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Football Players Say Pickle Power Packs a Punch
By Gay Frankenfield, RN
WebMD Feature Reviewed By Aman Shah, MD
Sept. 19, 2000 -- While training over the long, hot summer, pickle juice was the Philadelphia Eagles' first line of defense against heat cramps. Since then, other NFL and college teams have picked up on the power of the pickle. But does it work for amateur athletes? Maybe, but experts advise you to drink lots of other fluids, too.
Pickle popularity perked up when the Eagles' head trainer, Rick Burkholder, used his secret weapon on the Dallas Cowboys. The unrelenting Texas heat affected only a few of the Eagles, yet, many of the acclimatized Cowboys had to sit out. In fact, Philadelphia running back Duce Staley rushed for more than 200 yards, breaking a 50-year-old record.
His impressive performance even prompted a potentially prosperous partnership. Soon after the Dallas game, Vlasic Foods announced that it would supply pickles to the team, properly pairing two venerable Philly birds -- the Eagle and the Stork. Lately, even Bulldogs have been seen sipping the briny beverage at the University of Georgia in Athens.
But just what gives pickle power its punch? "It's all about salt," says sports medicine specialist Lewis Maharam, MD, who serves as medical director of the New York Marathon. "You lose a lot of salt from your blood when you sweat, which can cause cramping in hot and humid conditions. And pickle brine has much more salt than traditional sports drinks."
Still, "salt loading" with pickle juice is only an adjunct to good hydration, Maharam tells WebMD. "Pickle juice is a port in a storm during the summer months, but it's definitely not a replacement for sports drinks. Before marathons, I just advise athletes to add salt to their food," he explains. At Nashville's Vanderbilt University, football team physician Kurt Spindler, MD, orders salt tablets for the training table.
But other experts say you may not need extra salt at all. "While acclimatizing to heat and humidity, adding salt to food might not be a bad idea," says Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, an assistant professor of kinesiology and director of athletic training education at the University of Connecticut in Stours. "But low sodium isn't the only factor in heat cramps."
As lead author of the National Athletic Trainers' Association position paper on fluid replacement, Casa tells WebMD that fatigue also comes into play. "It's very possible that the Eagles were just better conditioned than the Cowboys," he says, suggesting a reason for the team's recent away-game success.
Even so, drinking pickle juice while you're working up a sweat probably isn't harmful, unless you happen to be on a salt-restricted diet. But does the potion really pack a power punch for perspiring players?
"I've gotten a lot of questions about pickle brine in the last few weeks, but it's not a panacea. The Eagles are just adding two ounces to sports drinks, and I'm not at all sure that a placebo effect can be ruled out," says Casa, explaining that the athletes who are downing the salty stuff may just think it's enhancing their performance.
"The best way to prevent cramps during competition is to drink plenty of fluids before and during the event, especially in the summertime," he advises. But in preparing for battle, perennial pickle partakers Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, and Vince Lombardi couldn't all have been wrong.