IN A PICKLE
Dear HIW,
I get indigestion quite often. I have found that if I eat a pickled gherkin, it’s cured straight away. How does this work? I’d have thought stomach acid caused the problem and the acid in the pickle would have made it worse.
Stephen
You have stumbled across a very popular yet unexpected cure for indigestion. You are correct in your first statement that indigestion is often caused by stomach acid irritating the stomach lining. How pickles can work to fix this is to replenish the intestines and stomach with ‘good’ bacteria. Many people choose to drink pickle juice when suffering from indigestion, but eating pickles works too. The probiotic lactobacillus bacteria in pickles soothes and restores the lining of the stomach, helping to prevent further irritation.