Cucumbers – Nature’s Magic Wand for the Entire Body

Cucumbers are a readily available fruit that often gets little respect for its health and healing aspects. For instance, have you ever heard someone say, “Not feeling well? Go eat a cucumber!” Regular cucumber consumption can benefit your health in various ways including your kidneys, skin, hair and connective tissue.

Cucumbers are also high in fiber (the skin), chlorophyll and is also known to help regulate your blood pressure. Not bad for what some might describe as a bland tasting fruit with little or no texture. Let’s take a closer look at what your body might be missing out on each time you decide to pass the cucumber stand at your local farmer’s market or grocery store.

Cucumbers and Kidney Health

Cucumbers are a natural diuretic because they are largely comprised of water (95%) and contain significant amounts of Potassium, Sodium and Phosphorous, which helps to naturally eliminate uric acid. This combination of elements neutralizes blood acidosis which is a primary cause of kidney stones. Your kidneys catch many of the substances which can’t be broken down by the rest of your body and it’s important to keep it healthy and in fine functioning order over your entire lifespan. Cucumbers are also known to contain properties which are able to break down various proteins, so it has the ability to cleanse the intestinal tract as well. Cucumber drinks are especially effective in cleansing the entire bodily system.

Cucumbers and how they help your Skin and Hair

Cucumber skin contains Silica which helps in the natural formation of collagen. Collagen is a protein which helps strengthen certain connective tissues such as skin (70% of skin is made up of collagen), tendons, bone, hair and cartilage. The silicon combined with the cucumber’s sulfur content makes it especially helpful in promoting hair growth when the fruit's juice is consumed on a regular basis. As a topical solution (conditioning rinse) the cucumber also helps hair, especially naturally curly hair, maintain its elasticity. So you see this one fruit has quite a positive effect on a wide range of body parts.

Why Put Cucumbers on your Eyes?

Often you will see people at the spa, in movies or magazines with Cucumbers over their eyes. The reason is multifaceted… After a late night out, cucumbers come in handy when you are trying to reduce puffiness. Cucumbers maintain a high degree of ascorbic acid which combats water retention. The silica found in the cucumber’s skin also helps reduce dark circles under your eyes and at the same time will help the skin to be smooth, soft and more pliable. Apply a sliced cucumber to each eye, wait about 5 minutes and you will see improvement.

There are many types of cucumber face masks which can be made a home for little cost. So the next time you are about to purchase an expensive skin cream or lotion do a little research and you will be sure to find a 100% natural alternative which may be more convenient and more effective. If you do choose to make your own mask always try to use organic vegetables which do not contain any types of pesticides.

My Favorite Cucumber Drink

Cucumbers also make a great cleansing drink. If you have access to a juicer, I recommend the following Cucumber, Carrot and Beet Juice dink as a way to detoxify by cleansing your internal organs.

2-3 Carrots
½ Cucumber
½ Beet (including greens)

Drink the juice immediately after it comes out of the juicer because its antioxidant properties will immediately start to diminish as soon as the fruit is liquefied.

Start in small quantities (3-4 ounces), especially if you have never juiced before, as initially you may notice the need to visit the bathroom more frequently. You may drink larger quantities over time depending upon the response of your body. Try working up to two drinks a day (1 in the morning, 1 at night) if your schedule permits, and over time you will see a drastic improvement in the way your body feels.

This is the type of drink you can consume over extended periods of time without any long term side effects. After you try this recipe for a couple of weeks you can back off a bit taking in the drink just one time a day or every other day depending upon your results and affinity for the drink’s taste.

3,000 years of Cucumber Cultivation and Counting…

Cucumbers have been used for health, healing and cosmetic purposes for more than 3,000 years. Our fellow earthlings may not have known why Cucumbers are so effective in healing so many maladies but the fruit eventually became an essential part of society throughout India, China, Europe and the Americas. The Romans liked cucumbers so much that they even created artificial ways to produce the fruit year round. As you can see, Cucumbers deserve much respect. So add this fruit to your daily routine and you too can benefit from its many subtle powers.

Namaste,

San Dan Yi