Eating seasonal foods is always recommended to benefit your health, your pocketbook and also to take care of the environment. We tell you the properties, benefits and how to use cucumber in the kitchen that finds its best time for these months of the year.
The properties of cucumber
Cucumber is a vegetable concentrated in water (more than 90%) and therefore has a high moisturizing power and a very reduced caloric intake.
With less than 15 calories per 100 grams, the cucumber offers in addition to water a low proportion of carbohydrates, fiber and vitamins as well as various minerals. Among the latter, the vitamins of group B stand out, such as folic acid, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium It can vary in proportions according to whether it is grown in a greenhouse or in the field.
Its polysaccharides may have antioxidant effect in the body by capturing oxygen free radicals as has been proven. Likewise, cucumber, like other vegetables of the curcubitáceas family, has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties due to its polyphenol content.
The health benefits of cucumber
Because it is a very light vegetable with a high water content as well as minerals that behave as electrolytes in our body: potassium, calcium and magnesium; cucumber turns out great useful to promote hydration and also to include in diets that contribute to lose weight.
Its content of antioxidants and phytochemicals that can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body tells us about the benefits of cucumber to prevent various metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and others, as long as it is included in the framework of a varied diet along with other healthy lifestyle habits.
To get fiber without a lot of calories and to increase the volume of different dishes this vegetable can be very helpful. Its seeds can be ingested without problems and therefore we can obtain from them a positive effect on the intestinal flora that has a favorable impact on health.
The athletes or those who are looking for a hydrating food that helps to replace both fluids and electrolytes lost in a physical effort, can obtain great benefit by consuming cucumber.
How to use cucumber in the kitchen
It can be consumed raw without inconvenience even with your skin, after a previous adequate washing. But also can be cooked or dehydrated Without this implying the loss of phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity from the organism.
We recommend to include cucumber in our usual diet, make some chips to enjoy as an aperitif or between meals a salad with cucumber, a carpaccio, the traditional gazpacho or some other cold cucumber cream, or prepare a crunchy grilled baby cucumber of seeds with high fiber content.
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