Cucumbers
(Cucumis sativus) is a widely
cultivated plant in the gourd family and three main varieties of cucumbers are
slicing, pickling, and seedless.
Smaller is better
In
oriental medicine, cucumbers have good effects on cooling bodies, help
diuretic, dysentery, and edema while western medicine had proved that cucumbers
help dialysis, diuretic, to soluble uric acid and urate salt, to prevent gout
symptoms, antipyretic, to create sedative effect, and to treat some
dermatological problems as wrinkles skin, chapped skin, freckles on skin, and
reduce oil on skin. Moreover, cucumber can also nourish skin face.
The
smaller and greener cucumbers contain higher volume of biotin (nutrition of
skin), vitamin C, and selenium than bigger ones. Vitamin C and selenium help to
boost immune system and fight back infection. Therefore, agricultural
scientists have encouraged farmers to maximize the amount of cucumbers rather
than their sizes. The best size of a cucumber should be under 20cm.
Cucumbers could be processed in medical dishes.
Some healthy and
nutritious dishes from cucumbers
1. As a starter: thinly slice
cucumbers; smash ginger then mixes with boiled water; drain all water and soak
sliced cucumbers in.
2. Cucumber juice: 1 cucumber, 1
apple, 20g lime juice, 20g raw honey, and 1 carrot. Juice all the vegetables
then mix in lime juice and honey. This juice helps improve body’s health and
anti-anxiety.
3. To treat summer dysentery for
children: chop 10 young cucumbers then cook them with sugar-cane honey or to
cook salted pickle congee for the kids to have.
4. Soup for gout patients: core a
cucumber and slice, a handful of dried mushroom, 2,5g salt, 25g sesame oil,
lard and soy sauce to taste. Stir-fry mushroom then cucumber, and add all
seasonings in.
5. Congee for epileptic patients:
boil 50g young cucumber in clean water then add 50g wheat grains; when the
grains are softly cooked, add in 15g rock sugar.
6. Dish for diuretic: slice cucumbers
then cook with rice vinegar; have the whole dish.
7. Salty & sour pickle soup: 200g
salty & sour pickle – diced, 200g beef – diced, 3g fresh garlic, 3g onion,
10g celeries, 5g olive oil, lime, pepper, and spices to taste.
8. Nourishing skin mask: mash 2
slices of cucumbers with 1 quail egg’s york, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1
teaspoon honey; blend well and fridge. Apply on face and let it sit there from
30 – 60 minutes. Rinse well.
9. For fresher breath: cook
cucumbers’ skin in clean water and drink daily.
10. To treat atherosclerosis: slice 1
cucumber and 1 tomato; mix them with salt, sugar, and vinegar as salad.
11. To treat hyperlipidemia: 250g
cucumbers (slice), 50g dried mushroom (soak in warm water), oil, salt, onion,
and chopped ginger root. Heat oil up and stir-fry onion and ginger; add sliced
cucumbers and mushroom; add salt to taste.
12. To treat diabetes: 250g cucumbers
(slice), 30g chopped garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil to taste. Mix
everything as a salad.
13. To reduce freckles: juice a small
cucumber; mix the juice with yogurt to make a natural facial cream. Apply on
face in 20 minutes, twice a day.
14. To moisture and brighten facial
skin: juice 2 cucumbers and 1 sweet gourd; mix the juice with enough honey to
drink. Knead fruit pulp with fresh tofu to make facial mask, using once every 2
days.
15. Diet controlling: having daily
vinegar cucumber salad with bean sprout, fresh ripe tomatoes, or cooked daikon.
Note:
Although cucumbers have massive healthy usages, we should not have too much
because it can cause digestive problems. Doctors do not recommend raw cucumbers
for children and patients.
According to Dr. Ngo Van Tuan
By Amthuc365