COOL-CUMBERS…FIVE REASONS WHY CUCUMBERS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

Anyone would agree that cucumbers are one of the most handy and common (fruits) vegetables. In Nigeria, for example, it would be rare to arrive at a market and discover that they have run out of cucumbers. I love having cucumbers at home, as they make perfect snacks.

Cucumbers are great ingredients for salads and juices. Plus, cucumbers have other uses besides eating them. For example, placing cool cucumbers on the eyes relaxes them and reduces puffy eyes.

Cucumbers have a lot of water content and are therefore good for hydration. 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.

Research suggests that Cucumbers contain polyphenols called lignans (pinoresinol, lariciresinol, and secoisolariciresinol), which may help to lower the risk of breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers. They also contain phytonutrients called cucurbitacins, which also have anti-cancer properties.

Cucumber skin is also edible and contains a good amount of vitamin C. Vitamin C has many important functions such as aiding in collagen production and brain function, and it also helps your body process fat. Research shows that Cucumber skin can also be used to treat skin irritations and sunburns.

Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help promote joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. Silica, also promotes healthier and stronger hair and nails. Cucumbers also contain potassium which aids in metabolic functions and also plays a role in the development of muscle tissue.

Did you know that cucumbers are fruits, but culinary used as vegetables? I just discovered that while carrying out this research.

Here is a simple salad recipe using cucumbers.

Ingredients (serves 1-2)

1 large cucumber

2 tomatoes

A handful of sweetcorn

1 green bell pepper

2 handfuls of diced chicken

Preparation

Wash the cucumber, tomatoes and bell pepper, then take the seeds out of them and dice them. Taking the seeds out of the cucumber and tomatoes keeps the salad dry, unless you like water in your salad.

Throw in your sweet corn and diced chicken, mix your ingredients and your salad is ready to eat. You may add more ingredients to this, or use tuna in place of chicken.

HEALING POWER OF CELERY

I bought a green smoothie some months back which had celery as one of its ingredients. While placing my order, I was a bit skeptical about how a celery smoothie would taste, but my oh my did I enjoy it. Now, I am busy making celery smoothies and even cooking celery soup. I know I tend to go overboard with new discoveries. Well, all of this made me wonder what my body was benefiting from my new found love. After all, it is a vegetable, so it should have loads of nutritional and health benefits right?

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

SOME OF YOUR EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I t’s been a long time I wrote, but trust me I have not been idle. I recently had a baby and I am glad I have some pregnancy fitness experiences to share with you. After my marriage union with my lovely husband, I began to get advice from some concerned colleagues and family about slowing down on my exercising and focusing on building a family and making babies. I wondered how exercising interfered with me achieving any of that, to my surprise some people believed that exercising was going to prevent me from conceiving. In fact, a particular ex-colleague of mine really scared me when she told me that I could just keep having miscarriages and not even know it. I did not let any of this bother me as I believed that pregnancy would happen at Gods time. Besides I had only been married for a month and still looking forward to our honeymoon. Pregnancy was certainly not on my mind at this time. To answer your first question can I conceive while exercising?

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