Cucumbers and little recognized tips on how to defend against diabetic issues

June 25, 2010 - PRLog -- Cucumbers and little recognized tips on how to defend against diabetic issues

by Suzanne Ault

Are you cool as a cucumber? Not just is the cucumber known for it’s capability to cool down our bodies, it has additionally been known to help with jaundice, diarrhea, epilepsy, sore throat, conjunctivitis (redness of the eye) and swelling of extremities.

Frequently you should attempt to deseed the cucumber as the body can have trouble digesting the seeds. You can deseed them yourself easily by cutting them in half and using a spoon to take out the seeds or if you wish to eliminate this step it is possible to buy cucumbers that are already seeded.

Fresh cucumbers are easy to add to salads and for an easy salad just toss diced cucumbers with sliced red onions, red tomatoes and your favorite all-natural, low-fat balsamic vinaigrette. This is a fast way to make a refreshing salad that reaps some great benefits of cucumber.

Anti-diabetic Advantages of Cucumber:
Beta cells within the pancreas produce the hormone insulin.Cucumber is found to have a hormone needed by the beta cells in the insulin production. Moreover, the Glycemic Index of cucumbers is found to be zero.

Why Cucumbers have not a glycemic index listed? Does this imply they don’t raise blood sugar?
Not at all. It simply means that under the “rules” for the concept of the glycemic index, it is too hard to get an accurate number. It is because you’ll need to eat a very big amount of the food to get 50 grams of carbohydrate at a time to be tested. In general, the lower the amount of carbohydrate in a vegetable and the more fiber it has, the less the rise in blood sugar will be.

The carbohydrates are primarily responsible of the raise of the glucose level.However the carbohydrates contained in the cucumber are easily digestible in a diabetes patient’s stomach.

Techniques for Preparing Cucumbers:
Unwaxed cucumbers don’t need to be peeled but should be washed before cutting. Cucumbers can be sliced, diced or cut into sticks.

A couple of Quick Serving Ideas:
- Use half-inch thick cucumber slices as petite serving “dishes” for chopped vegetable salads.
- Mix diced cucumbers with sugar snap peas and mint leaves and toss with rice wine vinaigrette.
- For refreshing cold gazpacho soup that takes five minutes or less to make, simply purée cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and onions, then add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add diced cucumber to tuna fish or chicken salad recipes.

Cool Cucumber Salad Recipe:

Cool Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
- 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin
- 1/3 cup minced cilantro

Dressing:
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tsp. honey
- 2 tsp. Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- Pinch dried red pepper flakes

Preparation per 8 servings:
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Marinating time: 60 minutes

1. Combine the cucumbers, carrots, red onion, and cilantro in a large bowl.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Salad may be eaten using a fork.

Nutritional Values per Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 25
- Calories From Fat: 10

- Total Fat: 1 gram
- Saturated fats: .1 grams
- Cholesterol: milligrams
- Sodium: 50 milligrams (without added salt)
- Total Carbohydrate: 5 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
- Sugars: 3 grams
- Protein: 1 grams

About the author: Suzanne Ault gives advice for the diabetic diet recipes blog, her personal hobby web page centered on cooking suggestions to prevent diabetic issues.

WineDineGuide: http://winedineguide.com/w/?page_id=2624

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