5 Reasons Why You Should Eat Cucumbers: Health Benefits

If you choose to make your everyday diet healthier by adding more vegetables to your meals, cucumbers are a great choice. Cucumbers are widely used in traditional diets as well as spas across the world for a reason: They are good for health, especially during the summer since they are mostly made of water and important nutrients that are essential for the human body.

Here are some health benefits of Cucumber you should be aware of:

1. Keeps you Hydrated and prevents constipation

Cucumbers are a perfect blend of both fibre and water. Cucumbers are 95.2 percent water, which means that a 5-ounce serving contains 4.8 ounces or 150 ml water.Therefore, it helps to protect your body from constipation. Since constipation is caused by decreased liquid intake and dehydration, keeping yourself hydrated is essential and insoluble fibre intake should be more, which is found in cucumbers .

2. Controls blood pressure and diabetes

Cucumbers are low in carbohydrates and a source of fibre, they fit easily into a diabetes meal plan. The ADA recommends people with type 2 diabetes consume a nutritious, high fibre diet including three to five servings of vegetables a day. Fibre has many health benefits, including providing a sense of fullness, curbing appetite and helping with blood sugar control.

3. Helps you maintain a healthy skin

The flesh of the cucumber is mostly water, but also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. These acids prevent water retention, which explains why cucumbers are often helpful for swollen eyes, burns and dermatitis. They have also been shown to be effective as a potential anti-wrinkle agent in cosmetic products, protecting our skin form the effects of aging.

4. Aids weight loss

Cucumbers are very low in calories (16 calories per cup) and they also contain fibre in the skin. And foods that contain fibre can help maintain a healthy weight. Because cucumber is low in calories even with a large portion size, it's a very low energy density food. Filling your diet with such foods is beneficial for weight loss, because they'll fill you up when you're following a calorie controlled diet.

5. Helps prevent heart diseases and cancer

Cucumbers are rich in three lignans -- pinoresinol, lariciresinol and secoisolariciresinol -- that are proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Cucumbers are also high in a group of phytonutrients called cucurbitacins, which are known for their anti-cancer benefits. According to World's Healthiest Foods, lignans may protect against cancer through working with the bacteria in the digestive tract.

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