Cucumbers are vegetables with high water content and few calories per serving. Watery vegetables can help you lose weight when they are used to replace higher-calorie fare. Use cucumbers strategically as part of a low-calorie diet plan to reduce hunger and stimulate weight loss.
Benefits
You can use cucumber to add volume to meals without adding a lot of calories. Cucumbers' high water content can help you feel full, leading you to consume less food at meals. Cucumber acts as a natural diuretic, making you urinate more often, which reduces bloating and water retention, notes Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky.
Nutritional Profile
One cup of sliced cucumber with the peel contains just 16 calories. A serving of cucumber with the peel provides 4 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C, 22 percent for vitamin K, 4 percent for potassium and 3 percent for fiber. With just 4 g of carbohydrates per cup, cucumbers are appropriate for low-carb diets.
Considerations
Cucumbers may cause gas in sensitive people, notes Drugs.com. Cucumbers are usually coated in wax before shipping to prevent bruising. If you are concerned about this coating, peel cucumbers before eating them or purchase organic cucumbers. The seeds of some cucumbers are bitter and can be removed before eating.
Types
Thinner, longer and ridged, English cucumbers feature a thinner skin that is not waxed and more pleasant to eat. Garden cucumbers are the fatter, dark green, smooth-skinned variety most often found in American supermarkets. During certain times of year, oval-shaped lemon cucumbers and small pickling cucumbers may also be available.
Uses
Cucumbers are available year-round, but they are at their peak from May until July. Cucumbers may be added to green salads, but have other uses. Make a cucumber salad with chopped tomatoes, fresh mint and rice vinegar. Add to water with lemon slices for a refreshing, no-calorie drink. Create a salsa to accompany plain broiled chicken or fish by combining chopped cucumber, jalepeno, cilantro and avocado with lime juice. Add cucumbers to a crudite tray as a lower-calorie alternative to chips to eat with dips like hummus.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/455943-cucumbers-and-weight-loss/#ixzz26Gen6xzD
