Cucumber for weight loss: Explore its benefits

In the culinary world, only a handful of items qualify to be a fruit and a vegetable. Nutritious, fibre dense and packed with water, cucumber is a fruit, or vegetable if you may call it, that has all the qualities to give your body valuable vitamins and minerals. 

Botanically, cucumbers grow from the flowers of plants and have seeds characteristic of fruits. Even so, due to their wide range of uses in the realm of savoury dishes like salads and pickles, they are also grouped under the category of vegetables. 

The good thing about cucumbers is that they have excellent nutritional value but the great thing is that -  cucumber for weight loss is a very real thing. Now that is a great feat, isn’t it? It’s time we notice that cucumbers be not only used for spas but also as a regular part of our diet. 

What is the nutritional value of cucumbers?

With only 15 kcal in every 100 grams of cucumber, they make an excellent choice for people who are looking to reduce their daily calorie intake. 

This is not all, the nutritional value of cucumbers outweighs the cucumber benefits for weight loss. To begin with, cucumbers contain

• Vitamin K, B2, B6, B5, B9, C
• Minerals such as Potassium, Magnesium, Copper, Phosphorus and Iron

Water-dense (95.23 grams), they just have 0.11 grams of fat and 3.63 grams of carbohydrates in every serving.

A wonderful choice for people who are looking to load up on their nutrients. All of this with the added benefits of cucumber in weight loss!

How do cucumbers help for hydration?

Water aka hydration, is a primal factor for our survival. Made up of 65% water on average, it is necessary to keep fulfilling the body’s requirements consistently each day.

Doctors recommend having 8 glasses of water in a day and yet so many of us falter in completing this simple task.

Cucumbers come to your rescue to help you fulfil the body’s need for hydration. Made up of almost 96% water, they replenish and rejuvenate you. An adequate amount of hydration prevents infections, provides nutrients to the cells and gives you healthier and brighter skin.

Relationship between cucumber and metabolism

Cucumbers help you maintain a healthy weight due to the fact that they have appreciably lower calories when compared to your regular fruit. Loading up on these as part of your diet will keep you full for longer while not making you gain weight. This is partly how cucumber helps in weight loss.

The other half is how they tie up to your metabolism. Due to the high water content, they flush out toxins and increase fibre in your body. This process is known to regulate bowel movement and accelerate the metabolism in your body. Increased metabolism speeds up the process of converting the food in your body into energy thus helping in weight loss. Increased metabolism makes cucumber good for weight loss. 

Cucumber as a low-calorie snack

On our journey to strive towards fitness, often, we make mistakes that take us back from our vision. One such mistake is that we give in to our cravings and indulge in mid-day snacks that cause more harm than good to our bodies.

One must note that snacking isn’t necessarily bad but it is what we snack on that matters. Having excessively sweet and processed foods makes you lousy and deprives your body of the nutrients that it requires. This makes it necessary to have alternative options for the times when your body craves something.

Cucumbers become your best friend when you feel like indulging in snacks. People generally ask, “Can we eat cucumber at night for weight loss?” Since there is no best time to eat cucumber for weight loss, you can enjoy it whenever you want to without worry.

Benefits of cucumber for detoxing water

After covering the advantages of cucumber for weight loss, let us understand how cucumber detoxing water can be beneficial to us.

Plain water is boring sometimes and cucumber is the fruit you need to add that extra zing. To make it, you simply need to slice cucumbers (1) and add them to the water (1 glass) with a pinch of table salt. This drink will provide various benefits such as:

• Managing blood pressure: Potassium is the mineral responsible for lowering the blood pressure in your body. Cucumbers are rich in potassium and may help people struggling with high blood pressure.
• Detoxifying the body: Excessive oxidants in the body are the reason for huge diseases like cancer and autoimmune disorders. The minerals present in cucumber help remove the toxins from your body to keep you at healthy functioning levels.
• Improves skin and bone health: The water in cucumber hydrates your skin to give it an internal glow. Meanwhile, potassium and Vitamin K help the body form proteins needed to build strong bones and tissues. It can also help people with osteoporosis and reduce the risk of fractures.

These crucial factors add more value to cucumber (kheera) benefits for weight loss.

How to add cucumber in your meal plan?

Unlike some other items, it is rather easy to add cucumber to your meal plan. Whether you’re looking at cucumber for weight loss or to stack up on those nutrients, there is a way to achieve it. Here is how you can do it:

• Salads: A sought-after choice in salads, cut the cucumbers and add them to your mix with a dressing of your choice.

• Sandwiches: A common Indian breakfast option, add the cucumbers with the rest of your vegetables in between the slices and bite away.
• Roll it up: Remove the peel of cucumbers and make beautiful appetizers by rolling them. This is one way to make you unleash the Michelin-star chef in you.
• Sushis: If you feel like exploring the cultural and culinary dishes of the rest of the world, sushi is the choice you should make. Cucumbers add a hint of freshness to the dish while also appetising you.

• Pickle: For people who don’t enjoy eating raw food, preparing pickles is a simple way to not miss out on the benefits of cucumber.

Plan cucumber calorie intake

One medium cucumber (with the peel) will give you approximately 45 calories. A single serving of cucumber daily is ideal for most people to see results. More so, one can also have up to 3 servings in a day without any harm depending on their tolerance and appetite. However, overconsumption of cucumbers may lead to stomach aches.

Bottomline

After going through the article, we hope that we’ve answered the question - “Does cucumber help in weight loss?” This answer should also come with an understanding that only having cucumbers will not help you lose weight. Even though abundant in nutrients and minerals, they can only provide you a channel for weight loss. Real change comes when you make alterations to your lifestyle by providing your body with a well-balanced diet, physical exercise, adequate sleep and managing stress. These steps make you look at your goals differently and help in achieve them realistically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can cucumber really help in weight loss?

While there are no scientific studies that show a connection between cucumber and weight loss, they can help you see results quickly by speeding your metabolism and keeping you full for a longer time. Increased metabolism and low-calorie intake help you lose weight.

Are there any specific cucumber diets for weight loss?

Indeed, a diet with protein and cucumbers in various forms, popularly known as the ‘cucumber diet’ exists. However, one must not rely on it completely as it can steal away the other nutrients from our body.

Is cucumber water effective for weight loss?

Low in calories and dense in nutrients, you can use cucumber water for weight loss. It helps you stay full and increases the metabolic rate in your body.

Can cucumbers help in reducing belly fat?

It is proven that spot reduction or reducing fat from a particular part of your body is not possible. Rather, you lose the overall fat percentage in your body. Therefore, cucumbers will only help burn the overall fat. You can reduce belly fat by targeting your core muscles while exercising and reducing the total calorie intake.

How do cucumbers compare to other vegetables in terms of weight loss benefits?

Cucumbers are one of those vegetables (or fruit) that are extremely low in calories. Their high water content sets them apart from other vegetables. Further, they offer you a range of vitamins and minerals along with plenty of fibre.