Cucumbers with diabetes - a universal product

Everyone knows that vegetables of all kinds are good for health, but cucumbers for diabetes, obesity and heart diseases deserve special attention.

When overweight, it is recommended to do a fasting “cucumber” day once a week, although treatment of diabetes with cucumbers cannot yet be taken seriously with all the unconditional dietary benefits of this vegetable.

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Benefits

Let's start with the benefits. But first, literally in one line, it is worth recalling that in  type  1 diabetes mellitus, insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas selectively break down, and the peculiarity  of type 2 diabetes  (in 90% of cases in patients with severe obesity) is that glucose is associated with insulin resistance and a relative violation of its secretion.

The daily caloric intake of diabetics should not be higher than 2 thousand kcal, so using fresh cucumbers for diabetes makes it much easier to follow this recommendation, since 96% of cucumbers consist of water, and every 100 g gives only 16 kcal. This means that they can be eaten in large quantities without the risk of a sharp increase in calorie intake.

In the same 100 g of cucumbers, the carbohydrate content of hyperglycemia does not exceed 3.6-3.8 g, while glucose and fructose account for no more than 2-2.5%.

And if for some doubters these data did not answer the question of whether cucumbers can be eaten with diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2, it remains to cite one more argument, specifying the glycemic index of cucumbers - 15, which is 2.3 lower than that of apples, and at half that of tomatoes, which also belong to  products with a low glycemic index.

In fact, cucumbers (Cucumis sativus of the Cucurbitaceae family - pumpkin) also have other advantages, for example, they contain macro-and microelements necessary for the body: sodium (up to 7 mg per 100 g), magnesium (10-14 mg), calcium (18- 23 mg, phosphorus (38-42 mg), potassium (140-150 mg), iron (0.3-0.5 mg), cobalt (1 mg), manganese (180 μg), copper (100 μg), chromium (6 μg), molybdenum (1 mg), zinc (up to 0.25 mg).

There are vitamins in cucumbers, so, in 100 grams of fresh vegetable, according to World's Healthiest Foods, it contains:

• 0.02-0.06 mg beta carotene (provitamin A);
• 2.8 mg of ascorbic acid (L-dehydroascorbate - vitamin C);
• 0.1 mg tocopherol (vitamin E);
• 7 mcg of folic acid (B9);
• 0.07 mg pyridoxine (B6);
• 0.9 mg biotin (B7);
• 0.098 mg of nicotinamide or niacin (B3 or PP);
• about 0.3 mg pantothenic acid (B5);
• 0.033 mg riboflavin (B2);
• 0.027 mg of thiamine (B1);
• up to 17 micrograms of phylloquinone (vitamin K1 and K2).

Vitamin C in diabetes works not only as an antioxidant, but also reduces the risk of atherosclerotic plaques and vascular damage, and also helps in healing wounds.

 It turned out that: nicotinamide protects beta cells of the pancreas from autoimmune destruction and can inhibit the development of nephropathy, and phylloquinones, presumably, have a positive effect on the synthesis of peptide hormone (GLP-1) - glucagon-like peptide-1, which is a physiological regulator of appetite and participates in metabolism of glucose from food.

Specialists associate the state of the immune system and protein synthesis, as well as the activity of insulin, with zinc, and an adequate response of the cellular receptors of this hormone to chromium. And potassium and magnesium in cucumbers help reduce blood pressure and ensure the stability of the heart muscle contraction.

As a source of fiber, fresh cucumbers with diabetes help to optimize the digestive process, remove toxins from the intestines and reduce the amount of bad cholesterol. In addition, as the experts of the American Diabetes Association say, the vegetable fibers of fresh vegetables slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and sugar.

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Cucumbers - a cure for diabetes?

The biochemical composition of cucumber and the potential of its beneficial properties for diabetics continue to be studied. Animal studies (the results of which were published in 2011 in the Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences and in 2014 in the Journal of Medicinal Plant Research) showed the ability of the extract of cucumber seeds and pulp to reduce blood glucose (in rats).

Studies were conducted on the rind of cucumbers fed to mice with type 2 diabetes. The experiment led to the hypothesis about the stimulating effect of the cucurbit triterpene compounds contained in the cucumber peel (cucurbitans or cucurbitacins), which contribute to the release of insulin and the regulation of hepatic glucagon metabolism.

In China, these compounds are extracted from the closest relative of cucumber - the usual pumpkin Cucurbita ficifolia. As reported in the Journal of Food and Agriculture, the use of this extract in laboratory rats with diabetes had a hypoglycemic effect, and a regenerating one on damaged beta cells of the pancreas.

It is difficult to control diabetes, and many natural remedies can be useful for people with this endocrine disease. Of course, the treatment of diabetes with cucumbers while no one holds, and cucumbers are not a cure for diabetes. But the results of research in rodents show that further research is needed - to determine how cucumbers can affect blood sugar levels in humans.

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Contraindications

Most of all in potassium cucumbers, which explains their diuretic effect. Diabetic patients with kidney problems are prescribed a  diet for diabetic nephropathy, and when electrolyte imbalances (developing due to chronic renal failure) are established, nutritionists set a limit on salt intake. Dietary contraindications for patients with osmotic diuresis and hyperkalemia in diabetes, as well as in cases of inflammation of the kidneys and / or bladder, include a ban on the use of potatoes, citrus fruits, apricots (and dried apricots), bananas and cucumbers containing a lot of potassium.

The choleretic effect of cucumbers causes their exclusion from the diet with cholecystitis and cholelithiasis; This vegetable is contraindicated in inflammatory processes in the stomach and duodenum (gastritis, ulcer), as well as in the large intestine (colitis, Crohn's disease).

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Canned, salted, lightly salted and pickled cucumbers for diabetes

Ask any dietician, and he will confirm that in diabetes, you need to give up spicy and salty foods, as they increase the appetite and activate the secretion of gastric juice, bile secretion and overload the pancreas. That is, canned cucumbers for diabetics, as well as lightly salted, pickled and pickled cucumbers with diabetes are considered to be little suitable products. Moreover, in an acidic environment, up to 25-30% of vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9, A and C are destroyed, and after 12 months of storage, these losses doubled, although this does not affect the taste. Salt does not oxidize to vitamin C, but when sterilizing canned cucumbers, it makes a high temperature.

Diabetes pickled vegetables are not completely banned, so you can rarely eat pickled tomato or cucumber. But if you constantly dry in your mouth and suffer from thirst (indicating a lack of fluid in the body that accompanies hyperglycemia), as well as high blood pressure, then canned vegetables with a large amount of salt should be excluded from your menu.

What to replace cucumbers with diabetes?

You can replace cucumbers with vegetables with the same low glycemic index, which also contain a lot of useful elements and vitamins, as well as fiber, which contributes to slower absorption of carbohydrates. These are radishes, fresh and sauerkraut, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, tomatoes and bell peppers, zucchini and eggplants, lettuce and spinach.