Pickled Vegetables: A Favorite Dish but Extremely Harmful for These 4 Groups of People!
No matter how delicious pickled vegetables may taste, these groups should stay away.

Pickled mustard greens and eggplants are a rustic dish that often appears on Vietnamese dining tables. The preparation is simple: vegetables are cleaned and soaked in saltwater (sometimes with vinegar and sugar) until fermented, creating a mild sour taste that makes them ready to eat. Pickles can be eaten directly as a side dish to balance flavors, or used as an ingredient in popular dishes such as sour soup or stir-fried intestines with pickled mustard greens.

Benefits of Eating Pickled Vegetables

From a nutritional perspective, pickled vegetables can provide protein and essential amino acids. They also contain vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins (B1, B2), vitamin PP, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

The fiber in pickled vegetables supports digestion and helps prevent constipation.
They also provide beneficial probiotics for the digestive process. At the same time, pickles stimulate the appetite, making meals more enjoyable.

The Harms of Eating Pickled Vegetables

Although pickled vegetables bring certain health benefits, they also have downsides.

This dish usually contains a high amount of salt (to preserve the pickles and prevent spoilage). However, excessive salt intake can increase the risk of high blood pressure, kidney disease, and stomach cancer.

Who Should Not Eat Pickled Vegetables?

1. People with high blood pressure
Pickled vegetables are high in both salt and fermentation enzymes. For people with hypertension, this high salt content increases sodium absorption in cells, leading to water retention, vasoconstriction, and eventually higher blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure poses serious health risks.

2. People with stomach problems
Pickles are acidic due to fermentation. For those with stomach disorders, eating pickled foods may damage the stomach lining, cause bloating, worsen acid reflux, and trigger gastritis or ulcers.

3. People with kidney disease
For people with kidney failure, managing daily salt intake is extremely important. Consuming salty foods such as pickled vegetables can cause hypertension, water retention, swelling, and false weight gain, all of which severely affect kidney treatment.

4. Pregnant women and young children
Pregnant women often have sensitive digestion, especially during morning sickness. Pickled foods can irritate the stomach, causing discomfort, bloating, and nausea.

In addition, pickles contain a high amount of salt, which is not good for both mother and baby. Commercially sold pickles may also lack food safety standards and contain additives, posing further risks.

As for children, their digestive systems are still immature. Fermented foods like pickles are not suitable for them, and the high salt content is especially harmful to their health.