To stay healthy, you need to eat a well-balanced diet, which is incomplete without vegetables. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, men should eat at least 3 cups of veggies daily and women should have at least 2.5 cups of vegetables a day. If you do not know how to meet this standard, simply opt for cucumber juice. A cup of cucumber juice equals a cup of veggies. Include it in your diet and opt for some other veggies as well to reach your intake goals.
Cucumber Juice Benefits
Cucumber juice is full of nutrients and compounds that play a big role in keeping you healthy. Here are some of the reasons why you may want to include cucumber juice in your diet.
1. Freshen Your Breath
You can eliminate odor-causing bacteria simply by keeping a cucumber slice on the roof of your mouth for 30 seconds with your tongue. It improves your digestive system and eliminates bad breath by releasing excess heat from your stomach.
2. Improve Digestive Health
One of many cucumber juice benefits come from its water and fiber content. Your body needs 50g of fiber for every 1,000 calories consumed and cucumber juice helps you meet that target. Drinking cucumber juice may also treat your acid reflux symptoms. Eating cucumber with skin provides you with insoluble fiber, which relieves constipation and improves digestive health.
3. Help Reduce Weight
Cucumbers are a great addition to your weight loss diet because they are low in calories and make you feel full quickly. This will suppress your appetite and keep you from overeating. They also contain soluble fiber that slows down digestion and keeps hunger pangs at bay.
4. Improve Your Complexion
One of cucumber juice benefits is to make your look better. If you have been looking for a way to have a bright and glowing complexion, you should consider including cucumber juice in your diet. Its silica content promotes development of healthy connective tissues in the ligaments, muscles, cartilage, tendons, and bone. It also promotes healthy skin because it keeps your skin hydrated. The extract of cucumber is a great remedy for black circles under eyes and sunburn.
5. Boost Energy
Loaded with B-vitamins, cucumber juice serves perfectly as an energy drink. A glass of cucumber juice will provide you with all essential nutrients and water to keep you hydrated and active during the day. It is better than other artificial energy drinks because it does not make you deal with the unpleasant crash associated with other drinks.
6. Treat Hangover
It is never easy to deal with a hangover after a night of partying. Cucumber juice can fix the issue. It contains electrolytes, water, and sugars to replenish your lost nutrients and make you feel active again. It rehydrates you quickly and reduces the heavy hangover quickly.
7. Promote Brain Health
Thanks to the presence of fisetin, which has anti-inflammatory effects, cucumber juice proves extremely beneficial for your brain health. This anti-inflammatory flavonol helps improve your memory and protect your nerve cells as well. It may also help people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
8. Regulate Blood Pressure
One of many cucumber juice benefits is that it is great for your cardiovascular health and promotes better blood circulation. It has potassium and magnesium that dilate blood vessels and regulate blood pressure. Regular consumption of cucumber juice may also lower your risk for stroke and other cardiovascular issues.
9. Promote Joint Health
As it contains silica, it works great to relieve joint pain. It helps strengthen the connective tissues and relieves pain associated with arthritis and gout. If you are experiencing joint pain due to high uric acid levels, you can mix cucumber juice with carrot juice to find relief.
10. Help Manage Diabetes
Cucumber juice provides you with a hormone that helps the beta cells to work efficiently during insulin production. Quite interestingly, cucumber has a glycemic index of zero, which makes it safe for diabetics. Even though cucumbers contain carbs that may rise glucose levels in your blood, your body can digest these carbs quickly to keep the glucose level in check.
11. Lower Your Risk of Cancer
The presence of substances such as lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secosolariciresinol makes cucumber juice a great drink to prevent cancer. These substances have strong cancer-fighting abilities and lower your risk of developing tumors and cancer cells. Regular consumption of cucumber juice reduces the chances of ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer.
12. Other Cucumber Juice Benefits
- Cucumber has anti-inflammatory properties and leaves a cooling effect on your body. It also inhibits the activity of certain enzymes that cause inflammation.
- Cucumber has vitamin B5, B1, and B7, all of which help manage stress better. B-vitamins prove extremely effective in easing feelings of stress and anxiety.
- Cucumber can reduce inflammation and works amazingly well to regulate body temperature, especially after a heated workout.
- Cucumber works great for your hair and skin mainly because it contains sulfur and silicon. It stimulates hair growth and is good for your skin as well. Simply placing a slice of cucumber on puffy eyes will relieve fatigue and make you feel fresh.
- Cucumber is a great source of vitamin A and helps you sharpen your vision. Regular consumption of cucumber improves your eyesight in many ways.