While most people think of cucumbers as vegetables, they are actually a fruit. They contain seeds and grow from the ovaries of flowering plants. Cucumbers are members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae, which also includes squashes and melons.
They are low-calorie veggies contain many nutritional benefits, including hydrating properties and valuable nutrients.
The most common type of slicing cucumber found in a grocery store is the garden cucumber, Cucumis sativus, according to World’s Healthiest Foods.
There are hundreds of varieties of cucumber, and they come in dozens of colors, but the edible types are classified as being for either slicing or pickling, according to Cornell University’s Growing Guide. Slicing cucumbers are cultivated to be eaten fresh, while pickling cucumbers are intended for the brine jar. Slicing cucumbers are usually larger and thicker-skinned than pickling ones.
Cucumbers are good sources of phytonutrients (plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties) such flavonoids, lignans and triterpenes, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits, according to World’s Healthiest Foods.
Hence, we should definitely seek out foods that are nutrient-rich, using the positive approach of what to put on your plate vs. what to keep off.
The peel and seeds, according to a Plano, Texas-based registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Angela Lemond, are the most nutrient-dense parts of the cucumber. They contain fiber and beta-carotene. “Beta carotene is an antioxidant that helps with immunity, skin, eye and the prevention of cancer,” she added.
Cucumbers are naturally low in calories, carbohydrates, sodium, fat and cholesterol,” said Megan Ware, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Orlando, Florida. There are just 16 calories in a cup of cucumber with its peel (15 without). You will get about four percent of your daily potassium, three percent of your daily fiber and 4 percent of your daily vitamin C. They also “provide small amounts of vitamin K, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, manganese and vitamin A,” Ware said.
