Cucumbers are a popular and affordable fruit in Vietnamese markets. Eating cucumbers provides water, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Scientists recommend eating cucumbers in the evening as it has surprising benefits.
If you are someone who eats late at night, choose cucumbers as they can provide many benefits such as preventing obesity, helping with weight loss, and supporting good sleep. In 100 grams of cucumbers, there is about 0.83 grams of starch, 12 mg of vitamin C, 13 mg of magnesium, 16 mg of calcium, 26 mg of phosphorus, and many other nutrients, according to the health website Healthline (USA).
Magnesium, a mineral in cucumbers, has the benefit of promoting sleep. Therefore, eating cucumbers in the evening can help improve sleep. Specifically, a study published in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences found that supplementing with magnesium helps regulate the brain, making it easier for you to fall asleep and sleep longer.
Magnesium also has the benefit of regulating the nervous system and helping humans relax. Cucumbers are also rich in melatonin, a hormone that promotes good sleep. Supplementing with melatonin helps regulate the body’s natural biological rhythm, thereby reducing difficulty falling asleep in the early morning. Furthermore, the melatonin in cucumbers naturally does not cause dependence.
Moreover, in the case of people drinking alcohol in the evening, eating cucumbers before sleep can help reduce the feeling of discomfort and nausea in the morning. Because cucumbers are rich in vitamin B and electrolytes, they replenish the lost nutrients after drinking alcohol, helping the body become more alert.
Cucumbers are also rich in water and minerals, contributing to maintaining electrolyte balance and essential nutrients. As a result, headaches will be significantly reduced when waking up in the morning. Moreover, one of the B vitamins in cucumbers is thiamine, which helps enhance the quality of sleep.
You should consume cucumbers every evening, about 1-2 hours before bedtime, not right before sleep. It is better to eat or blend cucumbers into a smoothie rather than just drinking the juice. An average cucumber weighing 300 grams contains nearly 290 grams of water, so avoid consuming too much to prevent frequent urination at night.
When eating cucumbers for weight loss support, it is better to eat them in a blended form rather than eating the whole fruit. This is because cucumbers contain an enzyme that can eliminate waste and toxins in the body, burn excess fat, and promote metabolism called phospholipase. The amount of phospholipase enzyme will increase significantly when we blend cucumbers. This is because the fat-degrading enzyme multiplies when the cell membranes are broken. This helps achieve better weight loss results.
Therefore, in the evening, you should consume blended cucumbers.