Vinegar... Very Odd Question

Vinegar is an acid, so it would weaken bones... if submerged for days on end! A couple of little gherkins once-in-a-while isn't a big deal. You may want to avoid the every day treat b/c there's a lot of salt and sugar in the brine.

I love how some people take a simple science fact and attach it to something completely illogical. My mother-in-law swears that milk consumption can cause ear infections! Yes, excess mucus can result in ear infections, but simply drinking milk doesn't!

Crazy, but at least you know they care!

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Straight vinegar causes chicken bones to soften when submerged over a course of several days, because it absorbs the calcium. It's a common kid's experiment. So unless your child is submerging her bare bone in jars of vinegar, there is no cause for alarm.

Experiment here:
http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/rubberbone.php

High levels of balsamic or red wine vinegar could have trace amounts of lead in it, that and a high sodium/sugar content are as dangerous as pickles get. Info on that here:
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/is_vinegar_dangerous_for_...

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This reminds me of some woman here on Mamapedia who PM'd me over and over trying to push her alarmist views on me with "facts" she's read in Wikipedia and some alarmist books. People can use facts to spin almost anything they want to. State a few things, and say it means "X". What they do is leave out a few other facts, because that would change the whole scenario. Simplistic thinking and the "urge" to show off how smart someone is can lead to that. In your MIL's case, she has heard a snipet like that and has turned it into gospel in her head. She really believes it, though she hasn't thought about how much sense it DOESN'T make. No one has ever told people not to feed kids all the many pickled products that are made.

So please put it out of your mind. Too much of ANYTHING is bad for all of us. Moderation and common sense is what the majority of us live by just fine!

All my best,
D.

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I think it is when it is SOAKED in vinegar not when it is ingested ... I did an internet searched on ingesting vinegar and softening bones but could not find anything to support that. I would let her have the pickles and ask your doc if you are concerned.

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I've never heard anything like that and my little girl also LOVES pickles. I asked my sister who is a nutrienist and she said she has never heard anything like that. She did throw in that there is quite a bit of sodium in pickles though.

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Unless she's removing pieces of her skeleton and soaking them in pickle brine, pickles aren't going to damage her bones.

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She could NEVER eat enough pickles, for that to happen.

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In the very short run, increasing the acidity in the blood can temporarily "dissolve" a small amount of calcium from bones and teeth. A healthy body, or one that is not frequently challenged by acidic (or acid producing) foods will correct the acidity and redeposit the calcium where it's needed.

As with all good things, think in terms of moderation. My grandson loves sour (acid) foods, but they find their way into his diet only occasionally, so he's probably fine. Two or three pickles a day may be a bit much.

A pickle is probably less acidic than an orange, half a grapefruit, or a glass of lemonade.

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Never heard that--but watch the sugar with sweet pickles and sodium with dill!

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It is an old wives tale.. I used to be told the vinegar was bad for your teeth.. so were too many lemons.. Any Dentist out there to clear that up?
..

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I thought I heard something about this a while ago, so I did a little research online (for about 5 minutes). Looks like vinegar may actually aid in the absorption of calcium. So there.

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I know to much vinegar is bad for the intestines, but is also good if not to the to much stage. I agree with the others, your MIL is full of it. I wouldn't do it as an everyday snack, but couple times a week wouldn't hurt.

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vinegar has a lot of medicinal sp? purposes i would let her have it

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Silly. Pickles are one of the few 'veggies' one of my daughters will eat (also raw onion). They both love the kosher dill spears. We do too! My husband drinks the liquid and has given it to the girls. He let one of them drink about a quarter cup! Only thing it did to her was cleanse her intestines the next day!

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No-that's not true! If it were, I would be a jellyfish at this point! I've always loved pickles and vinegary foods and now my oldest son does too. Knock on wood, I've never had a broken bone, and considering what a rough child I was and what a klutz I still am -that's amazing! My bones certainly haven't been softened by anything.

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Well, if that's what happens then my children should be little puddles of goo on the floor. :) I buy a couple of BIG jars a month and they'll usually go through both, between the four of them. They'd go faster if their father didn't prefer the kosher dills. However, gherkins do have the extra sugar so I'm not sure I'd let her have that many every day (although I perfectly understand why likes them so much; I do too!). Maybe every few days. If she wants one every day, I'd reduce it to just one to have with her mid afternoon snack. One of my kids favorites snacks is some is of my homemade crackers with cheese and a pickle. :) I'd start introducing her to all the different types of pickles out there too. And she might even like pickled veggies. My kids like pickled anything. When the pickles are gone, if they haven't already drank the juice I'll often put in hard boiled eggs to pickle them (the kids really enjoy those) or sometimes I'll put some pickle juice in a mostly empty bottle of ketchup or other condiment to help get the last little bit out.