Cucumbers Consumption – Its Health Benefits and Nutritional Value

Featured Image Caption: Cucumbers Health Benefits

Cucumbers are considered to be the world’s fourth highly fertilized vegetables and are known to be one of the perfect foods for managing body’s health. With large amount of water content, cucumbers are low in calories and are loaded with several nutritional benefits. Either eaten fresh or as pickle, they have enormous health benefits.

Nutritional Breakdown of Cucumber

1 cup of raw sliced cucumber with peel contains 115 grams of water, 0.8 grams of protein, 16 calories, 0.2 grams of fat, 2.9 grams of carbohydrate, 0.9 grams of fiber and 1.8 grams of sugar. It also contains lignans which research showed the properties for decreasing cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer.

1 cup of cucumber provides 11% of vitamin K, 4% of vitamin C, 2% of vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, manganese, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, folate, iron, calcium, phosphorous, copper and zinc.

Possible Health Benefits of Cucumbers

Rehydrates Body and Replenishes Daily Vitamins:

Cucumbers contain 95% of water, which is essentially helpful in keeping the body hydrated and at the same time helps in eliminating toxins from the body. It possesses most of the vitamins that is required by the body in a single day. The skin of the cucumber contains good amount of vitamin C (about 10%).

Skin and Hair Care:

The skin of cucumbers can be used to heel skin irritations and sunburns. Place a slice over puffy eye and its anti inflammatory properties will help reduce puffiness of your eyes, while, the silicon and sulphur content help to stimulate hair growth.

Promotes Health Joint, Relieves Gout and Arthritis Pain:

Being an excellent source of silica, cucumbers help to promote healthy joints by restoring the connective tissues. They are also rich in Vitamin A, B1, B6, c and D, Calcium, Folate, magnesium and Potassium. When mixed with carrot juice, they have proved to be helpful in reducing gout and arthritis pain by lowering the level of uric acid.

Treat Diabetes, Reduce Cholesterol and Controls Blood Pressure:

Cucumber juice contains a hormone which the pancreatic cells require for producing insulin which has been found beneficial for diabetic patients. A compound called sterols is effective in reducing the level of cholesterol. It also contains lot of magnesium, potassium and fiber that works effectively in maintaining blood pressure.

Aids in Weight Loss and Digestion:

Owing to its low calorie and high amount of water content, cucumber is an ideal supplement for those looking for weight loss. The high water content and dietary fiber are very competent in eliminating the body toxins from the digestive systems, thus promoting digestion. Its daily consumption can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.

Relieves Bad Breadth:

The phytochemicals in cucumber kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for bad breadth.

Fight Cancers:

Cucumbers are known to contain lariciresinol, secoisolariciresinol and pinoresinol. These three lignans are effective in reducing various types of cancer like ovarian cancer, breast cancer, prostate and uterine cancer.

Manage Stress:

Cucumbers contain multiple B vitamins, including Vitan B1, B5 and B7. These vitamins are known to minimize and relieve feeling of anxiety and buffer some of the damaging effects of stress.

Protect Your Brain:

Cucumbers contain anti-inflammatory flavonol called fisetin that plays an pivotal role in maintaining healthy brain. In addition to enhance your memory power and protecting your nerve cells from any age related decline, fisetin has been found to prevent progressive memory and learning disorders.