Pickle Juice

Last weekend I experienced a brutal charlie horse in my calf while swimming at a ward lake activity. Luckily I was at a place where I could touch bottom, so I didn't die. I may have otherwise. The intense spazzing (?) lasted about a minute, but for the rest of the night and in the days since then I've continued to have what feels like a huge matted knot in my calf. I've been drinking tons of water, gatorade, taking warm baths and massaging it, all to no avail.

Today a friend at the Institute told me to down some pickle juice to dissolve the lactic acid buildup. I was so desparate that I went to the store right after, bought a jar of pickle spears, ate a few, and then seriously drank half the jar.

I didn't have much of an appetite for dinner afterward, but I think it helped. It's been a few hours now and the huge painful knot seems to be leaving. Whew!

A couple of weeks ago I was having persistent tummy pains that mysteriously left when I ate a bunch of Twizzlers. A friend in food science nutrition told me that licorice does something to stimulate growth in the gut lining, which is why it helped. ???

Not having health insurance has played a big part in my willingness to try some of these home remedies, so feel free to offer any good ones you know!