We are all used to seeing cucumber in the occasional salad or as part of a health mask, but did you know that there are actually compelling reasons to make it a regular part of your diet?
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It’s true, this tasty fruit (and yes it is technically a fruit and not a vegetable) comes packed with a range of health benefits. Despite this it usually plays second fiddle to popular fruits, such as strawberries, watermelon and grapes, but check out the following reasons why cucumber deserves your attention.
1. Offers Great Hydration
Thanks to the fact that cucumber consists mostly of water and electrolytes it is a great way to stay hydrated. This makes it especially tasty during the summer and adding it to a glass of water is the perfect way to increase consumption.
2. Provides Fresh Breath Confidence
Not many foods will leave you with fresh breath, but cucumbers can do the trick. Because cucumbers are great for the production of saliva, which is effective for getting rid of bacteria, they will help to get rid of bad breath.
3. Helps To Manage Stress
Stress is an inevitable part of our daily life, but thanks to cucumbers there is no need to give in to anxiety. One of the ways to combat stress is B vitamins and you’ll find plenty of these in cucumbers. This means that regularly munching on cucumbers can help to reduce some of the damage stress does to the body.
4. Decreases Blood Pressure
Cucumber is rich in potassium, which means it is a great food for decreasing blood pressure. The potassium decreases the effects of sodium and is recommended as part of a healthy diet.
5. Assists With Weight Management
Since cucumbers have such a high water content it also means that they are very low in calories. By snacking on cucumber throughout the day you don’t have to starve yourself and can still eat until feeling full, but without piling on the calories.
6. Protection From Certain Types Of Cancer
There has been numerous studies done about the effects of cucumber on especially breast cancer and the results are quite positive. Korean, Greek and Swiss studies all found that there appears to be a correlation between the consumption of cucumbers and protection against breast cancer. This appears to be thanks to the caffeic acid found in cucumbers.
7. Maintain A Healthy Brain
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has performed studies which show that a flavonol, called fisetin, is able to protect the brain against dementia, Alzheimer’s as well as memory loss related to aging. Since this flavonol is found in cucumbers, adding that to your daily diet will help to maintain a healthy brain.
8. Strengthen Your Bones
Although it is a fact that the bones in our bodies become less dense with age, this doesn’t have to be the case. Part of the reason why bone density is lost is due to the silica in our bodies that are lost through aging. Since cucumber is packed with silica it offers a tasty way to replenish this component and keep connective tissues strong.
9. Eliminate Toxins
It might not contain as much citrulline as watermelon, but cucumber still packs enough of this organic compound to assist with ridding your body of toxins. Citrulline is effective at ridding your kidneys and liver of ammonia, which is produced as a by-product when our bodies burn protein constantly in order to supply us with energy.
These are all purely the benefits that come from eating cucumbers every day, but as we all know they are also useful for beauty treatments, so keeping a supply of healthy cucumbers ready at all times is a win-win solution.
