Got a Sore Throat? Chug Some Pickle Juice
The next time you've got a sore throat, try reaching for a nice tall glass of PICKLE JUICE. (???) Seriously, it might make you feel better.
The advice comes from an infectious disease specialist, who says it works due to the high salt content. Pickle juice is up to 5% salt. Here comes the science . . .
Your body is only 0.4% salt. So any liquid with a higher concentration than that tends to draw water out of your tissue and reduce inflammation. It happens with sugar too, which is why tea and honey can also help.
If your throat is killing you, drinking a little pickle juice should alleviate some of that pain, but just temporarily. It might only give you 10 to 15 minutes of relief. (So maybe take some Advil and chase it with pickle juice?)
It's not a great tip for people with high blood pressure, since pickles are loaded with sodium. One spear has 33% of the sodium you're supposed to have in a whole day.
But for anyone else who wants to try it, bread-and-butter pickles don't have as much salt. So dill pickle juice works best. Or . . . and this is nuts . . . maybe just gargle with salt water like a normal person.
Originally posted on March 13th, 2024