Pickles - benefits and harms to the human body

The culinary traditions of many Slavic peoples are associated with the use of cucumbers in various forms. These vegetables are eaten fresh, added to salads, salted, pickled, they are the basis of popular salads and pickles. There are a large number of recipes for their conservation.

This crispy product enriches meat and fish dishes, various side dishes with bright flavoring colors. Taste and Benefit pickles and the almost complete absence of harm to the body of an adult, made this product indispensable on our tables. With proper use, it allows you to normalize body weight and gastrointestinal tract, improve the condition of the skin and has a beneficial effect on the overall health of people.

The benefits of pickles for the human body

The positive or negative effect on the human body depends on the method of preparation of the product. Pickled cucumbers significantly increase appetite, favorably affect the absorption of food, remove cholesterol from the body.

Chemical composition

Normalization of hemoglobin level, strength of bones, teeth, healthy metabolism are provided by iron and phosphorus, which accumulate cucumbers in the process of salting. This product contains vitamins A, E, C, PP, group B, which increase immunity, activate hair growth, strengthen nails, promote the synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates. Vegetables are rich in iodine compounds, which normalizes thyroid function.

Salted cucumbers contain probiotics and beneficial bacteria that stabilize the intestinal microflora. When vegetables are salted during fermentation, lactic acid is formed, which lowers blood cholesterol and normalizes blood pressure.

Salted vegetables are stored for a very long time without losing their beneficial properties. Their sour taste stimulates appetite, improves digestion. Due to the content of a large amount of liquid, the body is effectively saturated with oxygen. The product neutralizes and removes alcohol from the body.

Calorie content

Among fresh vegetables, it is recommended to choose small specimens in which the seeds are in their infancy.

The number of calories in a vegetable depends on the conditions of its cultivation. For example, 100 g of fresh fruits grown on the open ground contain 14-15 kcal, in greenhouses - 10 kcal. The calorific value of the salted product is 11–13 kcal, and the salted product is 15 kcal.

Application in traditional medicine, medical recipes

Traditional medicine has long used the healing properties of plants. With the help of cucumber juice, the whole body was cleansed, and the use of this vegetable as a cosmetic product became widespread.

In cosmetology

For cosmetic purposes, cucumber lotions, tonics, masks are widely used, which contributes to effective whitening, cleansing the face of freckles, blackheads, age spots. For these purposes, it is recommended to lubricate problem areas with squeezed juice of young fruits 2-3 times a day. However, not everyone knows that not only fresh cucumbers can be used in cosmetology. Cucumber pickle is also useful.

You can apply it to oily skin in several ways:

1. Freeze liquid and wipe face with ice cubes. This remedy is effective for rash, as well as for enlarged pores.
2. Useful baths for hands from indoor brine. Do not take them for more than 10-15 minutes.
3. Baths with brine for legs will soften corns and relieve fatigue.

For weight loss

For low-calorie diets, it is recommended to give preference to pickles, which are prepared in a natural way without the use of vinegar. With this technology, organic acids are stored as much as possible, and the calorie content of the product is reduced. Cucumbers have a laxative effect on the body.

With a hangover

With excessive alcohol consumption, a hangover inevitably occurs, which is characterized by leaching of salts and dehydration of the body. The hangover syndrome is accompanied by headaches, nausea, weakness, fever, worsening of well-being.

Cucumber pickle consists of water and salts of various origins dissolved in it. Its dill effectively relieves headaches. The solution of pickles perfectly cleanses the blood, prevents fermentation inside the intestines. The result of the use of brine is the elimination of thirst, stabilization of pressure, reduction of headache, activation of metabolic processes of the body.

For constipation

Due to the large amount of water and fiber in its composition, pickles actively affect the intestines, being an excellent natural laxative. A positive result can be achieved by ingesting both the cucumber fruits themselves and their brine. To prepare the brine, it is recommended to withstand vegetables in salt water for at least a month. With constipation, you need to drink 4 glasses of fluid per day. You can also prepare such a tool: 1 cup of brine, 2 tbsp. l sunflower oil and 1 tbsp. l honey, you need to take it three times a day.

With diabetes

It is believed that salted and pickled cucumber products for diabetes are useful, therefore, it is recommended to include them in the diet of patients.

These products operate as follows:

• normalize carbohydrate metabolism in the body;
• facilitate the work of the pancreas;
• protect the liver;
• contribute to the removal of excess potassium;
• help you choose the right dose of insulin;
• prevent weight gain.

For mild or moderate diseases, you can safely include these salty foods in the diet of patients.

With corns and calluses

With such problems, pickles are used externally. To prepare the medicine, they need to be crushed to a state of gruel. Put the prepared mixture on the corn and fix it with a bandage. To put on a sock from above. Leave in this condition overnight. In the morning, remove the bandage and steam out the leg.

To get rid of corns, cones, corns and even fungus, it is recommended to use baths with warm cucumber brine.

Is it good to eat pickles during pregnancy?

In the early stages of pregnancy, most women want pickles. This is caused by the following physiological problems:

• hormonal changes occur;
• due to dehydration, the body requires replenishment of the volume of moisture;
• due to toxicosis, the female body seeks purification.

In particular, the vegetable is saturated with sodium salts, which are important for the formation of amniotic fluid. In addition, it contains many vitamins and important minerals. The inclusion of this type of pickles in the diet helps to activate metabolism, improve the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. It helps to remove toxins, cleanse the body. A small amount of light-salted product will relieve even constant headaches.

Grown in the garden without the use of chemical fertilizers and rolled up in cans, cucumbers are the most beneficial for the health of women in this period. Such a product will not cause any allergic reactions. Vegetables of dubious origin should be discarded. In addition, it is important that salting does not use additional preservatives.

However, pregnant women are not recommended to consume a large amount of salt, since its excess can cause edema, therefore, excessive consumption of pickles can harm.

The main contraindications and health hazards of pickles

With the proper preparation of cucumber pickles and their reasonable use, these products are of great benefit. Moderate eating cucumbers gives pleasure, complements and enriches the taste of various dishes. On the other hand, impaired renal function can lead to the accumulation of fluid inside the tissues and the appearance of edema. In the presence of pathologies of these organs, it is better to abandon pickled, acidic and salty foods.

Pickled cucumbers are contraindicated in such cases:

• dysfunction of the liver, stomach;
• stones in the gall or bladder;
• renal failure;
• hypertension, pathology of the heart and blood vessels;
• atherosclerosis, obesity.

With such diseases, pickled cucumbers are harmful to health, so it is better to abandon them.

The following restrictions should also be taken into account:

1. If you eat a large amount of vegetables in a short time, this can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure. Therefore, hypotonics should be used with caution.
2. Due to acetic acid in the composition of pickles, tooth enamel damage can occur.
3. Increased appetite negatively affects people who tend to gain weight.
4. In the later stages of pregnancy, salted delicacies should also be abandoned due to the danger of developing edema and impaired renal function.

Crispy Cucumber Salting Recipes

To obtain high-quality pickles, it is important to choose the right source material. In this case, you need to focus on the following criteria:

• it is better to choose small young Zelentsy;
• should be preferred hard cucumbers with a thick skin;
• the skin should not be smooth, but have pimples, black spikes;
• good coloring of suitable vegetables is dark green without yellow;
• the taste of cucumbers should be sweetish.

This will strengthen the structure of vegetables, make them more elastic. Various recipes are distinguished by the addition of special spices.Some of them contain allspice, mustard seeds, cloves, oak bark, cherry and oak leaves, basil, tarragon. Most often, classic ingredients are used for salting: currant leaves, dill umbrellas, garlic cloves, horseradish, black pepper and peas.

Step by step recipe:

1. Glass jars need to be boiled together with lids for 10-15 minutes.
2. Before placing on the bottom of the can, greens should be coarsely cut.
3. Larger cucumbers are laid out on the leaves along with spices, and on them are as densely small as possible.
4. Pour the prepared brine, put on top the leaves of horseradish and currant.

In the first case, salt should be dissolved in hot water, add dill, horseradish, oak leaves and boil for several minutes. After that, pour cucumbers with brine, cover and put in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. Roll up the cans, turn upside down to cool completely, covering with a towel.

In the cold method, vegetables placed in jars with spices need to be poured with cold brine and closed with plastic lids.

Answers to Common Questions

Cucumbers in the process of salting are enriched with minerals, vitamins, nutrients and compounds. They can be used to reduce weight, prevent and treat various pathologies. Only medical recommendations can be considered contraindications.