Having high blood pressure can increase the risk of developing heart and kidney disease. People with high blood pressure should learn the essential foods they should eat to reduce the health risk. One fruit (usually treated like a vegetable) that can help alleviate hypertension is cucumbers, according to researchers. Cucumbers can be an addition to an overall healthy balanced diet to lower high blood pressure.
According to the Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a diet high in sodium can lead to high blood pressure or prevent a person from lowering it. Cucumbers can assist in lowering blood pressure because a large cucumber only has 6 mg of sodium.
The daily recommended amount of potassium a person should consume is at least 4,700 mg per day, but the average American only consume less than 60 percent of this amount, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mineral potassium, is essential for balancing blood pressure. A large cucumber has 442 mg of potassium and will contribute to lowering hypertension.
A person who is overweight or obese, can lower their blood pressure by losing weight, according to the Mayo Clinic. A person can lose weight if they eat a diet with fewer calories than they expend daily. A cucumber with the skin is only 45 calories. More than 95 percent of the weight of a cucumber is from water, which makes the alkaline fruit a calorie-free nutrient and a natural appetite suppressant, according to the University of Michigan. Eating cucumbers could leave a person feeling full without the excessive calories, which contributes to weight gain.
