Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Cucumber and Weight Loss

A few months back I went on this binge of water consumption and cucumbers. The change I saw in the two week period was shocking. I lost 12 pounds. I was going through some other health issues at the time and I wasn't sure if it was the diet I had or something else. So, this last week, I decided to repeat it as an experiment.

Here's what my diet consists of-
  • Breakfast- 8 oz. of bottled water
  • Lunch - WHATEVER I WANT :D weeee!!
  • Dinner- Half of a large cucumber.
  • Water all day long
It sounds like a starvation diet, huh? Wrong. It's not. I've been doing research on this. Guess what- I could be onto something. In six days already, I lost 3 pounds. That's pretty fast. Also I don't feel as hungry all the time. Yes, there is temptation to pig out but I think that's a mixture of boredom and social conditioning of the culture I live in. Also, don't snack on junk food; that's obvious but veggies and fruit is fine.

I did some research on the cucumber and I found some pretty awesome things about it... check it out! :D


The cucumber has a very long history in this world, going back to almost 3000 plus years of cultivation by humans. From what the reports say it has originated from Asia and it moved gradually through China to Europe (Italy, Greece and France in about 8-9th century). You will find mention about the cucumber in England around the 10th century, and it took another good 500 years to reach America.

Wherever it went, the cucumber became a hot favorite owing to the fact that it was tasty and cool while eaten – mainly raw. In many parts of the world the cucumber is also eaten pickled and/or cooked as any other vegetable. The pickle cucumber is usually a small species called gherkin (from German ‘gurke’ for cucumber), which is a little sweetish in taste.

The cucumber has great antioxidant properties, being very rich in both Vitamins C and A. It also offers manganese, potassium, tryptophan, molybdenum and a good deal of fiber when consumed. Cucumber has been used with great success in weight loss diets, which have worked just great because the cucumber is also a great diuretic. What is a diuretic, you would ask. Well, a diuretic is any chemical (or drug), which encourages the removal of fluids form the body. When used in the right proportions, a diuretic would accelerate the metabolism and expel with the waste fluids a good deal of fat cells as well – just as a large flush of water would wash away whatever it crosses in its path. The diuretics are, as a matter of fact, capable (and often do) to break down large fatty deposits into tiny pieces, which can be easily flushed out from your body. In this process, you will loose your fat cells in a rapid and systematic manner while at the same time remove the excess water from the body as well.

It has been observed often that when people adopt a diet that consists mainly of cucumber – taken raw or in the form of juice – its properties affect the body’s fat and the excess water, both of which are systematically eliminated. The result is that you will find a drastic reduction in weight over a relatively small period of time. This effect is also owed to the high silicon and sulphur content of the cucumber, which by nature act as stimulants to the kidney to flush out the uric acid that has accumulated in the body.

Along with this uric acid, the kidney would also be instrumental in gradually breaking down the fat layers and expelling the tiny fat particles through the waste products that the kidneys siphon out of the body. In this manner in no time the body would rid itself off most of the fat accumulated under the skin and other parts of the body through the excreted fluids.

The result is a glowing looking you, thinner and healthier as well!