Cucumbers are the eighth-most often consumed vegetable in the United States, which is unfortunate because the health benefits of this water rich plant are so incredible they are hard to quantify.
Cucumbers are in a family known as the cucumber family, also known as the Cucurbitaceae family that also includes squash, bitter melon, watermelon, musk melon, luffa, field melon and many others.
These vegetables are also classified as a ‘negative calorie food’ because of their high water and fiber content. The prevailing thought is that it may take more calories to consume them than the amount of calories they contain.
Cucumber Water Health Benefits
Cucumber water is a detox drink of choice for myriad reasons.
Cucumber skin is packed full of health benefits, so be sure to purchase organic cucumbers and to place the cucumbers with skin on in your cucumber water recipes.
Here are six benefits of cucumber water and cucumber skins:
- Reduces inflammation and puffiness- Cucumber slices placed under the eye constitute one of the oldest beauty tricks in the book. Cucumber skin and cucumber water can reduce inflammation and puffiness, flushing out toxins from the body and face regions.
- Tightens pores- Cucumber water helps to tighten pores, similar to using witch hazel on your face, but in a much more complete, total body and holistic way.
- Improves lymphatic health- Using cucumber as the primary component for flavoring your water can reduce fluid retention when drunk consistently. The cucumber is packed full of micronutrients that support a health lymphatic system.
- Helps with skin health- Cucumbers and cucumber skins help to revitalize the skin. Vitamins like A, B, C and E are found in the cucumber and are easy for your body to utilize quickly when consumed from cucumber water. The cooling effect of cucumbers calms and reduces skin inflammation.
- Assists in weight loss- Cucumber water is a great alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade that may contain between 36 and 40 grams of sugar per serving or more. Cucumbers provide antioxidants and vitamins. They also help to lower blood pressure for a calming effect and help to prevent cancer.
- Improves bone health- One cup of sliced cucumbers has almost 20% of the daily value of vitamin K, a vitamin that is difficult to find without eating dark green and leafy vegetables. Vitamin K improves bone health and Vitamin D absorption. It helps the body to form proteins it needs to build health tissues and bones. The shape of cucumber should be a dead giveaway — cucumbers are excellent for bone health, even though they do not contain nearly as much protein as bone broth and similar foods widely thought of as being the best for bone health.
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