This 1 Type Of Pickle Is Significantly Healthier For Your Gut
When a food is as wonderfully crunchy, salty and sour as pickles, it’s easy to assume it’s not very good for you. But if you’re feeling guilty over your daily kosher-pickle-on-the-side habit, you might want to give yourself a pat on the back instead. As it turns out, certain kinds of pickles can do wonders for your health.
Is your pickle naturally fermented or not?
Two cucumbers went off to the pickle factory. One was naturally fermented in salt and water, then ended up in the refrigerator case in a grocery store. The other pickle was plopped in a vinegar mixture and pasteurized, then sent to the middle shelves of the same store.
Which is the pickle that’s better for your gut? It’s that naturally fermented one, not the vinegar-based, heat-processed one that’s sitting on the shelves. If you want to find a fermented pickle quickly, head to the refrigerator case and read the label. Look for words like lacto-fermented or cultured to find the fermented kind. Any type of pickle could be fermented, including half-sour, kosher dill and garlic dill. But read carefully, because you might see similar descriptions on non-fermented types, as well as descriptions like quick, sweet and bread and butter.
If vinegar is listed on the ingredient label, you’re not holding anything fermented in your hands. Some non-fermented pickles hang out in the refrigerator case, so you’ll need to check, or look for the brands listed in the marketplace below.
Why are fermented pickles so great?
The key to these pickles’ goodness is what happens during the fermentation process, explained personal nutrition coachSarah Pelc Graca. “The natural fermentation process allows beneficial bacteria, likelactobacillus, convert sugars into lactic acid, creating a tangy, probiotic-rich food.”
The process can give your gut a boost, Pelc Graca said. “Fermentation is beneficial for the gut biome, because it helps introduce healthy bacteria into the digestive system, which can aid in digestion and support a balanced microbiome. These probiotics can help improve gut health, enhance your immune system and even aid in reducing inflammation.”
Research has shown that live active cultures, like the ones found in fermented pickles, are a great addition to a diet, said registered dietitian nutritionistSharon Palmer. She explained that those cultures in fermented foods may help boost the diversity and quantity of friendly bacteria in our gut microbiome. “More friendly bacteria in turn may help reduce inflammation, support immune health and reduce risk of certain chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cancer,” she said.
In addition to bringing in more of the good stuff, those bacteria can also block some bad stuff, too. “Good bacteria in the gut’s microbiome also help maintain an adequate gut pH, which equates to a less hospitable environment for harmful bacteria to grow and take over,” said registered dietitian Trista Best.
Shelf-stable pickles are fine, just not as gut-friendly.
If you’re wondering about those shelf-stable, non-fermented pickles, the reason they don’t have those beneficial bacteria is simple: it’s the vinegar. “The vinegar kills the naturally occurring bacteria, which prevents fermentation,” Pelc Graca said.
While that doesn’t make them super gut-friendly, they’re still a fine food, experts said. Certified nutrition consultant Allison Gregg said, “Pickles found on the shelf and not naturally fermented are not bad, per se, but they don’t provide any of the health benefits provided by naturally fermented pickles. They also tend to contain many artificial preservatives, and some tend to be high in added sugar, both of which can negatively affect gut health.”
But they still taste good and are fine to eat in moderation, experts advised. “While they may not provide probiotics, they can still be flavorful and may offer small amounts of vitamins like vitamin K,” Pelc Graca said.
Read labels and watch your sodium.
You’ll want to check to make sure you’re getting the gut-friendliest pickles, experts said. And you can also rely on how things look in the pickle container. Nutritionist Scott Baptie suggested that you “look for the words ‘naturally fermented’ on labels, then the check for some cloudy brine in the container, because that’s where all the probiotic action is.”
Baptie did mention one downside of pickle consumption, calling their potential for high sodium content “the salty elephant in the room.” He said, “One spear can have a sizable hunk of your daily recommended intake of salt, which isn’t good for those trying to limit their sodium intake.”
Finally, remember that pickles are just one food of many different ones that should be part of your total diet. “Eating a wide variety of plants every week, at least thirty different kinds, is associated with better gut health,” Gregg said. “If eating pickles or other fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut leads you to eat these plant-based foods more frequently than in their raw state, then go for it. The more plants the better.”
