Cucumbers are one of the best foods for your body’s overall health, often referred to as a superfood. Cucumbers are often sprayed with pesticides so it is important to buy organic or even better, grow them yourself.

Here are Some Benefits of Cucumbers:

1.Quick pick me-up – Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins. Put down your sodas and coffee and eat a cucumber slice.

2. Rehydrates body and replenishes daily vitamins – Cucumbers are 95 percent water, keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminate toxins. Cucumbers have most of the vitamins the body needs in a single day.

3. Skin and hair care – Save the skin when you peel your cucumbers! The skin can be used for skin irritations and sunburns as aloe would be used. Place a slice over puffy eyes and its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce puffiness. The silicon and sulfur in cucumbers help to stimulate hair growth.

4. Fight cancers – Cucumber are known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three lignans have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and prostate cancer.

5. Relieves bad breath – Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

6. Hangover cure – To avoid a morning hangover or headache; eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish many essential nutrients, reducing the intensity of both hangover and headache.

7. Aids in weight loss and digestion – Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who are looking for weight loss. The high water content and dietary fiber in cucumbers are very effective in ridding the body of toxins from the digestive system, aiding digestion. Daily consumption of cucumbers can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.

8. Beneficial to diabetics, reduces cholesterol and controls blood pressure – Cucumber juice contains a hormone which is needed by the cells of the pancreas for producing insulin which has been found to be beneficial to diabetic patients. Researchers found that a compound called sterols in cucumbers may help reduce cholesterol levels. Cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber. These work effectively for regulating blood pressure. This makes cucumbers good for treating both low blood pressure and high blood pressure.

9. Promotes joint health, relieves gout and arthritis pain – Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help promotes joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. They are also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. When mixed with carrot juice, they can relieve gout and arthritis pain by lowering the uric acid levels. (Source)

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Real Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

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WholeFoodRealFood.com

Ingredients

• 4 cucumbers (I use seedless)
• 1 red or white onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 4 tbsp boiling water
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Peel and slice cucumbers and onion, using the thick slicing blade of your food processor. Place them in a large bowl.
2. Mix honey and salt with boiling water and stir to dissolve completely. Drizzle over cucumber/onion mixture.
3. Add vinegar and mix well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
5. Enjoy!

Notes:

Recipe adapted from A Taste of Wellness by Rochel Weiss.

Real Cucumber Salad

4 cucumbers (I use seedless)
1 red or white onion, sliced
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
4 tbsp boiling water
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. Peel and slice cucumbers and onion, using the thick slicing blade of your food processor. Place them in a large bowl.
2. Mix honey and salt with boiling water and stir to dissolve completely. Drizzle over cucumber/onion mixture.
3. Add vinegar and mix well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
5. Enjoy!

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“When you know better, you do better.”

When you purchase your olives, it is a good idea to purchase ones in a glass jar to avoid BPA. The ingredients in the olives we purchase are: tree ripened olives, water, distilled and red wine vinegars, sea salt, olive oil. Make sure the olives do not contain sodium benzoate.

While commonly recognized as a high-fat food (about 80-85% of the calories in olives come from fat), olives are not always appreciated for the type of fat they contain. Olives are unusual in their fat quality, because they provide almost three-quarters of their fat as oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. (In addition they provide a small amount of the essential fatty acid called linoleic acid, and a very small amount of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid.) The high monounsaturated fat content of olives has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. When diets low in monounsaturated fat are altered to increase the monounsaturated fat content (without becoming too high in total fat), research study participants typically experience a decrease in their blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL:HDL ratio. All of these changes lower our risk of heart disease. Recent research studies have also shown that the monounsaturated fat found in olives (and olive oil) can help to decrease blood pressure.

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of olives make them a natural for protection against cancer because chronic oxidative stress and chronic inflammation can be key factors in the development of cancer. If our cells get overwhelmed by oxidative stress (damage to cell structure and cell function by overly reactive oxygen-containing molecules) and chronic excessive inflammation, our risk of cell cancer is increased. By providing us with rich supplies of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, olives can help us avoid this dangerous combination of chronic oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

Research on whole olives and cancer has often focused on two cancer types: breast cancer and stomach (gastric) cancer. In the case of breast cancer, special attention has been paid to the triterpene phytonutrients in olives, including erythrodiol, uvaol and oleanolic acid. These olive phytonutrients have been shown to help interrupt the life cycle of breast cancer cells. Interruption of cell cycles has also been shown in the case of gastric cancer, but with this second type of cancer, the exact olive phytonutrients involved are less clear.

One of the mechanisms linking olive intake to cancer protection may involve our genes. Antioxidant phytonutrients in olives may have a special ability to protect DNA (deoxyribonucleic acids)—the key chemical component of genetic material in our cells—from oxygen damage. DNA protection from unwanted oxidative stress means better cell function in wide variety of ways and provides cells with decreased risk of cancer development. (Source)

That is probably more about olives than you ever wanted to know :). Anyways, I hope you enjoy the salad!

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Real Greek Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Whole Food. Real Food. Good. Food.

Ingredients

• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Himalayan pink salt & fresh ground black pepper
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Combine romaine, tomate, cucumber, onion and olives in a bowl.
2. Combine red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss salad with dressing and serve.
4. Enjoy!

Real Greek Salad

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
Himalayan pink salt & fresh ground black pepper
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine romaine, tomate, cucumber, onion and olives in a bowl.
2. Combine red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss salad with dressing and serve.
4. Enjoy!

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