Amazing Health Benefits of Cucumbers

Cucumbers are not one of my favorite foods, but that doesn’t mean I’m not trying to get them in my diet more often.

Odds are, cucumbers aren’t your favorite either (but if you’re a pregnant woman, then perhaps pickles are??), but they’re super easy to find and they don’t taste like much so perhaps getting a few more of them in your diet throughout the week is something you can manage.

I would hope so, especially when you see just how beneficial they can be for us.

Apart from being easy-to-find, by weight they are also one of the most inexpensive foods sold in the grocery store, which also means they’re one of the best for bulking up on without hurting the pocketbook.

And, if you’re so inclined, you can also grow them easily in almost all of the U.S.

Now, without further ado, let me show you why cucumbers are such a great vegetable to add to your diet.

8 Reasons To Eat More Cucumbers

1 - They Help Keep You Hydrated:  If you’ve ever wanted to increase your water intake without drinking more, then eating cucumbers is a pretty good path for making sure you’re amply hydrated. 1 cucumbers is approximately 96% water which means by eating more of them throughout the day (or week) you can avoid becoming dehydrated.

2 - They Can Help You Lose Weight: I know you’ve heard me say it before, but managing your weight is one of the best ways to preserve your health. With cucumbers being mainly water, eating a few servings a day will keep you hydrated which can also help you manage your weight.

Most people aren’t aware that what they assume to be hunger is actually thirst in disguise. Which is why if you eat a few servings of cucumber a day you can get more water (as mentioned in point 1) in your diet and stave off hunger. And you can do that without fear you’re going to add inches to your belly since a half-cup serving of cucumber is only 7.8 calories.

You may be surprised to know a study found that when people eat foods like cucumbers (high-water, low-calorie foods) in greater amounts it led to significant reduction in body weight,

3 - They May Help With Joint Pain- Joint pain is a chief complaint of the older population and for many of them the reason behind their aches are likely due to diet.

The good news here is that there are studies to show consuming cucumbers may help ease osteoarthritis pain. A study found that using 10 milligrams of an aqueous extract of cucumber twice daily reduced pain related to moderate knee osteoarthritis.

You definitely won’t find studies around Oreos doing th same thing. 

4 - They May Strengthen the Liver: Your liver play a major role in detoxification. Part of what the liver depends on when it does its job is proper water intake, and it also depends on nutritive compounds to assist in neutralizing and excreting toxins.

Studies indicate that heat treated cucumber juice (why it was heated I’m not sure) could help to improve liver function and even help with staving off the effects of liver damage associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

5 - Diabetes Could Be Treated with Cucumbers: If people across the United States decided to eat more cucumbers (and fewer sugary foods)  then I suspect we may see a decease in the incidence of type II diabetes nationwide.

The reason why is because cucumbers could help to lower blood sugar levels.

There have been more than a few studies in animal studies to show that cucumbers (among other plant-based foods) are highly effective at balancing blood sugar levels

In 1 study subjects were given an extract of cucumber peel and were seen to have a reversal in symptoms associated with diabetes, resulting in a reduction in blood sugar. 

6 - Cucumbers Could Help Fight Cancer: It’s not at all uncommon to hear that a plant harnesses the power to help fight cancer. In the case of cucumbers, researches have detailed the aqueous extract of cucumber contains bioactive compounds that exhibit anticancer activity which means eating them regularly may be a path forward with cancer fighting. 

Additionally research into cucumbers has shown there’s an  iminosugar amino acid in cucumber, called idoBR1, that may function as an anti-inflammatory agent, according to a 2020 study.

7 - They Can Help With Heart Health: There’s a series of compounds in cucumbers called cucurbitacins that researchers believe may help to prevent a serious heart conditions called atherosclerosis.

On top of that, because cucumbers may help boost the body’s resistance to oxidative stress and carbonyl stress, some researchers are saying we could consider cucumbers as a safe and suitable way to protect against the complications typically observed in diabetes.

8: They Are High in Essential Vitamins: Cucumbers are nature’s vitamin store. They are high in beta-carotene, a form of vitamin-a which is linked to lowering the risk of all-cause mortality. 

They are also a great source of vitamin K, with a half-cup serving providing 8.53 mcg of vitamin K. Supplementing with vitamin K1 (the type found in cucumbers) and K2 can reduce the incidence of fractures among postmenopausal women.

Best of All, You Can Grow Them Yourselves

One more thing that I think you ought to know is that cucumbers are super easy to grow.

Which is important when you look at the price of produce and food, and realize how vulnerable we are to food shortages.

Cucumbers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the United States. They are a warm-season crop that grows quickly and will yield a great deal of produce when properly cared for.

Cucumbers can be grown in almost any region of the United States, as long as the soil is well-drained and the plants receive plenty of sunlight. They can be grown in vegetable gardens, raised beds, or containers on a patio or balcony.

To grow cucumbers, start by planting the seeds in the spring, after the last frost. The seeds should be planted about one inch deep, with two or three seeds per hole. Once the plants start to grow, thin them out so that only one plant remains per hole.

Cucumbers require regular watering to keep the soil moist, but not waterlogged. They also benefit from fertilization every few weeks, using a balanced fertilizer.

Pests and diseases can be a problem for cucumber plants, but they can be prevented by keeping the plants healthy and using organic pest control methods.

Cucumbers are ready to harvest anywhere from 50-70 days after they’re planted and a cool thing is regular harvesting encourages the plants to produce more cucumbers.