Pickle Juice Might Be the #1 Cure for Leg Cramps—Here’s How Much to Drink
Juice from dill and kosher pickles is most effective, according to research.
Charley horse cramps can be debilitating—but according to science, the No. 1 trick to stopping the pain lies within your fridge. A study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology says that juice from dill and kosher pickles can halt the sharpness and stiffness caused by leg cramps. Interestingly, it can also benefit those who suffer from intense cirrhotic muscle cramps. Here’s everything you need to know.
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What causes cirrhosis?
Cirrhosis is the result of hepatitis, severe alcohol abuse, and other diseases/conditions that cause extreme scarring of the liver. “Each time the liver is injured—whether by alcohol use disorder or another cause, such as infection—it tries to repair itself. In the process, scar tissue forms. As cirrhosis gets worse, more and more scar tissue forms, making it difficult for the liver to do its job,” explains Mayo Clinic.
Common cirrhosis symptoms include extreme tiredness, loss of appetite, ease of bruising, nausea, swelling in the legs, feet, or ankles, itchy skin, jaundice, confusion, slurred speech, and pale fingernails, per Mayo Clinic. Patients may also experience intense muscle cramping.
“Patients with cirrhosis experience a multitude of challenges, like poor sleep patterns, frailty and muscle cramps,” Elliot Tapper, MD, a hepatologist and associate professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine, said in a news release.
According to their research, two in three cirrhosis patients suffer from muscle cramps.
“We surveyed hundreds of people with cirrhosis. We found, compared to other cirrhosis-related symptoms, that muscle cramps had the highest impact on their daily quality of life,” continued Tapper. “This is worrisome, given that cramps can cause pain, interfere with sleep and significantly limit one’s mobility.”
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Research indicates that pickle juice can help alleviate muscle cramps.
Despite its commonality, treatments for muscle cramps are “extremely limited,” said Tapper. Previous research has alluded to pickle juice as a potential at-home remedy for cramping. Tapper and his team set out to corroborate this theory in regards to coirrhotic cramps specifically.
“In previous studies, just one tablespoon of pickle juice has been shown to stop experimentally-induced cramps pretty effectively,” said Tapper. “It’s the acid in the brine that triggers nerves in the back of the throat, which then turns the cramp off. So, it made sense for us to explore this new angle of cirrhotic cramps.”
However, only certain types of pickle juice are the most effective.
The 28-day study involved 74 patients aged 56 and older, all of whom had been diagnosed with cirrhosis and reported “significant muscle cramps.” Additionally, 43 percent rated their sleep quality as “poor.” They were randomly assigned to either the pickle juice group or a tap water group, the latter of which acted as the control.
At the onset of a cramping episode, participants either took a sip of water or drank one tablespoon of dill or kosher pickle juice. (Researchers omitted sweetened and bread-and-butter pickles from the experiment.) Patients self-reported the location, time, and duration of each muscle cramp.
Their findings showed that pickle juice was 29 percent more effective at improving muscle cramp severity than tap water.
“More patients in the pickle juice arm reported that their cramps were stopped by the intervention—69 percent compared to 40 percent in the tap water arm,” said Tapper, adding that pickle juice can be a “low-cost, widely available and safe first-line therapy for cirrhotic cramping.”
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Other research corroborates the findings.
A separate study, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that drinking pickle juice relieved muscle cramps in dehydrated people (dehydration is a common cause of muscle cramps).
“We suspect that the rapid inhibition of the electrically induced cramps reflects a neurally mediated reflex that originates in the oropharyngeal region and acts to inhibit the firing of alpha motor neurons of the cramping muscle,” wrote the study authors. The oropharynx is the middle part of the throat, which matches the explanation of the other study.
The takeaway:
“If there is any takeaway from this study, I want people to know that muscle cramps are quite common and patients with cirrhosis have multiple unmet needs that are unnecessarily diminishing their quality of life,” said Tapper. “These findings excite me because we have something simple here that might help. Hope is out there.”
That said, the authors noted that pickle juice “didn’t improve overall quality of life” and “couldn’t prevent the cramps.” So, in the event that your cramps or cirrhosis worsen, speak to a healthcare professional immediately.
The scarring caused by cirrhosis isn’t reversible, per Mayo Clinic. However, identifying and managing the underlying cause can help prevent further liver damage. When left ignored, cirrhosis can become life-threatening. Consult your doctor if you have questions or concerns.
