Many Cucumber Benefits in folk medicine

The cucumber, Cucumis sativis, is a vine fruit that can be eaten fresh or pickled. A member of the Cucurbitaceae family, it is related to melons and squash. Cucumbers were native to northwestern India but have long been distributed throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. Cucumber is a popular vegetable, which has been widely used in folk medicine to reduce heat and inflammation. It is a rich source of vitamin C, and can be used externally to cool and cleanse.

USES
• Drink cucumber juice or eat fresh cucumber to soothe heartburn or to improve an acid stomach.
• Drink 3–5fl. oz. (100–150ml) of cucumber juice every two hours for a gastric or duodenal ulcer.
• For strained or inflamed eyes, place a slice of cucumber on each eyelid to reduce swelling and soothe.
• Apply fresh cucumber or cucumber juice to sunburned skin to cool it down.
• Ground dried cucumber seeds are used to treat tapeworm.
• Cucumber juice, drunk daily, may help to control eczema, arthritis, and gout.
• Skin conditions respond to cucumber. Include fresh cucumber in your diet as much as possible.
• Cucumber juice acts as a kidney tonic.
• Use cucumber ointment on inflammed skin.
• Fresh cucumber juice, or the whole raw vegetable, is a mild diuretic and is cleansing. Use to treat lung and chest infections, and to bring down fever.

PROPERTIES
• Diuretic
• Cooling
• Cleansing, particularly for skin disorders
• Used in the treatment of gout and arthritis
• Anti-inflammatory—soothes infl ammatory skin conditions
• May help to treat lung and chest disorders
• Drink cucumber juice for inflammatory conditions such as arthritis