No, Coach Thor didn’t write this article this week, he only gave me the title. I choose this topic this week for two reasons, it hits both the running side of things that I like to discuss (I have seen giveaways and pickle juice being sold at race conventions) and it hits the nutritional side; therefore it hits a lot of my “normal” subjects. And there are various festivals/events around the U.S. that makes a big dill out of everything pickled.

Let’s begin pickling itself is a method of food preserving that dates back 1000’s of years ago.  It is the process of preserving certain food (you can pickle more than just cucumbers) in an acid solution, usually vinegar, or in salt solution also known as brine. Brine is mostly made of white vinegar, sugar, salt, and water – and of course you can always add your flavor to it too with additional spices. And in the context of this article, dill pickles are made of pickled cucumbers.

Per the USDA, a small dill pickle nutrition can be-

However, we are not here to necessarily talk to pickles, it’s more of the juice.  As I previously stated, I have been to several runner conventions and they are passing it out or having it for sale.  This is because over the years, athletes have started to use pickle juice to ease cramps post-athletic event.  In the case of a runner, they use this as a supplement to replace lost electrolytes quickly various races.

Now there are more benefits to drinking pickle juice, starting with

• Ease Cramps
• Helps digestion as it is full of probiotics
• Fights disease as it is high in antioxidants
• It keeps blood sugar low
• “Cures” hangovers (take this one for what you will)
• May support weight loss as it contains a lot of vinegar and that aids in weight loss.

But with positives, there are always negatives and things to look out for when drinking pickle juice

• A LOT of salt
  • Too much salt can raise the chances of
    • Heart attack
    • Stroke
    • Diabetes
    • Kidney disease
    • Weaken your bones

Either way depending on your taste if you can handle it, the big dill is that drinking pickle juice can have a lot of positives, but be careful as the salt intake can be just as bad.