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Pickles are usually something most people eat as an afterthought. You go to a picnic and decide to add a pickle to go along with your potato salad and hot dogs. Or, you get a few slices of limp pickle on your take-out fast food hamburger.

Well, it's time to give that jar of pickles sitting in your kitchen cabinet a little more respect.

Pickles are growing in popularity as a great tasting low calorie snack food. According to the trade association, 67 percent of American's eat pickles.

Richard Hentschel, executive president of Pickle Packers International, states that, pickles are naturally low in carbohydrates. The average dill pickle contains only 5 calories and zero grams of fat. These statistics do not apply to sweet pickles, which contain sugar.

Pickle manufacturers are creating trendy new flavors by adding ingredients like: citrus, lemon, apple cinnamon, and hot peppers. If you're adventurous, you may want to try one of these new flavors. If not, stick with the good ole tried and true low sodium kosher dill.

So go ahead and indulge in a crunchy dill pickle, an absolutely guilt free snack that never goes out of style.

**A Little Known Benefit of Pickle Juice

When I was young, like a lot of kids, I enjoyed drinking pickle juice out of the jar. Most people pour it down the drain. If you're an athlete or work out, you may wish to keep that juice.

Pickle juice is a folk remedy for cramps. That's right. Many athletes, coaches, and trainers will tell you that if you drink 2 ounces of pickle juice before a workout or game, this will stop you from getting muscle cramps.

If you are going to try this at home, make sure you check the salt content. If you are on a salt restricted diet, check with your doctor first to make sure pickle juice is okay for you to drink.