Cucumber, the World's Healthiest Food!

Do you know that cucumber contains most of the vitamins your body requires every day? I bet you didn’t know that. Imagine this:  just one cucumber contains the following nutrients:  Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc. Amazing, isn’t it? Little wonder it is regarded as a healthy choice for cooking and snacking.
Cucumbers are also a fun way to keep your skin healthy and glowing. The coolest thing about it is that it can either be eaten or applied directly to the skin. Whichever option you choose, your skin reaps the health benefits, but that’s not all. Cucumbers are high in fiber which keeps the body’s digestive system healthy. It is also low in calories and fat. It is therefore not surprising that cucumber is a hugely popular fruit. As a matter of fact, it is the fourth most cultivated fruit in the world. Scientifically known as Cucumis Sativus, it belongs to the same botanical family as melons (including watermelon and cantaloupe) and squashes (including summer squash, winter squash, zucchini and pumpkin).

Read on and discover the nutritional values of cucumber
• Cucumber rehydrates the body and replenishes daily vitamins in the body
Because cucumbers are 95 percent water, they help keep the body hydrated. It also helps the body eliminate toxins.
Skin Treatment: Cucumbers are also useful in treating skin irritations and other diseases. It’s also used in relieving puffiness and wrinkles around the eye region.


• Relieves bad breath: If you have been battling with mouth odor, a slice of cucumber may well do the trick. All you need do is take a slice and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds. The chemicals in cucumber are known to kill bacteria responsible for bad breath in the mouth.

• Hangover cure: When you’ve had too much to drink and have a terrible headache, here is a natural remedy for your hangover. Instead of taking pain relief tablets, eat a few slices of cucumber 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.

• Helps weight loss: Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people seeking to lose weight. Its high water content and dietary fibers help in ridding the body of toxins from the digestive system, aiding digestion.

• Cure for Constipation: Daily consumption of cucumbers can also be a cure for chronic constipation.
Now you know why cucumber is regarded as one of the world’s healthiest fruits. So, next time you go grocery shopping, make sure you pick a handful of the deliciously looking dark-green fruits. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

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King of Fruits

If I asked you to describe apples in just one word, you might probably say ‘juicy’, ‘munchy’ or ‘delicious’.  I bet ‘healthy’may not find its way into your long list. But as attractive and delicious as apples are, nothing beats their highly beneficial characteristics.

 Now, why should the apple be known as the "King" of all fruits? The answer is because this fruit has so many virtues. 

The saying that "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" has been proven to be true in more ways than one.  Its qualities are endless, helping to prevent and fight a wide range of diseases. Well, let’s consider those benefit

• Apples assist in achieving whiter, healthier teeth. Though it won’t   replace your toothbrush, biting  stimulates the production of saliva in your mouth, reducing tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria.
• Apples are filled with soluble fibre which helps to reduce intestinal disorders and haemorrhoids.
• Apples cleanse and detoxify the human system, which helps eliminate heavy metals such as lead and mercury in the body system. 
•  Apples are a good source of Pectin which helps to reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion
• Risks of respiratory diseases such as Asthma can be lowered through increased and consistent consumption of apples.
• Apples strengthen the heart, quench thirst, lubricate the lungs, decreases mucous secretion and increases body fluids.
• Studies indicate that eating apples daily can help reduce skin diseases
• There’s no danger of adding unwanted weight since it contain no fat or sodium
• Apples are packed with vitamins C, A, and flavonoids and with smaller amounts of phosphorus, iron and calcium
• Apples provide a source of potassium which may promote heart health. Experts attribute the heart-healthy benefits to antioxidant compounds found in apples, which help prevent cholesterol from oxidizing and inhibiting inflammation

Asides the numerous health benefits of apples, here are five interesting fun facts I bet you didn’t know about apples

•   Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit. 
•  Apples ripen six to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated. 
•  Apples are a member of the rose family 
•  If you threw an apple in water, it wouldn’t sink – apples float in water! This is because 25% of their volume consists of air. 
•   Isaac Newton is said to have discovered the Law of Gravity when an apple fell on his head!

In conclusion, if there is any one thing that you can do to stay well, then it is to eat at least two apples daily according to a whole raft of new scientific researches which place apples at the top of the healthy-living tree. In essence, better health could be as easy as reaching for the fruit bowl for some apples next time you need a snack!

http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/food-weight-loss/8-health-benefits-apples

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/10-reasons-to-eat-an-apple-a-day

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=15&tname=foodspice

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