The Health Benefits of Cucumber and How to Use it as a Natural Remedy

Cucumber is one of the oldest and most beloved vegetable crops. It has been known as a food source for over 5000 years. Cucumber seeds have been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.

Cucumbers are primarily consumed as fresh and pickled vegetables.

In this text, we will briefly introduce you to all the medicinal properties of cucumbers and ways to use them for medicinal purposes.

Cucumber is a rich source of vitamins A, B1, and C, as well as various essential salts and minerals.

Cucumber is the most effective agent for eliminating water from the body. Therefore, it is recommended to consume it in large quantities exclusively as fresh for treating heart and kidney diseases where fluid flow and elimination of excess liquid are crucial.

Cucumber possesses the property of dissolving uric acid. A number of kidney and bladder stones are formed due to uric acid, and abundant and regular consumption of fresh cucumbers will effectively dissolve them. This is also one of the easiest ways to eliminate them.

Freshly squeezed cucumber juice that is not salted (which is important in this case) effectively cleanses the body and blood from excessive amounts of acidic substances. This juice will cleanse your intestines, kidneys, lungs, and skin. Cucumber juice effectively purifies the blood in younger individuals prone to skin damage and acne, especially during puberty. Of course, during the cucumber season, it is necessary to make large quantities of juice (at least half a liter per day) and drink it regularly. Large quantities of cucumber juice are also recommended for women in menopause as a proven remedy for hot flashes.

Another very useful way to use cucumbers

Another very useful way to use cucumbers is in skin care and treatment of skin problems. If you have pimples, blackheads, ulcers, eczema, minor burns, sunspots, etc., on your face, scalp, or hands, you can treat them by rubbing the affected areas with fresh cucumber juice. The juice is applied and left to dry on those areas. Secretions and inflammatory processes on the skin are successfully treated with this method. The procedure is repeated daily until the skin clears up. In Germany and Italy, there is a tradition of using pure cucumber juice to strengthen and treat the eyes. A clean cloth or gauze is soaked in the juice and placed over the closed eyelids for about ten minutes. The procedure is repeated every evening before bedtime. You can obtain cucumber juice by grinding whole washed cucumbers with peel in a machine and straining it through a linen cloth or gauze. Cucumber juice should not be salted, and if its taste is bland and you use it for drinking, not for the skin, you can add pure carrot, celery, or apple juice to improve the taste.

For kidney and bladder problems, cucumber seed tea is also used. This is especially recommended in periods when there are no fresh cucumbers, so it is necessary to collect and dry a large quantity of seeds from large cucumbers during the season. The dried seeds are stored in a box, and during periods when there are no cucumbers, make tea in a ratio of one teaspoon of seeds to one cup of boiling water. The tea is taken daily for all urinary bladder and kidney complaints. Cucumber is also recommended for weight management and is particularly popular among French women for these purposes. When hungry, you can reach for cucumbers in all forms without fear of gaining extra weight, and its juices and minerals will speed up your metabolism.

Proper use of cucumbers

In addition to the mentioned medicinal recommendations, we would like to point out the proper use of cucumbers. Cucumber fruits are collected and used when their skin starts to turn yellow. That’s when they are ripe. If cucumbers are harvested and consumed unripe, they are hard to digest, and the process of digesting cucumbers takes a long time and can be unpleasant or even painful for humans. It is not recommended to drink large amounts of water after consuming salted cucumber salad, as this can also cause additional digestive problems. It is important to note that cucumber salad and juice should be used exclusively fresh. It is not good and is harmful to health to prepare and leave cucumber salad or juice for several hours or days.

In salads, the healthiest and most nutritious way is to slice cucumbers thinly and use them in combination with some fat, oil, or sour cream, with a little lemon juice added. Combining cucumbers with vinegar, pepper, and fresh peppers is not recommended. To achieve the mentioned positive health effects of cucumbers, they need to be consumed daily and in large quantities during the season. Pickled cucumbers contain a good portion of the nutritional properties of fresh ones, but they are not recommended for people with kidney and heart problems due to the high salt content they contain.