Dill pickles, with their tangy and unusual taste, may not be a staple on your grocery list. However, you might want to reconsider. Incorporating pickles into your meals can actually afford a number of different benefits to your health. Learning some of these benefits pickles offer is a great place to begin.

Antioxidants

The bright green color of pickles isn't without purpose. A part of what gives them their color are carotenoids and lutein, organic pigments naturally found in pickles. When they are consumed they are converted into vitamin A and serve as natural antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your body against free radicals.

Free radicals can run rampant in the body and cause cellular damage, which increases your risk for illness. Antioxidants limit free radicals and keep your body healthier. Eating a pickle or pickle preserves is a great way to gain this antioxidant protection. Drinking the juice from a pickle can also extend this benefit.

Diabetes

For the millions of people who suffer from diabetes, finding food choices that can help keep their blood sugar stable is imperative to their health. Spikes in blood sugar levels can increase the risk of organ failure and a number of other complications. Dill pickles are a great diet addition that can help keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Pickles have a low glycemic index. The lower the glycemic index of a food, the lesser an impact the food has on your glucose level, which is an integral part of keeping them steady. However, it's important to note that this is only the case when eating a dill pickle. Eating a sweet preserved pickle may have an opposite effect on your blood sugar level.

Weight Loss

If one of your health goals is to lose some excess weight you've been carrying around, pickles can help you with this goal. A 1-cup serving of homemade dill pickles carries less than 20 calories. If you were to replace one 150 calorie snack with a serving of pickles, four times a week, you could cut more than 500 calories from your diet within a single week.

Since weight loss involves calorie deficit, you will be well on your way.  Making your own dill pickles is relatively easy, and they last for a considerable length of time.

Pickles sometimes get overlooked when it comes to healthy options; however, if you're looking to improve or maintain your good health, adding pickles into your diet is a great choice.