benefits and harms, contraindications, use

Cucumber composition: vitamins, trace elements, calories

Cucumber, or “sowing cucumber”, as it is translated from Latin. It is a relative of squash and melon and belongs to the Pumpkin family. It is one of our favorite vegetables on our table. In this article, we will talk about such a vegetable as cucumbers: the benefits and harms for the body. Cucumbers are not rich in vitamins and are not as healthy. They are loved for their low calorie content and taste. They mainly contain water and some trace elements. But even such a small supply of vitamins is important for humans. It contains minerals: iodine, zinc, chromium, iron, copper, manganese.

100gr of the product contains:

Protein -0,9 g;

Fat -0,2 g;

Carbohydrates -2,7 gr.

Energy value 15 kcal.

What are the benefits of cucumbers for the human body. Cucumber herb.

There are few vitamins in cucumber, but it is good for the body. The potassium contained in it saturates the tissues of the body with water and relieves swelling. Cucumbers help to saturate the body with water. The salts contained in cucumbers improve metabolic processes in the body. Cucumbers help to remove and neutralize stones and remove accumulated toxins from the body.

  • Iodine, which is present in large quantities in cucumbers, has a positive effect on the thyroid gland. Fiber and trace elements prevent cholesterol build-up and improve heart muscle function.
  • Cucumbers normalize metabolism. B vitamins and fiber neutralize sugar. Vitamin C is essential for strengthening the immune system.
  • Cucumbers are actively used in cosmetology, as they help to keep and maintain the skin young.
  • Cucumbers improve brain function. They contain flavonol, an antioxidant that makes the brain work.
  • Cucumbers are anti-inflammatory.

Cucumber grass

This perennial herb tastes like a cucumber. It is used in salads as the first greens in spring when there are no fresh cucumbers yet. Borage is rich in vitamins and minerals. It strengthens blood vessels, normalizes digestion, normalizes metabolic processes, and soothes the nervous system.

For woman’s health

Cucumbers are liked by women for their ability to remove toxins from the body, and cucumber diets are based on this. Their low calorie content is used in diet smoothies and salads and soups.

Cucumber masks rejuvenate the skin and relieve fatigue. And also help to get rid of age spots and whiten the skin.

Cucumbers with sour cream: benefits and harms. Application of the properties of cucumber in cosmetology

The cucumbers should be cut into slices and applied to the skin for 15 minutes. They will saturate it with moisture, restore cells and tone up.

With the help of fresh cucumbers, you can take care of your hair. This will help a tonic drink. To prepare it, you need to grind half a cucumber and two medium carrots in a blender, add a little apple juice. Drink this drink for 3 months and the result will not be long in coming.

Cucumber juice gives the skin radiance and beauty. Cucumber juice contains silicon dioxide. Mix fresh cucumber with spinach for a delicious and healthy salad for strengthening hair and nails. Regular consumption of salad from fresh cucumbers and vegetables will increase immunity, strengthen hair and stop breaking nails.

A cucumber and sour cream mask will help get rid of freckles and age spots, help whiten and moisturize the skin.

Cucumbers for weight loss. Cucumber diet.

With cucumbers, you can easily lose the extra 10 kg in a week. It is enough to adhere to a few simple rules:

The cucumber diet is designed for 1 week. It is important to eat cucumbers without salt. It goes well with protein foods and other vegetables.

Since the diet is low in calories, it is important to get the proper amount of vitamins. Therefore, it is advisable to add them to the diet in addition in the form of dietary supplements.

  • Salt and sugar are prohibited.
  •  There should be 5 meals throughout the day.
  • Observe the drinking regime up to 2 liters per day.
  • Domestic cucumbers are suitable for a diet. You do not need to remove the peel, it contains a lot of fiber and nutrients.
  • Cucumbers can be eaten in any form: raw, stewed, stewed, baked.
  • Finish the diet gradually, you can not go out abruptly. In the future, it is necessary to adhere to proper nutrition. Once a week, you need to do a fasting day on cucumbers.

The cucumber diet has fewer side effects than other diets.

Contraindications to the cucumber diet are: diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidney pathology, increased blood glucose levels.

Cucumber diet: menu for the week.

For pregnant women: the health benefits and harms of cucumbers

Cucumbers have a diuretic effect and relieve puffiness. The indigestible fiber found in fresh cucumber skins helps with bowel movements and prevents constipation, which women often experience during pregnancy.

Cucumbers help reduce blood pressure. Promote the assimilation of proteins and fats, quench thirst.

When breastfeeding: the benefits of cucumber for the baby’s body

It is better to refrain from eating cucumbers while breastfeeding, as the fiber content in them can provoke colic in the baby. It is better to introduce them when the baby is 1,5 months old. If mom really wants a cucumber, then a small amount will not hurt. It is necessary to carefully monitor the baby’s reaction.

For children

Can cucumbers be given to children? Definitely yes. These vegetables prevent the development of anemia due to their silicon content. Iodine is good for the thyroid gland. This healthy vegetable strengthens the immune system, muscle and bone tissues of children.

Cucumbers prevent obesity, strengthen bone tissue thanks to calcium and phosphorus, and increase protein absorption.

Fresh cucumbers can be introduced into complementary foods from 1 year. Otherwise, they can provoke allergies. When growing cucumbers, nitrates are used, therefore, when introduced into a child’s diet, fresh cucumbers must be peeled. First, it must be given in the form of mashed potatoes, then in small slices in salads, seasoned with vegetable oil without salt. From 2 years of age, you can give the crumbs pickles. It is enough for him to suck them. This is to whet your appetite.

For men

Eating fatty and high-calorie foods by men leads to obesity. Cucumbers can help you lose weight and cleanse your body. They affect testosterone production and prevent hair loss.

How can you remove the bitterness from cucumbers? Cucumber peel: benefits and harms

Bitter cucumbers can often ruin the whole dish, but don’t throw them away right away. You can try removing the bitterness from cucumbers. Why do cucumbers get bitter? The bitterness is given to them by the substance cucurbitacin. Cucurbitacin is produced in cucumbers with insufficient watering or watering with cold water, as well as temperature extremes. What are the benefits and harms of bitter cucumbers? Scientists have proven that this substance is cancer prevention, but even that does not stop us from throwing away bitter cucumbers.

To get rid of the bitterness, you can try the following methods:

  • You can soak cucumbers in sweet water with the addition of a sprig of fresh mint, oregano with dill.
  • The next method is very strange, but it works. It is necessary to cut off the butts of the cucumbers by a centimeter on both sides. Then cut the cucumber lengthwise. And rub the slices with these cut butts until foam appears, then rinse.
  • If the cucumbers are slightly bitter, then you can cut them into two parts lengthwise, salt and grate until juice appears. Then rinse with cold running water. And rub with salt again.
  • Puncturing cucumbers with a fork can also help. Cucurbitacin comes out through the holes and the cucumbers become less bitter.

Cucumber juice: benefits and harms for the human body of cucumber juice, how to cook

Cucumber juice is often used as a cosmetic product for facial skin care: for whitening, relieving inflammation, getting rid of acne and freckles.

This healthy drink can be prepared for the winter.

To do this, you will need:

  • Fresh cucumbers – 3 kg;
  • salt – 30 g;
  • cumin seeds – 10g;
  • dill seeds –10 g;
  • horseradish root – 4 g;
  • ground black pepper – 0,5 g;
  • allspice peas – 0,5 g.

Wash the cucumbers, cut into slices and soak in brine (2 tablespoons of salt for 2 liters of water). Pass the juice through a juicer to get juice. Add caraway seeds, salt, dill seeds, horseradish, pepper to the resulting juice, mix thoroughly and leave in a warm place for 3 days to ferment. After three days, cool the juice, pour it into jars and roll it up for the winter.

Cucumber juice has contraindications. It is not allowed for people with high acidity levels, stomach and duodenal ulcers, and if there are kidney problems.

Possible harm and contraindications of fresh cucumbers

With nephritis, urolithiasis and kidney failure, fresh cucumbers should not be consumed. It is also undesirable to eat them for gastritis, colitis and stomach ulcers.

Eating large amounts of fresh cucumbers causes belching, gas and heartburn.

The benefits and harms of pickled cucumbers, pickled and pickled

The benefits and harms of pickled cucumbers are obvious. Pickled, pickled, pickled cucumbers, as well as cucumber pickle are not in vain used as a snack for alcohol and with a hangover. They prevent intoxication of the body.

They act as a laxative, so it is recommended to consume it for constipation.

The benefit of canned cucumbers is to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women.

Pickled cucumbers are good and bad. They will be useful for anemia, but harmful for kidney disease, as they retain fluid.

Can cucumbers be eaten at night?

Many people think that if you eat pickles at night, then they are harmless. However, the consumption of these vegetables in the evening can lead to puffiness, wrinkled face, bags under the eyes in the morning. And gaining extra pounds overnight is easy due to fluid retention.

How to choose when buying

  • Vegetables are best bought in season, as they are loaded with pesticides in the off-season.
  • Fresh cucumbers should have a light petiole. Skin color should be green, rich, without yellow dents and traces of mold.
  • Cucumbers should be firm and firm.
  • No need to buy washed vegetables, they will quickly rot.
  • The most delicious cucumbers smell fresh, are small and have a bumpy surface.

Storage conditions

The shelf life of cucumbers is 14 days. It is best to store the cucumbers in the refrigerator, not washed and unpackaged. Fresh cucumbers do not last long because they contain a lot of moisture.

Therefore, it is advisable to salt and pickle them for the winter. There is another way to extend the shelf life of cucumbers. You need to wash them, coat them with egg white on top and hang them. Protein forms a protective film on the surface that prevents moisture from evaporating.

If you put cucumbers in a keg with a load and lower them into running clean water, where the keys beat. The main thing is that the reservoir does not freeze in winter.

Pickled cucumbers are stored at temperatures from – 1 to + 4 for no more than 9 months.

The shelf life of unpasteurized cucumbers in glass jars is no more than 7 days at a temperature of 18 degrees.

The benefits of lightly salted cucumbers. Lightly salted cucumbers in 5 minutes

Chop fresh cucumbers with a fork, put in a bag, add salt, chopped fresh dill and chopped fresh garlic. Close the bag and shake. Leave for half an hour and a delicious snack of lightly salted cucumbers is ready to eat.

The use of cucumbers in folk medicine. Cucumbers with honey: benefits and harms

With gastritis.You need to drink 1 glass of cucumber juice for a month every day. Combining cucumbers with honey will also help.

With jaundice. Cucumber broth. You will need overripe cucumbers and their shoots. Pour boiling water over and simmer for 30 minutes. Let it brew. Refrigerate and drink until completely cured.

With baldness… Chop cucumbers in a blender or grate. Rub the gruel into the scalp.

Fasting days. You will need 2,5 kg of fresh cucumbers. You need to eat them during the day without salt. Promotes weight loss.

With liver disease. Chop 100 grams of overripe cucumbers, add 100 grams of dry cucumber stalks, pour 1 liter of water and boil for 10 minutes on low heat. Take 2 tablespoons. 3 times a day before meals for a month.

With tuberculosis. Dried cucumber seeds are ground into powder and consumed 1 teaspoon 3 times a day with a little water.

For wounds and ulcers. Rinse with cucumber juice, it contains vitamin C, which is an antioxidant.

When coughing. Cucumber juice with honey in a 1: 1 ratio three times a day will reduce coughing.

In gout. 1 glass of cucumber juice once a day in the morning on an empty stomach.

Combination with other products

Cucumbers go well with meat. They help you absorb protein. A combination of bread (starchy compounds) and cucumbers is acceptable.

Cucumber salad with tomatoes is the wrong combination of products. Academician A.A. Pokrovsky in the course of research came to the conclusion that the combination of cucumbers and tomatoes destroys vitamin C. Cucumber salad or salad with fresh dill is an excellent way out of the situation.

Interesting Facts

  1. You can marinate kebabs in cucumber brine. If you grease the meat with brine, then it will not burn.
  2. From a botanical point of view, a cucumber is a fruit because it grows from the flower of a plant and is propagated by seeds.
  3. Cucumbers are 95% water.
  4. The homeland of cucumbers is India, and they came to Russia in the 16th century.
  5. The Russian city of Nezhen is a “city of cucumbers”, there is a monument to a cucumber.

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