The cucumber is often overlooked, but this valuable veggie has a lot of healing qualities that should certainly not be ignored. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and so many other things that help to nurture the body. From the skin to the seeds, here are 10 amazing healing qualities of the so very cool cucumber.
1. Cleaning Out Toxins
There’s a reason why cucumbers taste so refreshing. Cucumbers are 96% water, and the water inside the cucumber is naturally clean and distilled! Consuming them regularly is a great way to flush out toxins from the body.
2. Providing Essential Minerals
The cucumber contains many essential minerals such as manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica, sulfur, and lesser amounts of sodium, calcium, phosphorus and chlorine. Some of the known benefits of manganese include promoting healthy bone structure and bone metabolism, and helping in the development of essential enzymes for building bones. Potassium has been used in relieving strokes, lowering blood pressure, improving the heart and kidney, and enhancing muscle strength, as well as improving metabolism. Silica is said to help with regenerating the skin, as well as promoting hair and nail growth. Sulfur makes up the vital amino acids which are used to create protein for cells, tissues, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies.
3. Alkalinizing the Body
The minerals inside of the cucumber juice are alkaline and this causes the acidity within our bodies to become neutral. Many harmful bacteria and viruses cannot live in an alkaline environment.
4. Regulating Blood Pressure
Cucumber juice is said to help with regulating blood pressure. As I mentioned above, it is high in potassium, magnesium and fiber, which are great for reducing high blood pressure.
5. Increasing Hair Growth
What to increase your hair growth? Cucumber contains silicon, otherwise known as silica, and sulfur, which is said to improve and promote hair growth!
6. Dissolving Kidney Stones
Another awesome, healing quality of cucumbers is that they are best known for cleansing and clearing the kidney from stones as well as other debris. Eating cucumbers regularly is said to prevent kidney stones by regulating the uric acid within the body.
7. Providing Essential Vitamins
Cucumbers provide an excellent source of vitamins such as vitamins A, B, and C, and folic acid. Vitamin A is awesome for promoting healthy vision, skin, bones and other tissues in the body. The skin contains the vitamin A, so eating or juicing the cucumber with the skin still on is the most beneficial. Cucumbers contain vitamin B1, B5, and B7. These B vitamins are known to help to ease feelings of anxiety and lessen some of the harmful effects of stress. Vitamin C has been used to cure such aliments as the common cold, prevent cancer, and naturally level-up your immune system.
8. Soothing Skin Burns
If you have a sunburn or mild burn on your skin, rubbing cucumber juice on the affected area can soothe and help to speed up the healing of the skin. Cucumber has often been listed as one of the best natural ways to heal skin from sun damage.
9. Decreasing Inflammation
Cucumber is said to help counter uric acid which is often the cause of inflammation in joints, so if you want to bring down that inflammation, get more cucumber into your diet.
10. Aiding in Tissue Regeneration
Because cucumber is high in silica it is said to help the body regenerate connective tissues, bones, muscles, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. The mineral silica has recently been gaining attention. Now known as the “beauty mineral,” silica is said to help with improving skin elasticity.
With all the great health benefits, you get from cucumbers, you are going to want to get some more of this green in your diet. There are so many ways to prepare and consume cumbers. They are best when eaten or juiced raw. You can place them in salads, sandwiches, burritos, pastas, salsas, pesto, and many other kinds of dishes. They taste good when combined with other vegetables such as seaweed, carrots, and celery. One of my favorite ways to eat them is in seaweed salads, or sometimes I enjoy adding them to a glass of water. There are three well-known varieties of cucumber, which are slicing, pickling, and seedless cucumbers. It is highly recommended that you get them organic and wax-free if you can.
