Now in our 18th year!
Page 32 Cucumbers by Suzanne Laurie Bsc (Hons) Nutritional Therapist MBANT
Spanish cucumbers came under fire last month, unjustifiably as it turns out, so I thought this was the perfect time to sing the praises of this salad favourite. We tend to throw them into a basic salad for the fresh crisp flavour they add but don’t give much thought to their health benefits….. surely they are just basically water, right? Wrong – although cucumbers are very high in water they also contain a number of nutrients and are very low in calories.
Cucumbers are actually a fruit, and belong to the same family as watermelon, courgette, pumpkin, and other types of squash. There are many different varieties, which are usually grown either to be eaten fresh or to be pickled, depending on their size. Cucumbers such as gherkins that are specially cultivated to make pickles are usually much smaller than slicing cucumbers but still contain very similar health benefits – unfortunately they do tend to be very high in sodium once pickled due to the salt added during this process.
The flesh of cucumbers is primarily composed of water. We tend to forget that if we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables then we are helping keep the body hydrated and we need to drink fewer fluids.
However cucumbers also contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, a potent antioxidant that can help prevent cancer.
Cucumbers’ hard skin is rich in fibre. The fibre is also perfectly packaged alongside the high levels of fluid found in a cucumber, which is vital to ensure that the fibre in a food does not have a blocking effect in the bowel. Unfortunately, Spanish cucumbers tend to have very tough skins, so you may need to alternate with other varieties with slightly softer skin.
The silica also found in good levels in cucumber is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone.
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