The Power of


Pickles are a vital food for healthier digestive system and strong immunity. Pickles improve assimilation, prevent and treat heartburn, reduce flatulence, and diminish the bloated, gassy, and lethargic feeling one may experi- ence after a meal. So, don’t get in a pickle, eat them! This article is an excerpt from my book, Macrobiotic Healing Secrets.


“Pickles, Pickles, Everywhere!” Pickles are the digestive aids of the any diet wherever we live or travel. Our ancestors knew intuitively how to be healthier. Every ethnic group has its own type of pickles. The Japanese traditionally serve pickles with every meal, including breakfast. (Don’t forget that Japan has the highest longevity of any country!)


Traditionally, German people eat sau- erkraut, Eastern Europeans love dill pickles, Italians enjoy colorful “giardi- niera,” while people from the Middle East ferment pickles as a staple in


44 Organic Shopper Fall 2010


their diet. Americans surely “relish” their hotdogs, notdogs, and deli sandwiches with a pickle on the side.


“What is a Good Quality Pickle?” A good quality pickle is a vegetable that is fermented with salt or with a fermented sauce such as shoyu/tama ri, miso, or ume vinegar. There are short term pickles and long term pick- les. Commercial pickles that we buy in the store are often made with vin- egar and sweeteners and have been heated (pasteurized) when packed. Therefore, they have lost their friendly bacteria and their ability to promote intestinal flora, essential for digestion. Homemade pickles are generally of a higher quality and effectiveness.


“Peasant Food Prevails”


Can you remember homemade pickles in your grandparents’ home? When I grew up on my grandfather’s farm in Europe, I remember that he had several barrels of pickles: Pickled turnips, cucumbers with dill, and my favorite: Pickled cabbage and sau- erkraut. Large barrels in our cellar


stored several hundred pounds of sauerkraut, which we ate almost daily, increasing our consumption during the winter. On the average we each ate about onepound a week. We had sauerkraut soup, sauerkraut with beans, sautéed sauerkraut, and sauerkraut in sandwiches, and snacks. The “lowly cabbage,” this “food of peasants,” has now earned the highest kudos from the scientific community for its tremendous levels of anti-cancer nutrients. My guess is, that is why peasants were always more healthy, hardy, and fertile than the delicate royalty. Pass the sauer- kraut!


“Don’t Get Into a Pickle!” In a typical American meal, however, pickles are not frequently served. I believe this omission has led to an epidemic of digestive disorders and diseases including chronic indiges- tion and Acid Reflux. I recommend one or two slices of pickle (each the size of a quarter) every lunch and dinner, sometimes at breakfast, especially if one is healing. Avoid


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