Cucumbers are mostly made of water, which makes them low in calories, but they come packed with many nutritional benefits. Those are good reasons to devour fresh cucumbers in your salad, on toast, or in a smoothie.
The moisture-rich anatomy of a cucumber consists of vitamins K, C, A, magnesium, potassium, anti-inflammatory substances, and of course, water—96 percent. You can eat cucumbers every day to stay hydrated, support overall heart health, fight inflammation, reduce the effects of aging, and more.
Dehydration can often cause nausea, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, weakness, palpitations, headaches, and constipation.
Cucumbers are an excellent way to hydrate because their high water content comes with mineral salts and vitamins that replenish your entire body—including that hungry part in your belly.
Cucumbers are especially helpful for Type 2 diabetes because cucumbers contain substances that help the pancreas to produce more insulin in the body, which helps diabetics process sugar.
Also, cucumbers contain fiber, which helps slow down the sugar spikes that diabetics are prone to.
Celery-cucumber juice and cucumber salads can help curb the symptoms of diabetes while stimulating more insulin production in the body.
Studies have found vitamin K helps build bone strength and enhancing calcium absorption in the body. It also plays a major role in preventing blood clotting, which has a direct impact on overall bone health.
For bone metabolism and maintaining proper calcium balance, consuming higher doses of vitamin K is required. Cucumbers are a delicious way to do that.
The cucurbitacin B in green cucumbers contains powerful cancer-suppressing properties that prevent cancer cell proliferation.
Cucumbers also contain lignans that contribute to the prevention of certain cancers, including prostate cancer, estrogen-related cancer, and breast cancer.
Inflammation can be mild or severe and can lead to cancer, arthritis, fever, and heart disease. The vitamin C and beta-carotene in cucumbers are natural anti-inflammatories that can lower the risk of chronic disease and keep blood pH levels normal.
Cucumbers can activate hair cells for proper growth. You can apply cucumber juice on your hair, add cucumber slices to every meal, and have fresh cucumber juice with breakfast.
The vitamin C, fiber, and minerals present in cucumbers also accelerate hair growth.
The most effective remedy for a proper bowel movement is plenty of water and fiber intake. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources and cucumbers are a natural laxative.
To prevent or treat kidney stones, you have to reduce the intake of oxalate-rich foods like spinach, chocolate, fried potato chips, and beets. And make sure to drink lots of water.
One of the best ways to prevent kidney stones is to drink lots of cucumber fruit juices. Cucumber is known as a natural kidney cleanser that cleans toxins from the blood. They also offer incredible resistance to renal damage.
Cucumbers are a good source of magnesium and water, which are two elements for treating migraines. Magnesium deficiency in the body contributes to various cognitive conditions such as depression. The only way to prevent or control this is by encouraging a regular dose of magnesium to regulate better magnesium absorption in the body. As a matter of fact, headaches are triggered by many factors including stress, low blood pressure, and dehydration. So consuming cucumbers helps on many fronts.
Cucumbers are rich with anti-inflammatory compounds, including flavonoids that are powerful pain-reducing substances. They restrict the proliferation of free radicals in the body and that leads to less pain, though they do not cure the cause.
As a natural antioxidant, cucumbers suppress the symptoms arising from irregular cell metabolism. The tannins in cucumbers also contribute to this by lowering the risk of increased release of free radicals in the body.
You can consume cucumbers raw, in salads, crushed, spiralized, or blended. They keep you healthy from the inside out. If that’s not enough, they’re good for reducing cholesterol, they soothe muscle and joint aches, reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, and prevent tiredness and dehydration. There’s so much to benefit from with so little.
So it’s time you throw lots of fresh cucumbers in your shopping basket the next time you visit a supermarket.