What Is Known About the Health Benefits of Cucumber
Crunchy and refreshing, cucumbers are simply impossible not to like. What is known about the health benefits of cucumber? What can you use them for? Are these vegetables good for your skin? Read on and you will find out the answers to all these and numerous other questions.
What Is Known About the Health Benefits of Cucumbers
They say that there is a place for everything. Cucumbers are an excellent example of this adage: while low in calories and not rich in vitamins, they can still be used to improve your health.
Low Caloric Content That Is Ideal for Weight Loss
As water makes up more than 95% of a cucumber’s mass, it is no wonder that this vegetable does not contain a lot of energy: there are only 16 kilocalories in 100 grams (3.5 oz) of cucumbers. Nor is it packed with vitamins: vitamin K (required for normal blood clotting) is the only vitamin that can be found in this vegetable in high quantities.
Although cucumbers also contain vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and such minerals as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc, their quantities are rather low. Thus, you need to eat about 2 kilograms (or more than 4 pounds) of these vegetables per day to get your daily norm of vitamin B5, and for all other vitamins and minerals this figure is even higher.
The lack of calories is really a blessing in disguise. While it is not a very good idea to use cucumbers to gain mass, they are ideal if your goal is to shed some pounds. You can freely add them to your salads and other dishes or simply eat them as they are. They make an excellent snack and will help you satisfy your cravings and avoid hunger pangs.
In a 2016 meta-analysis of 13 studies it was found that people who eat foods that contain large quantities of water and are low in calories (just like cucumbers) are more likely to achieve a decrease in body weight.
Promote Hydration
Water is extremely important for all processes that take place in your body. In fact, the adult body is made up of about 60% water and for newborns this figure reaches nearly 80%.
While the most obvious way to keep hydrated is to drink water, vegetables can also be a good source of this life-enabling liquid. In a 2013 study it was demonstrated that children with a high fruit and vegetable intake were less prone to dehydration. Thus, if you cannot make yourself drink enough pure water during the day, keep hydrated using crunchy cucumbers.
Prevent Constipation
Insufficient fluid intake (along with a lack of physical activity and not enough fiber and carbohydrates in a diet) is a major factor for constipation. As cucumbers keep you hydrated, they can prevent constipation and help you enjoy regular bowel movements. What’s more, staying hydrated is essential for gut health and can reduce your risk of kidney stone formation.
May Help You Lower Blood Sugar
In 1995 a study on rabbits was carried out to determine the impact of various vegetables and plants on glucose tolerance as well as their general health benefits. In cucumber testing it was found that this vegetable has a marked blood sugar-lowering effect.
A similar study was conducted in 2010 on mice with diabetes. Animals who were fed with cucumber peel extract demonstrated a pronounced decrease in blood sugar. What’s more, a 2016 in vitro (carried out in a test tube) study demonstrated the health advantages of cucumbers in reducing oxidative and carbonyl stress related to diabetes.
While all these findings still need to be confirmed by extensive research on human patients, if you have diabetes, the health benefits of cucumber salad might be even greater than you believe.
May Have Antioxidant Properties
Many fruits and vegetables have pronounced antioxidant properties, i.e., they protect cells from harmful free radicals. Cucumber is no exception: in a 2015 study 30 healthy older adults were given concentrated cucumber powder for 30 days which significantly increased markers of improved antioxidant status. In a 2010 study it was determined that this plant is rich in such antioxidant compounds as flavonoids and tannins.
More studies are required to give a definite answer to a question about what antioxidant health benefits does cucumber have. Still, it looks like a vegetable salad with lots of cucumbers in it can both help you get slim and promote general health and wellness.
Contain Dietary Fiber
While such foods as, for instance, cherry and blueberry (to say nothing of avocado) are considerably richer in dietary fibers, cucumber still contains 0.5 grams of it per 100 grams of weight.
Dietary fiber carries no calories as it passes to your intestine unbroken by the stomach. Still, it makes you feel full, which additionally helps if you want to slim down and reduce your daily calorie intake.
What’s more, good bacteria that are abundant in your intestine and promote gut health feed on dietary fiber. As there are findings that intestinal health is important for the immune system, cucumbers and other dietary fiber-rich foods can help you (although indirectly) withstand infections.
Dietary fiber in cucumber is mostly concentrated in its peel, that’s why it’s better for your gut to eat these vegetables unpeeled. There is another benefit in doing this: while peeled cucumbers taste incredibly delicious (and even slightly sweet), it is the peel that helps your cucumber get really crunchy.
Can Be Fermented
Fermented (i.e., left in a salt solution for a long time) cucumbers contain large quantities of beneficial bacteria and can be used instead of probiotics. Eating fermented cucumbers is a time-tested way to improve your gut health and prevent constipation.
Still, you need to pay attention to what you are buying: pickles that are preserved in vinegar instead of salt water contain no good bacteria.
May Have Anticancer Properties
Did you notice that aged cucumbers have a bitter taste? This happens because of cucurbitacins, complex bitter-tasting compounds. Aged cucumber contains significantly more cucurbitacins compared to a new one, which is why it is not really suitable for salads.
It turns out, however, that cucurbitacins can be good for your health. In a 2013 study a hypothesis is proposed that cucurbitacins can prevent the reproduction of cancer cells. Although additional research is required, and it is very unlikely that the usual amounts of cucumbers in your diet are enough to protect against cancer, research into the properties of cucurbitacins may help create new efficient anticancer drugs.
May Help Improve Heart Health and Reduce Inflammation
Another 2015 review of the properties of cucurbitacins reports that in vitro studies of these compounds suggest that they may have anti-inflammatory potential. What’s more, cucurbitacins are now also being studied for possible atherosclerotic activity and preliminary results are very promising.
Benefits for Skin Health
Is using cucumbers good for your body’s skin? Yes, it is! These water-rich vegetables are ideal for face and body masks: they can reduce irritation and soothe your skin. Here is how you can use them:
- Peel & slice them and apply the slices directly to the skin. If you suffer from morning puffiness, try placing the slices on your eyes.
- Peel a cucumber and place the peel (wet side down) on the irritated areas.
- Peel two or three cucumbers and puree them using a blender or food processor. Sieve the juice to get a natural toner called “cucumber water.” Massage it into your face and other areas: it both hydrates your skin and helps clear the pores.
- What are alternative ways to get the health benefits of cucumber water? Mix it with an equal amount of yogurt: such a face mask is believed to be a great way to get rid of blackheads.
Allergy to cucumbers is very rare: most people experience no adverse side effects when using these masks.
If you want to save time or find the process of making such a mask a bit messy, you can buy some ready-made beauty products that contain cucumber extract.
Peel-Off Gel Beauty Mask by Freeman Beauty
- 175 ml (6 fl. oz)
- A cooling mask that peels away skin impurities
Daily Gentle Moisturizer by Yes To
- 50 ml (1.7 fl. oz)
- Calms and soothes skin using cucumbers, sweet almond oil, and Aloe Vera
Hopefully, we answered the question of what is known about the health benefits of cucumber in full. While this remarkable vegetable can help you lose weight, it is important that you use it as a part of a balanced diet and limit your daily intake of sugar. What’s more, make sure you get enough exercise as regular physical activity is one of the surest ways to control your weight.