don’t have to spend money on sports drinks. Even if you don’t eat pickles, you can still choose pickle juice as a budget-friendly alternative to more expensive workout beverages.

You can also buy commercially prepared pickle juices marketed as sports drinks. They cost more than drinking what’s left in your pickle jar when all the pickles are gone. The upside is that you’ll know from reading the nutrition label what you’re getting in each serving.


5. It contains antioxidants

Pickle juice has significant amounts of vitamins C and E, two key antioxidants. 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.


6. It may support your weight loss efforts

Pickle juice contains lots of vinegar. Consuming a little bit of vinegar every day may help you lose weight, as reported in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry.

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.


7. It helps control blood sugar levels

A study published in the Journal of Diabetes Research showed the effects of consuming a small serving of vinegar before a meal. The vinegar helped regulate blood sugar levels after the meal in people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is associated with being overweight and obese.

Well-regulated blood sugar levels help keep you healthy. Lots of people have type 2 diabetes and don’t know it. Unregulated blood sugar can cause serious health problems such as blindness, heart damage, and kidney damage.


8. It boosts gut health

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.


9. Dill is healthy

Choose dill pickle juice for more potential benefits. Dill has quercetin in it. Quercetin has cholesterol-lowering properties. A study published in Cholesterol found that dill lowered cholesterol in hamsters. It may have a similar effect in humans.

The study’s authors also mentioned that dill has many traditional medicinal uses. These include treating:

indigestion

stomach cramps

gas

other digestive ailments


www.healthline.com...

Thanks dad, you fuggin' freak!

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

I didn't eat pickles until my late 30s, and that was only on McD's burgers.

The last few years I started eating pickles and salads. But I haven't tried the juice.

Anybody tried fried pickles? I don't know if I should, I really am trying to cut out ALL fried foods, at least until I drop 100 lbs....and I need to drop about 250.

Five bags of Quikrete on me at all times. Unfreakingbelievable.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

Haha what a read, very eloquent. Loved it.

I do the same, people stare at me. Especially when it's brine from a tub of mussels. But that's a different desire.

ACV is also a peculiar choice of mine, but with the mother, it's got everything.

Good post, I enjoyed reading it, especially your transition to 'freak' status !!

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

I have something just as good, if not better... sauerkraut juice. It's better than ice cream, better than fries and gravy, better than coffee. Enjoy!

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

Allegedly, drinking pickle juice can also help you pass a urine drug test.

a reply to: hiddeninsite

My wife LOVES pickle juice, but sauer kraut even more. She could eat that # every day! I like it, but not like she does. They say that old style, live kraut will keep you going forever, lol.

We come from a town famous for pickles. I really never liked pickles, but when they cooked them at the pickle plant, the whole town smelled like garlic and herbs. Nice.

There was a yearly pickle festival. They had pickle eating, and pickle juice drinking, contests. Pretty good prizes, too!

Our son, a great big ol kid, got beat in the 6th grade pickle juice drinking contest. By an even larger girl, 3 time champ, lol. She smoked our boy, let me tell ya.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

One of the guys who played for the USA senior Olympic tennis team was the first guy to tell me after/before/ or even during a hard hot tennis match take a couple of swigs of pickle juice to keep the cramps away. It works.... I have found the Vlasic dill pickle juice with the small chucks of garlic in the bottom to be the best for me at preventing the cramps. My Tennis days are over but golfing when it is high humidity and over 100F can cause the same type of cramps.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

It can also cure chronic heart burn. Below is a link to my thread about Apple Cider Vinegar.

You didn't know that ?
I will take it up a level .
Google "beet juice"

I drink either (or both) every now and then .

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha
Im telln the wife, thanks. She really suffers every night. Me too.. .but to a much lesser degree.

Thnx👍😎

My 8 year old daughter drinks the olive juice.

According to CBS Sports, dozens of professional sports teams do the pickle juice.

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
Before you think I'm totes cray, you may be surprised to learn that pickle brine is actually chock full of the good stuff.

Not the commercial stuff - it is really bad for you.

But real, fermented, raw pickles/brine, yes, it is full of probiotics and enzymes.

a reply to: Gothmog

I canned pickled beets.

Best of both?

I love pickle juice!

The cramp thing works, and it's weird. Slamming back a mouthful of pickle juice kills a Charlie hoss almost immediately. I have no idea how or why, but it works.

ETA: which brings to mind an age old question that I may have found an answer to.

Glad I'm not the only weirdo! Love pickle juice. Hate plain water as it tastes dry (like the smell of rain on dust) in my mouth, but add a little apple cider vinegar or balsamic and it becomes drinkable.

They sell shots of pickle juice at the grocery store. Where I am now up to 5 45 min minimum workouts every week and I sweat ... a ton. I need the salt or my calves and toes will start to cramp. Water isn't enough. Pickle juice or snacking on sunflower seeds in the shell for me.

originally posted by: igloo
Glad I'm not the only weirdo! Love pickle juice. Hate plain water as it tastes dry (like the smell of rain on dust) in my mouth, but add a little apple cider vinegar or balsamic and it becomes drinkable.

Sounds like you need a water softener?

a reply to: igloo

I drink lots of water too, and I like the mineral taste of hard water ... but I grew up on it. Softened water tastes like nasty, barely salted water.

Pickle juice fans unite (yes it is good for ya)

Have recently seen pickle juice shots in little bottles like energy drinks.



Best in the Hot summer is Pickle Popsicles.






Or make your own homemade pickle pops & shots.


www.delish.com...


wicklespickles.com...


www.delish.com...