The Healthy Benefits of Cucumbers and How to Add Them to Your Diet

As the saying goes 'You are what you eat.' Eat garbage and your body shows it. Eat healthy and your body is rewarded with the benefits of great skin and a nice figure. A number of foods provide healthy benefits for your body. One of them is the cucumber.

Cucumbers have many healthy benefits for your body on the inside and out. Because they are mostly water, cucumbers aid in digestion and keep your skin hydrated. Well hydrated skin reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and gives it a healthy glow. Speaking of skin, keep the skins on the cucumbers. They contain fiber, which also benefits your digestive system. In addition to water and fiber, cucumbers also contain Vitamin C which is good for reducing skin irritations and swelling. If you are concerned with high blood pressure, take advantage of the healthy benefits of cucumbers. Cucumbers contain potassium and magnesium, and both have been shown to help lower blood pressure.

There are two primary ways to reap the healthy benefits of cucumbers. As a topical treatment, women for years have been using cucumber slices to reduce the puffiness and dark circles under their eyes. As a dietary ingredient, cucumbers can be used in a number of ways. The easiest meal to prepare with cucumbers is a salad, like my cucumber tomato salad. This salad not only allows you to enjoy the healthy benefits of cucumbers, but it also contains olive oil and whole wheat bread, both high in nutrition.

The Cucumber Tomato Salad Ingredients:

1 large cucumber
20 grape tomatoes
4 oz part skim mozzarella cheese cubed
5 tsp light olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, and basil)
1 pinch of garlic powder
mesclun salad greens
2 whole wheat pocket-less pita breads

The Cucumber Tomato Salad Directions

Dice up the cucumbers and mozzarella cheese and place them into a medium sized mixing bowl. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and add them to the mixing bowl as well. Flavor the cucumber tomato mixture with olive oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and stir until ingredients are evenly coated. Then place in refrigerator and let it season for 1 hour.

Place the pocket-less pita breads on a plate. Take a few leafs of the mesclun salad greens and cover the tops of the pocket-less pita breads. Then scoop the cucumber tomato mozzarella mixture onto the top of the mesclun salad greens. Serve with fork and knife and enjoy this summer!

Sources:

Personal experience

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42