Cucumbers

Nutritional Benefits of Eating Cucumbers

While the humble cucumber may not be considered glamorous or trendy, it’s readily available. You can find cucumbers in supermarkets around the United States. It’s a member of the plant family that also includes squash, pumpkins, and melons.

You’ll enjoy a unique mix of phytochemicals and antioxidants when you eat cucumbers. Here are some of the benefits.

  • Phytochemicals: These naturally occurring plant chemicals are what give a plant its flavour, colour, and scent. When you eat them, phytochemicals can have a positive effect on chemical processes inside your body. In the cucumber, it’s the cucurbitacins, lignans, and flavonoids that are so beneficial. They are anti-inflammatory, are antioxidants, and may help prevent cancer. Research on the cancer-preventing possibilities of cucumbers is still limited at this time, but results from lab and animal studies are positive.
  • Antioxidants. From beta carotene to manganese, cucumbers are a great source of conventional antioxidants. They help your body reduce free radicals.
  • Vitamins and minerals: Cucumbers are high in vitamins A, B, and C. A daily dose of these essential vitamins can boost your immune system, give you more energy, and keep your skin glowing. Magnesium, potassium, and silicon, also found in the cucumber, are good for your skin, too. These minerals can also regulate blood pressure.
  • Fibre: The average cucumber is 95 percent water and has a good amount of dietary fiber. This makes them a good option for maintaining a healthy weight. All of that water may contribute to the natural cooling effect of cucumbers. Sliced cucumber is soothing on irritated or sunburned skin. It also works well on internal issues like heartburn.

With their many health benefits for both the inside and outside of the body, cucumbers are a great addition to your diet. If you aren’t eating them yet, it’s time to start! If you have an aversion to the thick, synthetic wax on conventional cucumbers, peel them. You can also look for organic or baby gourmet cucumbers. From beverages to salads, you can incorporate this fruit into your weekly nutrition plan in lots of easy, delicious ways. Your body will thank you.

Benefits of Cucumber Water: Stay Hydrated and Healthy

Cucumber water isn’t just for spas anymore. More people are enjoying this healthy, refreshing drink at home, and why not? It’s delicious and easy to make.

Here are seven ways cucumber water benefits your body.

1. It keeps you hydrated.

Your body can’t function properly without water. Most people should aim to drink six to eight glasses of water per day, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. We know we’re supposed to drink water throughout the day, but sometimes plain water gets boring. Adding cucumber gives it some extra flavor, encouraging you to drink more.

2. It helps with weight loss.

If you’re trying to lose weight, replacing sugary sodas, sports drinks, and juices with cucumber water can help you cut some serious calories from your diet.

Staying hydrated also helps you feel full. Sometimes your body confuses thirst with hunger. You may feel like you’re hungry, when you’re actually thirsty.

How will you know the difference? Reach for a tall glass of cucumber water first. If your hunger goes away after finishing the drink, you were thirsty. If you’re still hungry, then you know it’s hunger.

3. It delivers antioxidants.

Antioxidants are substances that help prevent and delay cell damage from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Oxidative stress can lead to chronic conditions like:

  • cancer
  • diabetes
  • heart disease
  • Alzheimer’s
  • eye degeneration

Research has shown that antioxidants may be able to reverse or stop this damage. This is why you should each fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants. Cucumbers fall into this category. They’re rich in:

  • vitamin C
  • beta carotene
  • manganese
  • molybdenum
  • several flavonoid antioxidants

4. It may help prevent cancer.

Some early research suggests that cucumbers may help in the fight against cancer. Along with antioxidants, cucumbers also have compounds called cucurbitacins and a group of nutrients called lignans, which may have a role in protecting us from cancer. One study in the Journal of Cancer Research suggested that the dietary flavonoid fisetin, which is found in cucumbers, might help to slow the progression of prostate cancer.

5. It lowers your blood pressure.

One contributing factor to high blood pressure is having too much salt (sodium) and too little potassium in your diet. The excess salt causes your body to hold fluids, which raises blood pressure. Potassium is an electrolyte that helps regulate the amount of sodium retained by the kidneys.

Cucumbers are a good source of potassium. Drinking cucumber water helps your body get more potassium, potentially helping to lower your blood pressure.

6. It supports healthy skin.

Cucumber water can help soothe your skin from the inside out. Staying hydrated helps your body to flush out toxins and maintain a healthy complexion. Cucumbers are also high in pantothenic acid or vitamin B-5, which has been used to treat acne. One cup of sliced cucumbers has about 5 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin B-5.

7. It boosts bone health.

Cucumbers are high in vitamin K. In fact, one cup of sliced cucumbers has about 19 percent of the recommended daily value. Your body needs vitamin K to help form proteins that are needed to make healthy bones and tissues as well as to help your blood clot properly. What better way to get this vitamin than through refreshing cucumber water?

You might be familiar with the concept of using cool cucumber slices over your eyes to reduce puffiness and swelling. You may have enjoyed a crisp, refreshing glass of cucumber-flavored water before, too. But the health benefits of eating cucumbers may surprise you.

Did you know that this fruit, which is often mislabeled as a vegetable, isn’t always long-shaped and dark green in color? Cucumbers come in yellow, white, and orange varieties. They also vary in size and shape. They can be short, oval, or round with thick, rough skin. But no matter what it looks like, the cucumber is a nutritional powerhouse that benefits the body inside and out.

From smoother hair and stronger nails, to better digestion and a reduced risk of certain types of cancer, there are plenty of reasons to add cucumbers to your weekly meal plan.

Article Source: healthline