pickles are loaded with salt and nitrates and probably no better for you then candy or buttered salted popcorn. .
I'm not aware of pickles having nitrates.
JFG- I went and checked my cucumber
pickles and relishes and other commercial
pickled products.
No nitrates listed. Salt yes, but way down
in the middle or bottom of the list.
Nutritional information says
Sodium 5%, so that's a minimal concern.
Cucumber pickles have been sold as a
snack for way longer than I've been around.
( remember the old pickle barrel in the
stereotypical general store?)
Many years ago when there was a local
roller skating rink, they sold pickle juice
on ice just like they would a carbonated
cold drink.
Something that may dismay some.
In this part of the world, it's mostly
black kids and youngsters that buy
those XXL pickles and eat them like a
candy bar, moreso than white kids
Once again-
EVERYTHING IN MODERATIONI don't imagine a pickle every now and
then hurts anybody or affects their health.
Not as much as those that gobble up a
pound of bacon and a half a dozen runny
eggs every morning followed with a pack
and a half of smokes and an 18 pack
by bedtime every day
Once more-
moderation