Wednesday 30 December 2015

Cucumber and Hypertension

Cucumber Juice for Blood Pressure

   


Reduce Your Blood Pressure with Cucumber Juice! When it comes to cucumber, most of us just throw a few on our salad at lunch or dinner and call it good. Some of us probably use them to reduce puffiness around the eyes fore often than we actually eat them. If you want the real benefit of cucumbers, take them off your eyes and pop them into the juicer (not the same ones!) Cucumber juice can help with your skin, just like slices, but it’s actually more beneficial in reducing your high blood pressure. So, before you go on a dangerous blood pressure medicine, or if your meds aren’t working as well as they should, try drinking a nice, tall glass of refreshing cucumber juice. 

There was a study done recently that showed foods high in potassium, magnesium and fiber can reduce blood pressure. In combination with a healthy diet these foods reduced study participants systolic blood pressure by 5 points and their diastolic blood pressure by 3.5 points. So what’s this have to do with cucumber? Well, cucumbers are not only high in these three nutrients; they’re also a significant source of Vitamins A and K, folate, caffeic acid, and silica. They also contain a significant amount of Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that may also help to lower blood pressure.

Since cucumber juice isn’t exactly a high demand product, your best bet for quality is to make your own. Making your own juice is great with any fruit or vegetable because you know what’s going into your juice and you know it’s fresh and full of live, active enzymes. Cucumber is great for juicing because the water content is so high within the pulp; however, this means that most of the nutrients are actually contained within the skin. You should buy unwaxed cucumber if possible because waxed cucumbers generally require pealing, removing valuable nutrient content. Get your cucumbers from the refrigerated section of the grocery store and make sure to put them in your fridge when you get home. They don’t stay fresh very long, so don’t wait longer than a day or two to juice them. Try to choose cucumbers that are firm, rounded, and that have a bright to dark green color. These are the best quality and will give you the best results.

If you want the benefits of cucumber juice, but just don’t think you can stand the taste, try mixing it with other juices. Carrot and Celery juices can both taste great when mixed with cucumber, plus they have great benefits of their own. If neither or those juices spark your fancy, use your imagination and start mixing. You probably don’t want to go too crazy, but if you can find a combination you like the taste of, you’re more likely to actually bother drinking the juice everyday.

In addition to lowering your blood pressure, cucumbers can improve your skin, help grow hair, nails, and teeth, and even clean out your kidney. So, if you want to reduce your blood pressure while also promoting other factors of good health, why don’t you try throwing a few cucumbers in your juicer?

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