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RAF474: Pickles · Running: A FEVER

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  This is the
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  Padua Podcast Network. Running: A FEVER Episode
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  474 Pickles. Welcome to Running a Fever.
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  My name is Michael Davis, and this is a
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  show about fitness, diet, and medicine. My
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  goal is to live a long, healthy, happy
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  life right up to the very end. It's all
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  about living long and loving life. So, we
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  have a long life ahead of us, so let's get
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  started. A few episodes ago, I mentioned
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  pickles. Episode 444. I'll play that clip
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  for you now. I haven't had a really good
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  pickle in a long time. You guys like
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  pickles? something in the comments today.
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  I don't know why I was thinking that.
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  Sometimes your brain acts in weird ways
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  and just reminds you of the flavor of
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  something. That's what I had. Flavor of a
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  spicy pickle. I used to like those Clausen
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  pickles they keep in the cooler section of
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  the grocery store. Ate those for a while.
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  Probably the best pickles I ever had. I
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  was Visiting, this family had us out for
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  dinner, and a lot of the people in this
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  town had gardens, and they would can their
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  stuff, and they'd eat it during the
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  winter. This particular guy had this spicy
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  pickles. I wish I had the recipe, not that
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  I would be able to make it, but delicious,
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  very spicy, homemade pickles. And I can't
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  see anything wrong with pickles
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  health-wise. Certainly a vegetable, a
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  low-calorie food. May lose some of its
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  nutritional value in the pickling process,
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  but do a whole episode on pickles.
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  Healthy, tasty snack. Or garnish. Or side.
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  A lot of places they give you a pickle for
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  free. Seem to do that at catfish places.
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  Or delis. I mean, if you go to like a real
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  traditional deli and order a sandwich,
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  they'll give you a pickle with that.
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  Sometimes you have to pay for it. I
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  remember I had one of those in Annapolis
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  when I was there. Chick and Ruth deli.
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  Chick and Ruth. So here it is, the episode
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  on pickles. We're gonna go through the
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  definition of a pickle, the history of
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  pickles, the health and diet aspects of
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  it, production, varieties, I don't know.
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  We're going pickle crazy today and I don't
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  care if they take me away in a straight
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  jacket, I'm gonna talk about pickles. What
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  is a pickle? What is a pickle exactly,
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  precisely? According to Webster's
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  Dictionary, merriam-webster.com to be
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  exact, a pickle can be several things.
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  One, a solution or bath for preserving or
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  cleaning, such as (a) a brine or vinegar
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  solution in which foods are
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  preserved. (b) any of various baths used
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  in industrial cleaning or processing.
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  Number two, a difficult situation. For
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  example, this quote from Robert Louis
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  Stevenson. I could see no way out of the
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  pickle I was in. Number three, an article
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  of food that has been preserved in brine
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  or vinegar, specifically a cucumber that
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  has been so preserved. In Scotland, a
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  pickle can also mean a small quantity of
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  something. In fact, the phrase, in a
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  pickle, from the second definition is
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  attributed to William Shakespeare. It
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  first appeared in his play, The Tempest,
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  in Act 5, Scene 1, in which the character,
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  Tranculo, says, I have been in such a
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  pickle since I saw you last. In the 16th
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  and 17th century, the term pickle referred
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  to a salty or briny solution used for
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  preserving food. So being in a pickle,
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  metaphorically, meant being in a difficult
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  or troublesome situation, much like being
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  steeped in something unpleasant. I
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  generally just think about the pickled
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  cucumber. But apparently, that's no limit
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  on the vast scope of pickledom. It can be
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  anything. Eggs. Peppers. You know, Peter
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  Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
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  That old saying. Well, how could they be
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  pickled if he's just now picking them?
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  Doesn't make any sense. It's a senseless
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  saying. So let's talk about the history of
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  the pickle. Sometime years ago, people
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  started pickling things. Why? Well,
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  pickling is actually one of the oldest
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  methods of food preservation, dating back
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  over 4,000 years. The earliest evidence
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  comes from Mesopotamia around 2400 BC,
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  where cucumbers from India were preserved
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  in brine. And pickles were a huge part of
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  the history of the world. In ancient
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  Egypt, pickles were eaten by workers
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  building the pyramids for nutrition and
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  preservation. In Greece and Rome, pickles
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  were considered a delicacy. Even Cleopatra
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  reportedly credited pickles for her
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  beauty. Did you hear that, ladies? Pickles
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  make you more beautiful. Who'd have
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  thought? In medieval times, pickling
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  became essential in Europe for preserving
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  vegetables through the harsh winters. This
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  time in the 1300s, there was a period
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  known as the Little Ice Age, when bodies
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  of water were frozen for months and entire
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  cities were buried in snow. And starvation
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  was truly a thing, so you can see the
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  importance of preserving food. Moving on
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  to modern times, in the 16th century,
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  pickles came to America, north and south,
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  with the European explorers. By the 19th
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  century, commercial pickling grew with the
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  rise of glass jars and vinegar-based
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  recipes. Today, pickling includes
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  fermentation-based methods like
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  traditional dill pickles and quick vinegar
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  pickles spanning global cuisines. When I
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  go to the store, I see two major brands,
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  Mount Olive and Vlasic. The Mount Olive
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  Pickle Company was founded in 1926. It
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  started in Mount Olive, North Carolina as
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  a small brining operation. It then grew
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  into the largest independent pickle
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  company in the U.S., producing over 110
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  million jars annually. It is still
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  family-oriented, whatever that means, and
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  still headquartered in the town of Mount
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  Olive in North Carolina. Vlassic was
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  founded in 1933 and began as a family
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  dairy business in Detroit before shifting
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  to pickles. The company became famous for
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  its glass-packed pickles and the iconic
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  Vlasic Stork mascot introduced in 1974.
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  Today, it's one of the most recognized
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  pickle brands and is owned by ConAgra.
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  Let's talk about the science of pickling.
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  Pickling is a method of preserving food by
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  immersing it in an acidic solution, like
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  vinegar, or through the fermentation that
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  produces acid, usually lactic acid. This
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  creates an environment where harmful
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  bacteria can't thrive. The two main types
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  of pickling are vinegar pickling, or quick
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  pickles, and fermentation pickling, aka
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  traditional pickling. Vinegar pickling
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  uses acetic acid from vinegar. Acid lowers
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  the pH to around 4.6 or below, which
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  inhibits spoilage microbes. It's often
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  combined with salt and spices for flavor.
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  Fermentation pickling uses salt brine to
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  encourage beneficial bacteria like
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  lactobacillus to convert sugars into
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  lactic acid. This naturally lowers pH and
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  creates probiotics. Now, if you want to
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  know more about probiotics, look at
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  episode 423, which you can access in audio
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  and video form at runningafever.com slash
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  423. The science behind these methods
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  includes, one, pH control. Acidic
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  environments prevent pathogenic bacteria
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  like Clostridium botulinum from growing.
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  Number two, osmosis and salt. Salt draws
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  water out of the food and microbes,
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  dehydrating those pesky, harmful
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  organisms. Number three, microbial
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  competition. In fermentation, good
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  bacteria out-compete bad ones, producing
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  lactic acid and preserving the food. Why
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  does this work? Low pH plus high salt
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  equals a hostile environment for spoilage
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  organisms. Anaerobic conditions, no
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  oxygen, and brine further protect against
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  unwanted microbes. Okay, this is a diet
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  department episode, so let's talk about a
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  diet of pickles. Okay, we've got our
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  pickles, should we eat them or not?
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  Pickles can be both beneficial and
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  detrimental to your health, depending on
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  how often and what type you eat. Here's a
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  breakdown. Here are the health benefits.
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  Number one, most pickles are very low in
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  calories and fat, making them a light
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  snack option. Number two, pickles are a
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  source of vitamins and minerals, including
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  vitamin K, which is important for bone
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  health and blood clotting, vitamin A,
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  vision and immune support, and small
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  amounts of calcium, potassium, and vitamin
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  C. Number three, cucumbers and some spices
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  in pickles contain antioxidants like beta
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  carotene, which may help reduce risk of
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  chronic diseases. Number four, fermented
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  pickles have probiotics. Naturally
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  fermented pickles, not vinegar-based,
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  contain beneficial bacteria that support
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  gut health and digestion. Number five,
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  electrolyte replenishment. Pickle juice
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  can help restore electrolytes after
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  exercise and may relieve muscle cramps.
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  What about the health risks? Here they
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  are. Number one, very high sodium. A
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  single large dill pickle can have over two
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  thirds of your daily sodium limit. Excess
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  sodium can, A, increase blood pressure, B,
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  worsen heart disease risk, and C, cause
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  water retention and kidney strain. Number
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  two, there is sugar in sweet pickles.
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  Sweet varieties often contain added sugar,
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  which can contribute to weight gain and
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  blood sugar spikes. Number three,
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  potential gut irritation. Eating pickles
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  daily may irritate the gut lining and
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  worsen conditions like edema or kidney
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  dysfunction in sensitive individuals.
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  Number four, cancer risk due to high salt
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  diet. Diets high in salted preserved foods
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  have been linked to increased stomach
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  cancer risk in some studies. For a ton
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  more info, go to the blog post at
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  runningafever.com slash 474 to find links
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  to the Cleveland Clinic, WebMD, and
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  others. So what's the bottom line?
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  Occasional pickles are fine. They add
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  flavor and some nutrients, but daily or
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  large amounts are risky. especially for
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  those with high blood pressure, kidney
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  issues, or heart disease. The best choice?
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  Naturally fermented pickles with reduced
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  salt, eaten in moderation. They are
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  delicious, but don't overdo it. As I said,
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  there are some references in the blog
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  post, so check that out to learn more.
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  Thanks for listening. I hope you found
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  this episode enlightening. Remember, if
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  you got the fever, keep it burning. If you
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  don't, catch the fever. And I will talk to
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  you next time on Running a Fever.