Who has not ever enjoyed a good cucumber salad? The cucumbers are tender vines, certainly short – lived, messy and perennial, close relatives of melons.
Especially in the hardier outdoor cultivars they can be thorny. However, we tend to prefer these fruits when they are green and unripe.
The cucumbers are from South Asia and were cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans, although the first varieties were extremely bitter and were used for medicinal purposes to culinary.
Benefits and properties of cucumbers
As surely you have already verified, especially if, as we mentioned at the beginning of this article, on some occasion you have eaten a good salad, one of the properties of cucumber is that it is a refreshing fruit that quenches your thirst.
It has a great satiating power, helping to satisfy the appetite. For this reason, cucumber is recommended both in weight loss diets itself and in people who suffer from obesity.
It is also recommended for diabetic people, because it has a low amount of sugars and carbohydrates.
In addition, we must not forget that due to its high water content it is a highly diuretic and blood purifying food, while it has certainly laxative properties. Therefore, it is equally ideal for people with constipation.
Nutritional values of cucumbers
100 grams of edible part provide:
- Kilocalories: 13
- Carbohydrates: 2.2
- Proteins: 0.6
- Total fat: 0.2
- Fiber: 0.9
- Cholesterol (mg): 0
- Vitamins: (A, retinol: 28 / B1, thiamine: 0.02 / B2, riboflavin: 0.03 / B3, niacin: 0.2 / B6, pyridoxine: 0.04 / C: 8 / E: 0.1).
- Minerals: (Sodium: 8 / Potassium: 141 / Calcium: 15 / Phosphorus: 23 / Magnesium: 8 / Iron: 0.5 / Fluorine: 0.02).
