Why Your Diet Needs More Fermented Pickles

Maybe you heard somewhere that pickles are a “superfood,” and dutifully added them to your shopping list. Unfortunately, you may reach for the wrong jar, because many pickles at supermarkets aren’t especially good for you. Scientists have made progress in separating fact from fiction when it comes to health claims about pickles: both the cucumber kind, and other types of pickled vegetables. We asked experts how to find the healthiest kinds of pickles, which benefits are backed by research, and the right amount to eat every day. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Pick the best pickle Most of what you find at the grocery store—in both the refrigerated and room-temperature sections—are “quick pickles,” meaning the cucumbers (or other pickled vegetables) are acidified in a vinegar-based broth for no more than a few days. Some of these quick pickles are also heat-processed to make them last longer on store shelves and destroy pathogens that could make people sick. This process is called “pickling.” But what you really want are fermented pickles. During fermentation, the vegetables sit in a salt brine for several weeks. This leaves enough time for healthy bacteria, or microbes, living on the cucumber’s surface to act on the sugars inside the vegetable, converting them to lactic acid. The process gives pickles their tangy flavor while killing off other bacteria that could spoil them or harm you. A...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news