Pickle Juice Might Be the Magic Cure For Your Sore Throat You Never Knew About
I love a good home remedy and this one is right up my alley, because I’m also the friend that will eat your pickle if you don’t want it! This latest advice surprisingly does not come from the old wives tales or even social media, which seems to be the latest source for alternative medical advice. Now, you may have always heard from your granny that when you have a sore throat, gargle with salt water? So, it stands to reason that the pickle juice advice isn’t to far off base. The key to both remedies is the salt content. The science speaks for itself on this one, according to Linda Yancey, MD, infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas and our friends over at well + good .
“Any time you have a solution that is more concentrated than the fluid in our tissues, such as salt or sugar, it reduces the inflammation by drawing the water out,” she shares. And pickle brine certainly fits the bill, as it’s typically 3.5 to 5 percent salt. (Your body, meanwhile, is made up of about 0.4 percent salt.) Although this unconventional remedy can work, it’s not a one-and-done solution. “This is a minor and temporary intervention,” says Dr. Yancey. “It will bring about a small decrease in symptoms for about 10 to 15 minutes.” Though respite may be fleeting, chowing down on dill pickles or sipping up on pickle juice can be an enjoyable part of your back-to-baseline game plan—alongside drinking tea, limiting certain foods, and heeding your physician’s treatment protocol.”
Pro tip, if you have high blood pressure, be mindful of the sodium content.
I love it when science aligns with my personal snack choices. Now, remember, this doesn’t work with bread butter or any sweet pickle. This is the real dill (see what I did there?)
And if you are reading this, I hope you get well soon!
