Hello everyone this is Monica Reinagle and you're listening to the

nutrition diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous

Keith writes with a question about pickles and whether they can be a good source of nutrition.

Here in Japan, he writes, pickles are a staple on the winter menu and I'm told they're a good

way to get your veggies in the winter

when fresh vegetables are out of season. Would you agree? And my answer to Keith's

question is an unequivocal, it depends. Pickling is a time-honored way of preserving foods for an extended period of time without

refrigeration.

Traditionally, it was used to ensure a food supply during times when fresh food would be

unavailable, such as over the winter or on a long voyage.

And you can pickle just about anything, fruits, vegetables, even meat and fish.

In a nutshell, the idea of pickling is to create an environment that's inhospitable to the microbes and enzymes that would normally cause food to decay, as well as to prevent the growth of microorganisms that could make you sick.

This is usually done using a combination of salt, acid, and or fermentation with friendly lactobacillus bacteria.

Spices, oil, or sugar can also be added to enhance the flavor.

In traditionally fermented pickles, the sour taste is a result of natural acids that are produced by the bacteria during fermentation.

Other methods skip the fermentation and just use vinegar instead.

And vinegar has some unique benefits of its own.

Now the claim that vinegar helps you burn fat is

true but only on a technicality. The acidic acid in vinegar can increase your

fat-burning metabolism, but as I talked about in a previous podcast can increase your fat burning metabolism.

But as I talked about in a previous podcast,

this effect is so small that it's unlikely to translate into any noticeable

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