9 Potential Health Benefits of Cucumber Juice
Cucumber Juice is a nutrient-dense drink that has several potential health benefits. Learn why you should drink it, how much to drink, and any precautions about adding this juice to your diet.
Potential Health Benefits
Cucumber juice is refreshing and hydrating, but you might be surprised to learn it provides lots of hidden benefits, too. From improving the vitality of your skin to boosting the immune system to reducing inflammation, this easy-to-prepare juice can make a valuable addition to your diet.
Let’s take a closer look at the many ways in which a glass of cucumber juice may benefit your health.
See my Cucumber Juice Recipe!
1. Great for Hydration
Cucumber juice is one of the best things you can drink to stay hydrated. That’s because cucumbers (cucumis sativus) are made up of around 95% water!
If you struggle to drink as much water as you should, drinking cucumber juice is a great way to up your intake and replace the fluids lost from urination and sweating. Staying properly hydrated is important in many ways. It improves your circulation – so oxygen and nutrients are efficiently delivered to where they are needed – and it supports detoxification (more on that later!).
Better still, cucumbers are rich in valuable minerals like magnesium and potassium. These help keep your body’s electrolyte levels and proper hydration balanced, supporting a range of bodily functions.
If you’re looking for the perfect drink to help you recover quickly after physical activity or replace nutrients on a hot day, cucumber juice or cucumber water is a good way to do so.
2. Helps Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation is part of your body’s defense mechanism, helping fight off bacteria and heal injuries. But chronic inflammation – when your body sends out inflammatory cells without the presence of bacteria or injury – is more problematic and is associated with a range of chronic diseases.
So it’s good to know that drinking cucumber juice can help bring inflammation under control, thanks to the nutrients and bioactive compounds it contains. These include antioxidants like vitamin C, beta-carotene, and the flavonoid quercetin, all of which neutralize harmful free radicals – the unstable molecules that cause oxidative stress.
Equally useful are the anti-inflammatory compounds in cucumber known as cucurbitacins, which block pro-inflammatory signals and enzymes.
The hydrating properties of cucumber juice play a role in controlling inflammation, too, as good hydration supports overall health and helps remove the toxins that can trigger inflammatory responses.
3. Good for Your Digestion
Drinking cucumber juice can benefit your digestive system in several different ways.
First, its excellent hydrating properties help break down soluble fiber and fats so they pass through the digestive tract more easily. When the organs of the digestive system are well hydrated, it works more efficiently and you’re less likely to experience discomforts like constipation or other digestive problems.
Cucumbers have quite a soothing effect on the stomach, too. This is good news if you’re familiar with the irritation from conditions like acid reflux, as it can provide relief from the symptoms and help your digestive tract to heal.
Cucumbers are also alkaline and may balance the pH levels in the body, which some people feel helps reduce gut inflammation and boosts their digestion.
And – while not as rich in fiber as whole cucumbers – cucumber juice contains some soluble fiber to add bulk to your stools and promote regular bowel movements without a lot of side effects
4. Helps Support Your Weight Loss Journey
Cucumber juice makes an ideal alternative to high-calorie sugary drinks if you’re watching your weight!
With under 50 calories per one cup serving, it contains nutrients that support a healthy metabolism, including potassium, magnesium, and vitamins like vitamin K and vitamin C. Potassium and magnesium are especially useful, as they have important roles in the process of converting food into energy.
Thanks to its fiber and water content, the juice can help you feel full, too, which is an important factor in preventing snacking between meals. It’s a refreshing drink that won’t disrupt your weight management efforts.
I have a whole list of cucumber drinks to support weight loss!
5. Protects Against Heart Disease and Cancer
The nutrient composition of cucumber juice – along with an abundance of useful plant compounds – means it can help protect you against serious conditions like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Because it helps keep you hydrated, it contributes towards reducing the thickness of the blood. This can lower blood pressure and cut down the amount of strain on the heart.
The potassium and magnesium in cucumber juice are both important minerals for heart health and help regulate blood pressure. This is especially true of potassium, which can balance out the harmful effects of salt.
Meanwhile, the antioxidant content of the juice reduces oxidative stress on your body, helping protect your cardiovascular health and cutting the risk of developing cancer. Further cancer prevention comes from the cucurbitacins in cucumber, which are phytochemicals proven to offer anti-cancer benefits.
Plus – as I mentioned earlier – cucumber juice helps control inflammation. Inflammation is a well-known risk factor for both cancer and heart disease. The cucumber juice benefits just keep getting better and better!
6. Promotes Clear Skin
Staying well-hydrated is very important for the health of your skin. Regularly consuming cucumber juice helps maintain its elasticity – preventing wrinkles – and stops it from feeling dry and flaky.
The efficient delivery of nutrients to your cells, meanwhile, gives your complexion a nice, healthy glow!
While making your cucumber juice, why not cut a couple of slices to cool in the refrigerator and then place them on your eyes? This is a great (and inexpensive way) to reduce puffiness and under-eye bags.
7. Supports Detoxification
The hydrating properties of cucumber make it great for natural detoxification as it helps flush toxins from the liver and kidneys. Proper hudration also helps the kidneys to function effectively, so they can filter and eliminate waste products from the body.
What’s more, the nutrients and antioxidants in cucumber juice help keep your liver healthy, protecting it from damage by free radicals and improving its detoxification abilities.
Cucumber with its high water content is also a natural diuretic that assists the body in producing more urine to flush the system.
8. Helps Regulate Your Blood Sugar
More research is needed, but some studies suggest that consuming cucumber can help lower your blood sugar levels and prevent the complications often associated with diabetes. This is partly because it is a low-calorie, nutrient-dense food with excellent hydrating properties.
But other useful factors come into play, too. These include its fiber content – which prevents spikes in blood sugar – and the magnesium and potassium it contains, both of which are known for blood sugar control.
It also has a low glycemic index (GI), which means that any rise in blood sugar it causes is very gradual and certainly healthier than almost any of the sports drinks or sodas on the market.
9. Better Bone Health
A surprising benefit of cucumber juice is that it helps boost the health of your bones!
That’s because it’s a good source of vitamin K, which helps your body absorb more calcium and maintain a healthy level in the bones. This keeps them strong and may reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis.
Its potassium and magnesium content are useful, too. Magnesium helps turn vitamin D into its active form which further boosts calcium absorption, while potassium improves bone density by neutralizing metabolic acids that can cause bone loss.
Finally, raw cucumber and cucumber skin contain silica, which may help with bone collagen production and support the health of connective tissue in the bone.
How Much to Drink
While there are no official recommendations for how much cucumber juice to drink, an 8-ounce (1 cup) serving daily is a good place to start. You can then gauge how you feel after drinking it and either increase or decrease the quantity as appropriate.
Some people like to say that you should drink cucumber juice on an empty stomach to get all of the cucumber benefits, but that is not proven by science. Drinking cucumber juice with a meal may be better to help reduce any chance that it might bother your stomach.
The best option, though, is to speak to your healthcare adviser. He or she will take your dietary needs and health goals into consideration to provide a more personalized recommendation.
Precautions
Cucumber juice is safe for most people, but there are a few things to think about before including it in your diet on a regular basis.
Despite its benefits to the digestive system, cucumber can cause digestive discomforts for people sensitive to it, such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea. It may also be problematic for anyone with reduced kidney function or on potassium-restricted diets. This is because cucumber is so high in potassium that the kidneys may struggle to remove it.
Finally – and as with all fresh produce – there is the matter of pesticide residues to consider. To minimize your exposure, either make your juice with organic cucumbers or wash them very thoroughly.
Ways to Incorporate Cucumber Juice Into Your Diet
Here are some creative ways to incorporate fresh, healthy cucumber juice into your daily diet:
- Add it to your smoothies. Because it has a mild, neutral flavor, it pairs well with everything from fruits and leafy greens to milk and yogurt.
- Make ice cubes. You can then add these to other drinks throughout the day.
- Use it as a base for salad dressings. Just mix it with oil, vinegar, and seasonings of your choice.
- Enjoy it after a workout. It’s ideal for replenishing the fluids and minerals lost during exercise, thereby supporting a speedy recovery.
- Make gazpacho. This cold soup is simple to prepare – just blend the juice with green bell peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Thicken by blending in a little bread to achieve the texture you need, then add a splash of olive oil and season to taste.
- Create healthy popsicles. Mix the cucumber juice with a little lemon (and perhaps a dash of honey) then freeze it in popsicle molds for a healthy treat on a hot day.
FAQs
There are lots of different steps you can take to produce cucumber juice that’s full of goodness and tastes amazing! First, choose fresh cucumbers with no blemishes or soft spots. Next, juice them using a cold-press juicer (more on this below), and be sure to leave their skins on. This is important since the skin contains the majority of the nutrients.
Drink the juice as soon as possible after juicing to make the most of its benefits. If that’s not possible, take steps to reduce its exposure to air and light, as these can cause vitamins and enzymes to degrade. I like to use airtight opaque containers for this purpose and store them in the refrigerator. Ideally, you should then consume the juice within 24 hours. If you want to add a little more flavor, try a squeeze of lemon juice or lime juice. This boosts the vitamin C content, plus it slows down oxidation and preserves the juice for longer. If you prefer your juice a little sweeter, try juicing it with a few slices of apple or carrot.
There are several types of cucumbers available, including common slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, and English cucumbers. But while they may differ from each other in terms of taste and texture, their nutritional value is almost identical and all varieties provide fiber and a good range of vitamins and minerals. For the healthiest juice, focus on choosing organic cucumbers and prepare them using the methods I’ve described in this article. Or, use my Cucumber Juice Recipe.
For the most flavorful, nutrient-rich cucumber juice, I recommend cold-press juicing or using a masticating juicer. That’s because it uses a hydraulic press to extract the juice, keeping heat and oxidation to a minimum. This helps preserve most of the nutrients and enzymes in the vegetables.
Centrifugal juicing is a little more convenient because it’s faster, but it involves more heat and oxygen. This lowers the nutritional value of the juice. You can also use a high-speed blender to make your cucumber juice. See my article on How to Use a Vitamix to Make Green Juice.
More Cucumber Recipes & Resources You Might Like
Summary
Cucumber juice is low in calories and provides a wide range of health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer, improved skin health, and blood sugar regulation.
A healthy drink for most people, it also has a mild, refreshing taste. This means you can enjoy it just as it is or mixed with other ingredients, making it easy to include as a regular part of your diet.
Don’t forget to join my newsletter list to get exclusive clean eating recipes and tips. The newsletter is 100% free with no spam; unsubscribe anytime.
About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition. She is a top wellness and food blogger with over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Note: this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for recommendations related to your individual situation.
