Is pickle juice really a way for runners to stop muscle cramps? Or is it just an urban legend? Find out the facts in this post!
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The latest and greatest trends are always hot topics in any local running group. From beet juice (yay!) to the ketogenic diet (not my personal fav), you’re sure to hear athletes recount what’s working for them and what fell flat.
One of the newest crazes? Pickle juice for runners. Many athletes are using it as their magical drink to alleviate cramps. And believe it or not, it might actually work – but not for the reason you may think.
The research:
Now there’s actually only one peer-reviewed research study that I can find which looks specifically at administering pickle juice when cramping. Researches compared drinking water versus pickle juice during a cramp, and measured the total time the cramp lasted. Drinking pickle juice led to cramps that lasted about 49 seconds shorter compared to drinking water.
It might not sound like much, but if you’ve ever had a Charlie horse or hamstring cramp while running, 49 seconds is a looooong time. Am I right?!
In addition to this one research study, it’s thought that around 25% of athletic trainers use pickle juice to help treat cramps in their athletes – so there’s definitely some anecdotal belief in this too.
The immediate assumption by most athletes is that pickle juice must help with cramping since it’s loaded with sodium. However, research shows most cramping in runners is not associated with electrolytes. Even in a 161 kilometer ultra-marathon, impaired sodium intake didn’t seem to be associated with cramping. Instead, most cramping is actually related to neuromuscular fatigue.
Plus, if you think about the relatively immediate effect that pickle juice has, it just doesn’t make sense for it to be related to sodium. Your body wouldn’t have enough time to go through electrolyte shifts in the 1-2 minutes that you’re seeing an effect on cramping after ingestion.
So how does it work? The key ingredient appears to be the vinegar.
While the exact mechanism is unknown, it’s thought that the vinegar stimulates a reflex that causes an inhibitory response in alpha motor neurons. Essentially, these are part of the nervous system that are involved in muscle cramping. The theory is that when neuromuscular fatigue occurs, there is additional stimulation and activity of these alpha motor neurons. So if pickle juice causes an increase in inhibition of those neurons / decrease activity of those neurons, it can alleviate cramps.
A similar type of reflex mechanism is behind the use of mustard packets (vinegar) and hot shot products (pepper).
Pickle juice for runners – is it worth it? The verdict:
(Disclaimer – I’m an RD, I’m not an MD, and this doesn’t constitute medical or individual nutrition advice. This is for informational purposes only…)
If you don’t mind the taste, give it a whirl! As long as you’re using it in normal portions (most research looks at 2-4 ounces), there is likely no harm to trying it out.
While some exercise scientists and doctors have expressed concern over pickle juice related to risk of exacerbating dehydration or hyperkalemia – the research that’s available using small portions does not appear to support that. A 2009 study, a 2013 study, a 2014 study, and a 2015 study all found negligible effects on plasma volume, electrolytes, and/or dehydration risk.
Of course, don’t overdo it, and if you have any medical conditions that might be affected by the high sodium or vinegar content of pickle juice, ask your MD first.
Here are a few pickle juice products that you can grab on Amazon:
–> Pickle Juice Shots (12 pack of 2.5 ounce shots) – I like this as an option for testing the waters with pickle juice. The shots are the right size for addressing muscle cramps, and the product has excellent reviews. They’re small enough that you can throw one in a running belt pouch to carry with you.
–> Best Maid Dill Pickle Juice (1 Gallon) – If you’re looking to be a bit more economical and stock up, you can grab a full gallon of pickle juice here. It looks slightly like a container of anti-freeze, but the comments on Amazon assure me it is in fact pickle juice. 😉 If you have a fuel belt, you can consider filling up one of your bottles with this for a few sips mid-run when you experience cramping.
–> Bob’s Pickle Pops – You guys – these are freezable pickle juice ice pops! For those of you who are worried about cramps during those hot summer runs, these might be just what you need.
And of course, you could always go with the standby method of just drinking the juice right from the bottom of that pickle jar in your fridge. 🙂
Share with me: Have you ever heard of pickle juice for runners? If you’ve tried it for muscle cramps, did it work?! What’s trends have you heard about at your local running group?
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I’ve heard of runners using pickle juice but I’ve never tried it myself!
It’s definitely something more runners are talking about lately!
It really works. And if you don’t have any pickle juice a couple of tablespoons of mustard works.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Yep, both pickle juice and mustard can be used!
That is so interesting! I’ve never heard of that! Who knew! 😉
Haha, fun facts – right? 🙂
I actually love pickles but have never tried just drinking the juice. I know a few people in my group say that it works
I’m not personally a pickle fan, lol, but I’m going to have the hubby try this out because he struggles with a lot of cramps once he hits the 12-13 mile mark.
I first heard of the pickle juice thing a few years ago, and the mustard thing just recently. Unfortunately, I have not tried either because I don’t like the taste of them. (whomp whomp). I have not heard of the pepper shots, though….those sound a little more enticing 😉
I think I could do spicy mustard, but I really dislike regular yellow mustard. Let me know if you try the hot shots!
I’ve always wondered this! Lovely breakdown
Glad I could break it down for ya, my friend!
I totally predicted vinegars and fermented foods to be a health and wellness/fitness trend for 2018! Reading this made me jump up and down!
You are right on point! Definitely think it’s going to be a trend, both as far as functional uses like this as well as food-based uses.
I’m on the fence with the whole pickle juice thing. I don’t cramp often so I don’t gravitate toward those types of quick fixes, but couldn’t hurt!
Yea, if you don’t cramp often then no reason to force pickle juice or mustard down, haha. I (knock on wood) rarely struggle with muscle cramps during an event – though I have been known to have them a few hours afterwards.
This is very interesting! Great job breaking down this latest trend!
Sure thing Jess!
Intersting for sure, I love pickles and could drink pickle juice for sure.
You should give it a whirl next time you’ve got some muscle cramps going on – and come back and let me know how it worked! 🙂
I have never heard of this but I love pickle juice! Now, I have a valid reason too!!
Haha, yes! Perfect reason to try it.
So interesting! I’ll have to keep this in mind.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the post.
wow I had no idea you could just buy pickle juice! thanks for the info
Super interesting right?!
Frozen pickle pops!!! I wouldn’t go that far, but I did enjoy pickles at the rest stop of my century ride – I figured the combination of cool crunch and salty liquid was good. It hit the spot.
Haha, aren’t those so funny?! I’m admittedly intrigued. I bet the pickles were awesome at the century ride stop!!
OMG FROZEN PICKLE POPS!!!! That sounds incredible!
I am a salty runner and I do tend to cramps. I haven’t tried pickle juice yet just because it’s slightly less probable than salt packs and mustard packs (mustard also has the vinegar going for it), but I would not be opposed at all.
Thanks for sharing the data on this one.
If the mustard is working for ya, I feel like that’s definitely a bit more portable – and yes, same mechanism there!
Oh man, I don’t think I could do it! I do love pickles though!
Haha, I know people that would much rather deal with the cramp than try to down a shot of pickle juice.
I’ve seen this in the ultra running world–I can totally see the appeal after a long run!
Yes, definitely!
I feel a little sheepish about this, but I pretty much never get exercise-induced muscle cramps. I consider this a blessing.
One of my favorite sandwiches involves pickles. It’s the kind of combination that one either loves or finds disgusting. I grew up eating this, and I’m in the love column. I once called The Hubs while I was out on a really long ride and told him to make me one of these sandwiches and bring it to me. (He did.) It’s a peanut butter – dill pickle – mayonnaise sandwich. It’s tangy and salty and if I’m busting my butt it’s freakin’ delicious. (I loved them when I was a fat lazy kid, so I’m predisposed to love them as recovery fuel.) It’s the kind of sandwich that survives being shoved into a pack and it’ll survive not being refrigerated for a while, so it’s great bringing along during activities. (And yesterday, I was reminded that this sandwich will also survive being squished when I land flat on my back whilst Nordic skiing.)
Looking at it from a sports nutrition perspective, it’s a great sandwich: complex carbs from the bread (I use whole-grain whole wheat bread) & peanut butter, healthy fats from the peanut butter, and whatever good the pickles do me.
Haha, I’m intrigued / slightly scared at this sandwich. I’m going to make it and force my husband to try it first, lol 😉 But totally understand why you’d love it for long rides!
So I come from the bar industry, pickle back shots usually taken with Jameson are pretty popular right now. It’s mostly to mask the taste but also helps with hydration and keeping you sober. I’ve been itching to try this on my runs. I’m bout to run my first marathon later today so cant try it just yet but when I start up running again in a week or so I definitely will try it out.
Haha, I’ve never heard of pickle back shots before! I need to stay up to date on the trends, lol. Did you get a chance to try the pickle juice on a recent run?
Also a bar of Irish Spring soap. It has to be Irish Spring.
Place the bar of soap between your sheets & where your legs rest & will be able to rest on top of it & this will nite cramps/Charlie horses in the leg thru out the night.