The humble cucumber can keep your body cool and hydrated, even as it prevents diseases such as diabetes.
Eat them raw and you get a juicy crunch. Pickle them in brine and you have a fermented treat that will keep for months. Cucumbers, however, do more than just serve as a refreshing feature of salads, sandwiches, slaws, and cocktails. This popular produce pick, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family (along with melon, squash, and pumpkins) has been used in traditional medicine since ancient times for its unnumbered health benefits.
Cucumber is rich in
polyphenols and cucurbitacins, plant compounds that are known to be antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperglycemic, diuretic, antimicrobial, and analgesic (pain-relieving),
to name a few.
And while you may be used to thinking of cucumbers as a vegetable, the seed-bearing snacks are actually a fruit.
17 Health Benefits of Cucumber
1. Keeps you hydrated. Cucumbers are approximately
96 percent water, so they can be particularly effective at promoting hydration and helping you meet your daily fluid needs.
2. Useful for weight loss. Each half-cup serving of cucumber offers just
7.8 calories. In an
analysis, consuming high-water, low-calorie foods was linked to a significant reduction in body weight.
3. Eases osteoarthritis pain. In a
study, using 10 milligrams (mg) of an aqueous extract of cucumber twice daily proved effective in reducing pain related to moderate knee
osteoarthritis and can be used to address knee pain, stiffness, and physical functions related to the condition.
Osteoarthritis, caused by wear and tear on the joints, presently has no known cure and is conventionally managed through high doses of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs that often come with side effects.
4. Helps treat liver damage. Heat-treated cucumber juice showed a significant protective benefit on alcohol detoxification among
animal subjects, suggesting a potential use in treating liver injury due to excess alcohol consumption.
5. May lower blood sugar. A number of
animal studies show that cucumbers may effectively reduce and control blood sugar levels.
Another study induced diabetes in animal subjects, provided them with cucumber peel extract, and found that the peel reversed most of the changes associated with diabetes, causing a reduction in blood sugar levels.
7. Supports brain function. Fresh cucumbers were ground and turned into a paste of varying concentrations. The conclusion, researchers wrote in Pharmacognosy Journal: They helped
increase cognition in animal models.
8. Promotes regular bowel movement. Cucumbers are water-rich and help prevent
dehydration, a major risk factor for constipation. Staying properly hydrated can improve stool consistency, as well as regularity. The
seeds, while having a
cooling effect on the body, are used to prevent
constipation.
9. Soothes skin. Cucumber is known for its
soothing effect on skin irritations and its ability to reduce swelling. It also has the power to alleviate pain from sunburns.
11. Potent anti-inflammatory. An iminosugar amino acid in cucumber, called idoBR1, may function as an
anti-inflammatory agent, and its importance in a diet, therefore, warrants further investigation, according to a
2020 study.
13. Serves as a natural eye mask.
Research suggests that applying cucumbers to your eyes can impart a cooling effect on skin, hydrate the eyes and surrounding areas, and help reduce dark circles due to its vitamin K levels.
15. Slashes mortality risk. Beta-carotene, found abundantly in cucumber, is an important pro-vitamin A carotenoid. A
meta-analysis showed that dietary or circulating beta-carotene was inversely associated with the risk of all-cause mortality, citing the possibility of extending the human lifespan.
16. Helps combat prostate cancer.
Cucurbitacin B, a naturally occurring compound in cucumber and other vegetables, significantly and specifically inhibits prostate cancer cell growth.
17. Protects against diabetes complications. In a
study, cucumbers were able to prevent
oxidative stress and carbonyl stress, considered a safe and suitable way to protect against the complications typically observed in diabetes.