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Thinking NutritionAuthor: Dr Tim Crowe
Thinking Nutrition is all about presenting the latest nutrition research in plain language and then translating this into what it means for your health. Dr Tim Crowe is a career nutrition research scientist and an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian. Tim has over 30 years of research and teaching experience in the university and public health sectors, covering areas of basic laboratory research, clinical nutrition trials and public health nutrition. He now works chiefly as a freelance health and medical writer and science communicator. Language: en-au Genres: Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Pickle juice for muscle cramps: effective remedy or sports myth?
Episode 138
Monday, 2 February, 2026
If you’ve ever been stopped dead in your tracks during exercise by a muscle cramp, you know you’ll try almost anything to make it stop. There have been countless theories and remedies put forward to explain and treat a dreaded muscle cramp, but science still has a bit of catching up to do. But there is one particular treatment that has been gaining traction by athletes as a secret weapon to treat cramps. And it is one that sounds more like a pregnancy craving than a sports supplement: it is pickle juice. Is this just another passing fad, or is there actual science behind downing a shot of pickle brine to uncramp a muscle? In this podcast episode, I’ll cut through the noise to look at the evidence and the surprising mechanism of how it may work and spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with electrolytes.Links referred to in the podcastPickle juice ingestion in electrically induced muscle cramps https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19997012AIS fact sheet on pickle juice https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/supplements/group_b/tastants/transient-receptor-potential-channel-agonistsEpisode transcriptTo access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.comConnect with meInstagram doctimcroweFacebook Thinking NutritionX CroweTim
