Pickle (or achar) is an indispensable part of an Indian meal. Pair with any desi food, pickle just makes it taste better. Some people even love to just relish the spicy condiment without needing anything to pair it with. From lemon to carrot, mango, chilli etc, we love to prepare pickle with almost every food ingredient. For the uninitiated, pickling is a healthy process of fermentation to preserve and extend the shelf life of food. However, there's no such hard-and-fast rule of pickling. It is more of a tradition that is passed on through generations.
Alongside offering a burst of flavours to our palate, pickles (especially the homemade ones) have several health benefits too. As per celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, pickles are touted as valuable sources of "Vit K (co-factor in absorbing Vit D), Vit A (eyesight and immunity), probiotic bacteria (live organisms that confer health benefits to the host)."
But there is a plethora of information out there about pickle that often leaves us confused whether we should consume it on a regular basis. Fret not; we have found a permanent solution to this skepticism!
Rujuta Diwekar, in her latest Instagram post, listed down some common myths and separated the facts from fiction. Let's take a look!
Also Read: How To Make Lemon-Based Pickles At Home? Here're 5 Easy Pickle Recipes For You
1. Pickle is full of salt and oil :
Fact - The gut-friendly bacteria do not grow without salt and oil. Hence, Diwekar writes that these ingredients are a must to enjoy all the benefits of a pickle.
2. The salt will cause blood pressure :
Fact - As per Diwekar, it's not the salt that causes blood pressure. It is rather our habits like lack of exercise, poor sleep and consumption of packaged, processed food that leads to high BP. "Use unprocessed jada or kala or sendha namak as per your food heritage," she wrote.
3. Oil is not good for heart health:
Fact - "Consumption of fat or oil doesn't cause heart problems, it's habits (refer to the fact related to BP above). Use kacche ghani ka groundnut/ mustard/ til/gingelly oil according to your food heritage," the nutritionist explained.
4. But pickle is unhealthy:
Fact - Pickle is a storehouse of minerals, vitamins and friendly bacteria. Diwekar recommends one to two teaspoon of homemade pickle every day to reduce bloating, anaemia, Vitamin D and B12 deficiencies. Pickle also helps promote overall gut health.