Our cucumber takes the most honorable place on the table. This vegetable is consumed both fresh and salted and pickled. However, when planning a healthy diet, many simply don’t know how many calories are in a cucumber and what kind of nutritional value it has.

Chemical composition and nutritional value

An interesting fact is that the vegetable under discussion is edible only in an unripe form. Ripe, he loses his taste.

Although the cucumber is 97% water, it still contains a lot of vitamins and various minerals necessary for the coordinated work of the body.

Due to the high moisture content, cucumbers perfectly quench thirst, and the water in the composition of the fruit pulp can be compared with filtered water in purity.

Juice increases acidity and promotes good digestion of heavy foods. The vegetable contains a lot of fiber, which improves intestinal motility and promotes the removal of toxins.

100 g of fresh pulp accounts for about 0.8 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat and 3 g of carbohydrates. Contain cucumbers and starch, fructose, glucose, carotene and folic acid. Present in the fruits and enzymes that improve the digestive tract.

How many calories in a cucumber

The calorie content of cucumber is low, and this allows you to include it in the menu of health food for obesity and diet for weight loss. The nutritional value of fresh fruits is high enough to spend an unloading day on them once a week.

100 grams of peeled fresh cucumber contains only 12 kcal.

Not everyone knows how many calories are in pickles, and mistakenly believe that it is more caloric than fresh.In fact, in a salty product contains only 11 kcal per 100 g.

The content of vitamins, trace elements

Cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, which is necessary for the proper functioning of the heart muscle. In addition, such fruits, albeit in small quantities, but contain mineral elements - calcium, magnesium, iron salts, phosphorus and iodine, as well as copper and zinc. All of them are necessary for the cardiovascular and nervous systems, the brain.

There are not so many vitamins in the pulp of cucumber. Basically, the vegetable contains group B and “ascorbic acid,” which are also not unnecessary for the body.

The benefits of vegetables for the body

Given the rich chemical composition of cucumbers, they can be called very useful. Cucumber is the most common ingredient in appetizers and salads, which complement the main dishes.

The substances in this vegetable help to better absorb food, especially meat. Therefore, cucumbers need to supplement heavy foods that are difficult for the stomach to digest.

Fresh cucumber is very useful for pregnant women, as it removes the unpleasant symptoms of toxicosis and helps eliminate puffiness and constipation.

This vegetable is hypoallergenic, and it is allowed to give even the smallest, but only if the crumbs do not have problems with the digestive tract.

In home cosmetology, cucumber juice is widely used. It can even be found in expensive cosmetics. Juice promotes skin regeneration, perfectly tones and refreshes for a long time. Cucumber mask is the best anti-aging and refreshing remedy.

Ground cucumbers are considered the most useful and nutritious. Greenhouses contain much less nutrients and are not so valuable. A salty and pickled product will not bring much benefit to the body, and sometimes it is even contraindicated.

Contraindications to the use of cucumber

There are a number of diseases in which the discussed fruits are categorically not worth it:

  • nephritis;
  • renal failure;
  • urolithiasis disease.

Limit the use of vegetables should be with some other diseases:

  • ulcer;
  • gastritis;
  • enterocolitis;
  • colitis.

These contraindications apply not only to the fresh fruit, but also to canned and salted.

Experts strongly do not recommend consuming pickles for overweight, as well as pyelonephritis. Exacerbation of gastritis is also a direct contraindication to the use of a salty or pickled product.

The use of this vegetable can lead to unpleasant consequences. For example, with individual intolerance, cucumbers can cause an allergic reaction. Also, the vegetable often causes severe gas formation and belching. Some people may have indigestion and heartburn after eating cucumbers.

People suffering from high blood pressure should not eat a salty or canned product, as it can cause a hypertensive crisis.

Many healers use drugs based on cucumber juice or fresh pulp of a vegetable to treat a wide variety of diseases. So, some skin diseases, even at home, can be cured with the help of cucumber. But for all its benefits, a cucumber can cause harm.