Top 5 Health Benefits of Cucumber!

Our nation celebrated Columbus Day last week, so let’s talk about one of the vegetables he introduced to the Americas at the end of the 15th century - cucumbers!  Cucumbers weren’t new to Europeans at the time.  Charlemagne grew cucumbers in his Italian garden in the 8th century.  The ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations all grew them before that.  In fact, cave paintings depicting cucumbers suggest humans have been growing them as food for over 3000 years!  We all uknow cucumbers are cool and refreshing, but scientists have taken a look at their nutritional composition and isolated a variety of ever-powerful antioxidants.  This leads us to the top 5 health benefits of cucumber:

1. Hydrates Cells:  Cucumbers are composed of 96% water! That makes cucumber juice a great source of hydration, which is required for proper thermoregulation, cognitive performance, toxin filtration, and digestion, for a start.
2. Fights Cancer: Cucumber is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family like melon, squash and pumpkins.  Members of this plant family have been found to contain antioxidant compounds called cucurbitacins, which fight cancer by inhibiting proliferation, arresting the cell cycle, and inducing apoptosis.
3. Promotes Brain Health: Another antioxidant found in cucumbers is a flavonol called fisetin.  This molecule has been shown to inhibit the activity of 5-lipoxygenase, which in turn, reduces the age-related decline in brain function. 
4. Counters Depression: Fisetin has also been shown to increase the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in the frontal cortex and hippocampus, resulting in an antidepressant effect.
5. Lowers Fat Production: Yet another antioxidant contained in cucumbers, a flavonoid called orientin, has been shown to have strong therapeutic potential for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes.  Orientin and some other flavonoids inhibit adipogenesis, the process of undifferentiated precursor cells becoming fat cells. 

Who knew so much could come from such a delicious vegetable?  Well, now that you know, come by a juice. Nashville shop and try our cucumber-based juice, hi five., or a refreshing zing.  You’ll be glad you did.

-Michael Guido, Juice Ambassador, BA Biological Sciences, University of Chicago

References:

1. Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, Hydration and Health.

2. Alghasham AA. Cucurbitacins – A Promising Target for Cancer Therapy.

3. Maher P. Modulation of multiple pathways involved in the maintenance of neuronal function during aging by fisetin.

4. Zhen L, Zhu J, Zhao X, Huang W, et al. The antidepressant-like effect of fisetin involves the serotonergic and noradrenergic system.

5. Lam KY, Ling APK, Koh RY, Wong YP, Say YH. A Review on Medicinal Properties of Orientin.