Recently, a friend asked me if cucumbers should not be eaten with tomatoes, milk, and peanuts. Cucumbers are one of our best food for summer, and if you can't eat it, you can't eat it, it's really troublesome. Hello everyone, I am nutritionist Wang Yan, today we will have a good chat, how to eat cucumber is the most helpful to our health. Health is our greatest asset, let's manage it together.
Why is cucumber one of the best vegetables in summer? Because it is a low-calorie, high-moisture, and nutrient-rich vegetable, there are at least seven categories of nutrients. The first is moisture, up to 95% water content, making it a very good moisturizing food, which can help us maintain the body's water balance and maintain the elasticity of ** and body tissues.
The second is rich in dietary fiber, which can promote the normal functioning of the digestive system and prevent constipation. It also increases long-lasting satiety after consumption.
The third contains vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative stress, boosts immune function, and promotes wound healing and collagen synthesis. The fourth is that it contains vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting and bone health. People who are prone to bleeding at the first touch should eat more cucumbers.
The fourth is its antioxidant effect, antioxidants such as carotenoids and flavonoids in cucumber have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which have an impact on the formation of cancer cells and the immune system. A study published in Biomedical Reports noted that cucumber extract was able to reduce oxidative stress and increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes, thereby providing a protective effect on the body. Another study report in "Food Chemistry" mentioned that flavonoids in cucumber have inhibitory effects on the metastasis and proliferation of breast cancer cells. These antioxidants in cucumbers also have an effect on the immune system.
The fifth is its immunomodulatory effect. An article in the International Journal of Immunology states that cucumber extracts can increase immune cell activity and enhance immune responses in mice.
The sixth is to protect, the antioxidants, vitamin C and other compounds in cucumbers can resist the damage of free radicals and delay aging. Studies in the Journal of Food Chemistry and Toxicology have shown that cucumber extracts have a protective effect on inhibiting UV-induced aging.
Seventh, cucumber also has a mild diuretic effect, its water content is high, and it also contains diuretic substances, such as aspartic acid and aspartic acid, which can promote the filtration function of the kidneys and increase the excretion of urine. So, for friends with poor kidney function, cucumber is a good food. The diuretic effect of cucumber can help the body to remove excess water, eliminating edema, edema and urinary tract infections.
Judging from the health effects of cucumbers above, it makes sense that our female friends like to use cucumbers for beauty treatment. The high moisture content of cucumbers can provide the required moisture and help keep them moist and elastic. In addition, the fiber in cucumbers can promote the normal detoxification of the intestines, clean up toxins and waste products in the body, and also help maintain a healthy state. Applying cucumbers to the face can also reduce eye fatigue, eliminate dark circles and reduce puffiness, all thanks to the moisturizing, soothing and anti-inflammatory effects of cucumbers.
In addition, cucumbers are rich in potassium, small amounts of selenium, and other phytochemicals such as flavonoids and carotenoids, which all have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Traditional Chinese medicine talks about clearing heat and detoxifying, and the main manifestation of "poison" is inflammation, so cucumbers will reduce various chronic diseases, and cucumbers have so many nutrients.
Is there a direct benefit to our health from eating too many cucumbers? Here are some research-based health benefits, especially those directly related to cucumber: it can lower blood lipids, cucumbers are low-fat, low-calorie and fiber-rich plant foods, so they can help lower blood lipids. Research published in the journal Plant Foods and Human Nutrition showed that cucumber supplementation reduced the levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in rats on a high-cholesterol diet. There are some animal studies that have also shown that cucumber extracts may have anti-diabetic and anti-arteriosclerotic effects.
Who can't eat such a good cucumber, or needs to eat less? Let's start by answering the question that my friend can't wait to eat, that is, whether cucumbers can be eaten with tomatoes. Some people think that tomatoes are warm and cucumbers are cold, and eating them together will be conflicting. But there is a logical problem with this statement, we eat a variety of foods just to maintain balance and not let what we eat too cold or too hot. If cucumbers and tomatoes are really warm and cold, then eating them together has a balancing effect. Moreover, traditional Chinese medicine believes that cucumber is cold and sweet, has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, diuresis and swelling, and nourishing yin and moisturizing dryness, and is one of the best foods to cool and relieve heat in summer, which helps to regulate the body's nutritional balance.
Tomatoes are not what everyone calls warm, they are also cold, so they have the effect of clearing away heat, nourishing blood and nourishing yin and promoting digestion, and can relieve stomach bloating and stomach discomfort. Therefore, for most people, there is no problem with eating cucumbers and tomatoes together, especially for friends with a hot stomach, and there is a synergistic effect of clearing heat and nourishing the stomach. However, it may not be suitable for individual friends with cold stomachs, because their attributes are cold, and they all enter the stomach and large intestine meridians, and they may be a little cold when put together.
It is also said that cucumbers contain enzymes that break down vitamins, so they are not suitable for eating with other foods that contain vitamin C, including milk. But this claim is unfounded, cucumbers themselves are rich in vitamin C, vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a powerful antioxidant that is effective in boosting the immune system, promoting collagen synthesis and fighting free radical damage, cucumbers do not contain enzymes that destroy vitamin C.
So can cucumbers be eaten with peanuts? Some say that there is a trypsin inhibitor in peanuts that destroys the amino acids in cucumbers. Peanuts do contain trypsin inhibitors, which are natural compounds that work primarily to inhibit the activity of proteases. Trypsin is a digestive enzyme secreted by the pancreas that is responsible for breaking down proteins in the intestines so that the body can better absorb the nutrients of protein.
So why do good peanuts contain this trypsin inhibitor that affects our digestion? In fact, many plant seeds, including peanuts, contain this trypsin inhibitor, which is to protect the seeds from being degraded by digestive enzymes and ensure that the seeds survive and germinate. But don't be nervous, because the activity of most trypsin inhibitors is essentially destroyed after proper cooking and heat treatment. Therefore, under normal circumstances, eating peanuts that have been properly cooked and heated will not have a significant effect on the human digestive system.
Cucumbers do contain serine, an essential amino acid that is important for our health, but its content is very low in cucumbers. If you want to rely on cucumber to supplement serine, this important amino acid should be supplemented from other sources.
In general, it is no problem to eat peanuts and cucumbers together. Who should not eat or be especially careful? First of all, people who have allergic reactions, some people are allergic to cucumbers or cucumber-like foods such as watermelon, melon, etc., so you should be careful. The second is that people with digestive problems, cucumbers may cause digestive discomfort, especially people with stomach ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux, gastrointestinal problems or digestive tract sensitivities, to eat less, especially raw cucumbers, cooked cucumbers or cooked cucumbers will be better.
We'll continue to ask questions about ** in the future, so don't forget to subscribe to my channel. Then there are drug interactions, especially some diuretics. Cucumbers themselves have a mild diuretic effect, and if you are taking diuretics, you may want to consider the interaction between the two a little. Of course, there are some other special circumstances, such as surgery or blood clotting problems, etc., which need to be discussed with the doctor and decided according to your own situation. Generally do not eat cucumbers all day or eat a lot of cucumbers in normal life, and if it is only a small part of the meal, there is no need to worry too much.
In conclusion, cucumbers are safe for most people to eat, and cucumbers can also be eaten with tomatoes, peanuts, milk. As for some special groups, decisions can be made according to their own circumstances. Consult your doctor if necessary. There are also people who say that cucumbers can't be eaten on an empty stomach and can't be eaten hot, is that really the case? What contamination can cucumbers get into? How to choose when buying cucumbers? We will continue these issues in the future. Everyone is welcome to share your questions and opinions in the comment area, and don't forget to like, ** and subscribe to my program. See you next time!