Eat them raw and you get a juicy crunch. Cucumbers, however, do more than just serve as a refreshing feature of salads, sandwiches, slaws, pickles, noodles, cocktails and more. This popular produce pick, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with melon, squash and pumpkins, has been used in traditional medicine since ancient times for its unnumbered health benefits.

Cucumber is rich in polyphenols and cucurbitacins, plant compounds that are known to be antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperglycemic, diuretic, antimicrobial and analgesic, to name a few.[i] Here are 18 of its valued medicinal wonders.

18 Health Benefits of Cucumber

1. Keeps you hydrated. Cucumber is approximately 96% water, so it can be particularly effective at promoting hydration and helps you meet your daily fluid intake needs.[ii]

2. Useful for weight loss. Each half-cup serving of cucumber offers just 7.8 calories.[iii] In an analysis, consuming high-water, low-calorie foods was linked to a significant reduction in body weight.[iv]

3. Eases osteoarthritis pain. In a study, using 10 milligrams (mg) of an aqueous extract of cucumber twice daily proved effective in reducing pain related to moderate knee osteoarthritis and can be used to address knee pain, stiffness and physical functions related to the condition.[v]

Osteoarthritis, caused by wear and tear on the joints, presently has no known cure and is conventionally managed through high doses of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs that often come with side effects.

4. Helps treat liver damage. Heat-treated cucumber juice showed a significant protective benefit on alcohol detoxification among animal subjects, suggesting a potential use in treating liver injury due to excess alcohol consumption.[vi]