Cucumber Nutrition
In Traditional Chinese Medicine Cucumber is a food with exceptional healing power.
Cucumber has a heating or cooling or neutral effect on the body’s temperature: It is cooling, meaning it has the effect of cooling the body. This is literal…you will feel cooler if you eat enough cucumber. Let’s say at 80 degrees, you normally feel hot. A short while after eating cucumber you will feel like it is 77 degrees instead of 80.
Taste: Sweet
Healing Properties:
1.Clears the body of toxin, cleanses and purifies the blood. Very helpful in detoxing the body for any conditions of toxicity.
2.Benefits and strengthens the heart
3.Strengthens the Spleen-pancreas organ combo.
4.Moistens and cleanses the Large Intestine. It also kills tapeworms.
5.Moistens the Lungs for lung dryness for those who live in or are traveling in hot or dry climates
6.Benefits the skin. A pack of grated cucumber placed on the skin brings healing to the cells and tissues of the face. The juice of cucumber will accelerate the healing of burns and wounds.
7.Aids digestion, especially when in pickle form. Aids specifically in the digestion of meat
8.Clears heat from the body. Alleviates fevers and summer heat, prevents heat stroke.
9.Benefits the kidneys and bladder. Treats kidney and bladder infections.
10.Benefits the eyes. If placed over the eyes it relieves hot, inflamed, swollen, dry or otherwise irritated eyes.
11.Benefits any inflammatory condition due to heat in the body such as inflammation and burning of the stomach, conjunctivitis, sore throat, acne, inflammatory skin conditions, and discharges or oozing sores or wounds.
12.Calms the mind…lifts depression.
Acid/Alkaline Producing Effect on the Body:
Cucumbers are amazingly alkalizing which is of tremendous value if your body is too Acidic. You need to get your body back into a slightly alkaline state if you want to be healthy.
Modern Scientific Cucumber Nutrition Information:
Amazing Cucumber nutrition…Cucumber is loaded with water (about 96%) that is naturally distilled, which makes it superior to ordinary water tap water.
The cucumber contains the minerals manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica, sulfur, and lesser amounts sodium, calcium, phosphorus and chlorine.
It also is an excellent source of Vitamins such as A, C, folic acid and many B vitamins.
Its skin contains a high percentage of its vitamin A, so should not be peeled off, it should be eaten or juiced with the skin intact.
List Of Health Conditions That Modern Science Says Benefit From The Powerful Nutrition of Cucumber:
Here is what Cucumber Nutrition can do for you…
When the body is too acidic: The alkalinity of the minerals in cucumber juice effectively neutralizes acidity.
Blood pressure: Like celery, the juice of the cucumber helps regulate blood pressure.
Connective tissue, building: Being high in silica it helps the body regenerate connective tissues, bones, muscles, cartilage, ligaments and tendons.
Cooling: During dry and hot weather, drink a glass of cucumber and celery juice. It cools the body literally.
Diuretic: Cucumber juice is diuretic, encouraging urination. The juice also helps dissolve kidney stones.
Fever: Because of its cooling properties drinking cucumber juice will help lower fever.
Inflammation: Cucumber helps counter uric acid that are often the cause of inflammation in joints.
Hair growth: The silicon and sulfur promotes hair growth. Drink it mixed with carrot, lettuce or spinach juice to increase this function.
Puffy eyes: For people who wake up in the morning with puffy eyes, lie down and put a slice of cucumber on the eyelid of each eye for at least ten minutes. This will reduce the puffiness.
Skin conditions: Applying cucumber juice or paste to skin will heal many skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, etc.
Sunburn: Gently rub cucumber juice on the affected area for a cooling and healing effect.
Ulcers: Due to its alkalinity and other healing properties…cucumber soothes and heals stomach and duodenal ulcers.
Water retention: Due to its diuretic properties it removes water from the body.
Cucumber Juicing Considerations:
Cucumber is clearly a valuable vegetable and is easily juiced using either and centrifugal or gear type juicer.
I love adding cucumber to any combination of carrots, celery, cabbage. What a powerful healing potion these make.
Beyond Cucumber nutrition to the practical selection, use and storage criteria.
Choose cucumbers that are dark green in color and firm to the touch. Don’t buy or select cucumbers that are yellowish or are wrinkled at either end or soft anywhere as they are beginning to rot.
Cucumbers stored in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator will retain their freshness for up to a week.
Cut cucumbers should be kept wrapped up in plastic or put in an air-tight container and will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Cautions:
Whenever possible, buy organic cucumbers as cucumbers may be waxed or be covered with pesticides. If you buy non-organic cucumbers, at least wash them under cold running water and scrub them gently with a vegetable brush.
It might help also to soak it for 5-10 minutes with 1-2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.
I prefer to soak fruits and vegetables I suspect may have been treated with pesticides by soaking in water with several drops of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide with is almost guaranteed to eliminate the pesticides.
Health Benefits of Cucumbers: Growing Your Own
Here are 15 health benefits of cucumbers to encourage you to grow your own:
- Being 96% water, cucumbers are great for keeping you hydrated.
- Cucumbers relieve heartburn and hot skin after sunburns or just spending the day in the sun. They are also full of skin-lavishing minerals like magnesium, potassium and silicon, and are used in spa treatments all the time for this reason.
- They flush out toxins effectively, and may even help dissolve kidney stones.
- Cucumbers are full of antioxidants – especially vitamins A, B, and C that boost immunity and give you more energy when you are feeling lethargic.
- Cucumbers can help you lose weight by offering great nutrition and high-water content.
- Slices of cucumbers on the eyes can reduce puffiness and redness.
- Several studies show that compounds in cucumbers help to fight cancer.
- They stabilize blood pressure.
- They refresh the mouth and gums, while even healing diseased gums.
- Cucumbers aid in digestion due to their fiber and water content.
- Silica is great for the hair, nails and skin – so cucumbers are a beautifying food.
- Cucumbers can soothe joint pain due to their high levels of antioxidants.
- This great food lowers uric acid levels, making it a potential solution for those with gout. (Check out other home remedies for gouthere).
- Cucumbers support the pancreas for insulin production, so they are great for diabetics.
- They reduce bad cholesterol due to the presence of plant sterols.