Cucumber is one of the oldest vegetable crops in the world. It still grows wild on the slopes of the Himalayas. Cucumbers were used in ancient times in Egypt, Greece and Rome. In Poland, cucumber has been known for over 400 years. There are about 100 species of this tasty green vegetable grown in the world. The nutritional properties of cucumber are small, but these deficiencies are made up for by many other beneficial properties for our body, not only taste. The green cucumber season will start soon.
Cucumber is more than 90% water, which is why it is a vegetable highly recommended in all slimming diets. This is the most important of cucumber benefits. It allows you to get rid of excess water from the body, has a negligible amount of calories, so it definitely facilitates their burning. It has a diuretic effect and removes excess toxins from the body. Cucumbers contain small amounts of vitamins, the largest percentage of which is located in the skin. There are vitamins A and C, folic acid and a small amount of vitamins from group B and K. On the other hand, cucumber is valuable due to the alkaline compounds it contains, which effectively prevent dangerous acidification of the body. Cucumbers are recommended in the treatment of various diseases related to the urinary tract, heart, swelling and rheumatism. It’s all thanks to the potassium contained in the cucumber. It is also recommended for constipation and diabetes. In folk medicine, it was used to treat tuberculosis.
Cucumber contains the poisonous enzyme ascorbinase, which destroys vitamin C. It is because of this enzyme that you should not combine cucumber with tomato, because even a small amount of it will destroy all the valuable vitamin C contained in the tomato. This defect can be neutralized by acidifying the environment – that is, if we are making a cucumber salad, add a small amount of balsamic vinegar to the sauce. Sometimes it happens that the cucumbers we buy are bitter and it has nothing to do with which side we start peeling it from. Cucurbitacin is responsible for the bitter taste, and its levels increase when the cucumber is grown in drought. Cucurbitacin also has a positive effect in cancer prevention.
Cucumber also thanks to its fragrance, large amount of water and soothing properties is a great cosmetic used as an ingredient of masks, creams or as a fragrance note in perfumes. Due to the same pH reaction as our skin, it has a toning, moisturizing, soothing, softening and refreshing effect. It soothes irritations after sunbathing, soothes swollen eyelids and brightens dark circles under the eyes. Cucumber can be used by people with oily, dry or combination skin. Cucumber slices have a good cleansing and disinfecting effect on blemishes. Cucumber has been used thousands of years ago as an astringent and anti-wrinkle agent.
Fresh cucumber can be not only an ingredient of salads, sandwiches or other snacks. It is a great addition to water. It turns up its taste, enriches the taste and can have a positive effect on our body. Cucumber water is an excellent alternative to flavored waters for summer heat. It does not contain sugar or any other harmful compounds. It allows us to refresh from the inside, hydrate, help slimming, cleanse the body and provide an additional portion of vitamins and minerals.
Therefore, in the upcoming cucumber season, let’s eat cucumbers with skin like apples, drink easy-to-prepare and cheap cucumber water, and use cucumbers as a panacea for our skin. This inconspicuous, green vegetable will bring us only benefits.