Keeping Cool with Cucumbers

Your harvest basket and the farmer’s markets are filled with cucumbers. Use these low-calorie nutritious vegetables in beverages, salads and more.

Often overlooked for its health benefits, the cucumber, seeds and all, have been receiving recent attention for its potential to combat disease.

Physicians in the 17th century prescribed using cucumbers to patients suffering from fevers. They observed that the cucumber’s ability to retain moisture helped to “keep its cool.” They had patients lay on a bed of cucumbers to break the fever, so they’d become “cool as a cucumber.”

This vegetable’s popularity soared in 1876 when Henry J Heinz added pickles to his list of processed foods.

So, enjoy a few slices of cucumber in a glass of water, on a sandwich or in a wrap, cold soup and of course a salad and pickled.

A bit more information: Use a slice of cucumber to cure bad breath. Use your tongue to press a slice of cucumber on the roof of your mouth. Hold it there for 30 seconds to kill the bacteria that causes bad breath.