What’s the Big Dill? 5 reasons why you should be drinking pickle juice

BY ABBY REISNER   –   Tasting Table

Now that pickle juice is available in a can, you don’t have to beat around the bush with actual pickles—get right to the good stuff. Everyone seems to love pickle juice, and understandably so. There are many uses out there for pickle juice that go way beyond the jar: You can cook with it, hydrate with it or even scrub pots with it.

Some people swear it helps heartburn, or even soothes sunburned skin—we tried that with little to no success, unless you consider walking around smelling like a deli all day a plus—but there are alt uses that do actually work. Here are five tried-and-true ways pickle juice can do more than just perk up salad dressing, and why it’s so good for you.

① It’s the ultimate hangover helper. Picklebacks actually do more than provide a weird, briny buzz. The salt and water in pickle juice not only helperase the woes of the previous night, but they also help take preventive action. Pregame with a virgin shot to help stock your body with the goods it needs before the dehydrating powers of alcohol swoop in.

② It helps before a workout. The high salt levels in pickle juice make it an A+ electrolyte source, rendering expensive (and sugary) sports drinks unnecessary. Hydrate ahead of time with the stuff, and then make gains with the peace that you’re doing right by your muscles.

③ . . . Or after. Don’t put your sore legs through one more session of post-run ice-bath hell. Pickle juice is shown to help relieve workout-induced crampsnearly instantly, thanks to the vinegar and sodium. Those will also help you stock back up on everything you sweated out in spin class.

④ It gives bruises a beating. Adding vitamin C to your diet can help strengthen your blood vessels and repair damage, meaning it’s useful in preventing bruising. Tae kwon do fighters have been known to up their intake of the vitamin C-containing juice before a match to cut down on the blue-black aftermath.

⑤ It can cause a meltdown. Future snowstorms have nothing on dill pickles. Give pesky ice patches the finger by drizzling the salty juice over them. Don’t believe us? Put ice in a cup, pour brine over top and prepare to be wowed as the ice melts instantly.