Most of us have opinions on cucumber, mostly involving the words tasteless, bland, and kind of pointless.
But although it has a mild taste, cucumber is anything but boring and there are quite a few great reasons to eat it.
To begin with, cucumber masquerades as a vegetable, but it’s a fruit really. Interesting, isn’t it?
Other than that, cucumber is packed in with a surprising amount of protein, both in the flesh and in the peel.
Cucumber also has no fat, very few calories and plenty of water, making it perfect for good hydration and weight loss support.
And if you’ve missed out on cucumber because you think it’s useless, then it’s time to rethink.
Eating cucumber is super healthy for you, inside and outside, every day. Cucumber can also have some protection against cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
First are all the beneficial body improvements that you can anticipate when you start eating one cucumber a day.
You will love , but maybe you can secretly enjoy above all else!
Disease Protection
Cucumbers contain a lot of antioxidants, molecules which can prevent oxidative damage in the body.
They bind with unpaired electrons called free radicals and neutralize them to protect you from problems such as chronic disease and premature aging.
Indeed, free radical damage correlates closely with heart and lung disorders, cancer, and autoimmune disease.
If you eat cucumber on a daily basis, you’re upping your antioxidant intake, especially the powerful variety of flavonoids and tannins.
One research that supplemented the diets of 30 older adults with cucumber powder showed that the level of antioxidant activity was substantially increasing from baseline numbers for each group.
Better Hydration
Clearly we all understand the value of hydration, but many of us fail to really drink enough water every day.
You might get too distracted or you maybe don’t think about it.
Whatever the reason, this is a concern because water plays a critical role in controlling temperature, metabolism, physical health, and eliminating waste.
A consistently low dehydration level can have a significant impact on your overall health.
The good news is that eating water-rich foods like cucumber will help you get more water in your diet.
Both fruits and vegetables contain a substantial amount of water, but in fact, cucumber is 96 percent water.
For relatively little effort that can give you a huge gain in hydration.
Studies suggest that increased intake of fruit and vegetables increases the hydration status.
In fact, getting up to 40 per cent of your daily hydration needs from food is perfectly appropriate.
Potential Weight Loss
In reality, the humble cucumber provides many means of weight loss in conjunction with other improvements in lifestyle-the the consumption of added sugars being the chief among them.
Cucumbers support as they have very low calories with a high fiber quality. Eating them will make you feel complete and happy without tons of carbohydrates spiking in weight.
If you eat a whole cucumber every day, just 45 calories (and no fat) will be taken, but you will obtain large quantities of protein, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, potassium and manganese.
But don’t let the water forget. Studies show that eating a high-water-packed diet is correlated with a substantial reduction in body mass.
Lower Blood Sugar
Uncontrolled blood sugar is the cause behind diabetes and the Type 2 type is especially linked to high-sugar diets.
Physicians now recognize that even though you don’t have full-blown diabetes yet, constant elevated blood sugar levels place a considerable strain on the body and dramatically increase the risk of developing the disease.
This disease is called prediabetes and without even understanding, hundreds of thousands of people have it.
It’s only wise to take action now to regulate blood sugar. Several animal tests and test tubes suggest that cucumbers can have the ability to lower blood sugar levels and defend themselves against diabetes.
One animal research investigated the effects on blood sugar levels of many different foods, and it was found that cucumbers decreased these.
Another animal study concluded that extract from cucumber peel can reverse diabetes-associated changes with the disease in mice.
Bowel Regularity
One wants to think about it but constipation is a major (pun intended) bummer. Lots of factors, including heat, dehydration and bad diet, cause constipation.
But don’t be afraid, eating cucumber daily may help to keep you regular. It contains a lot of water as we know it, which helps to loosen stool and make it easier to move.
The fiber also offers an assist in cucumbers. In cucumbers the specific form is a soluble fiber called pectin.
Studies show that pectin improves the stool (which actually makes it easier to remove) as well as speeds up intestinal muscle movement and feeds the healthy gut bacteria that we rely on to help digestion.
Conclusion
Cucumbers are healthy, refreshing, free of fat and high in fibre. Some people find them bland because of their mild taste but we prefer to call it versatile!
Cucumber pairs well with leafy greens and just about any vegetable you may think of.
They can be blended into smoothies, fruits, and soups for a health boost you’ll barely taste about.
And with such a mild natural taste, cucumbers very nicely take on more strong flavors. Pickles, huh?
Eating at least one cucumber each day will set you up for some essential health benefits.
For example, as well as maintaining hydration, you can possibly lose pounds, achieve digestive regularity, lower blood sugar, and minimize the risk of contracting some diseases like cancer.
We should have said it’s a good problem to have!
