You may wonder what health benefits zucchini has for the body? There are some great skin benefits of eating zucchini. There are so many health benefits to eating them, especially raw. So, what exactly are some health benefits of eating zucchini? And is eating zucchini everyday good for you and your nutrition?
Zucchini: Health And Beauty Benefits
Zucchini is a member of the squash family. They can otherwise be known as courgette.
I love to eat raw zucchini for the health and beauty benefits they provide my body. There is even evidence that zucchini has some benefits for weight loss support.
Is Zucchini Healthy? What Are The Benefits Of Eating Zucchini?
So, you might wonder if zucchini is good for your health? The answer is yes. Zucchini is rich in vitamins A, B and C, potassium, folate, magnesium, carotenoids and antioxidants.
Zucchini Health Benefits
This vegetable is refreshing because it has high water content. There are also some impressive key nutrients that zucchini provides your body.
So, no more wondering, “Is zucchini good for you?” Zucchini is very beneficial for your health and nutrition. Let’s dive right into the amazing health benefits and what zucchini can do for your body.
What Does Zucchini Do For Your Body?
Eating zucchini everyday is good for your body for so many reasons that range from internal skincare to protecting your heart and nervous system.
Benefits Of Zucchini For Hydrating Skin
Did you know that raw zucchini has significant health benefits for your skin? Foods rich in water content are tremendous for the skin, especially if you suffer from dry skin.
In the winter, more people suffer from dry skin, so by adding extra zucchini into your diet in the cooler months, you can moisturize the skin from within to eliminate any dry flaky skin.
So, eat up your zucchini, because it’s good for you, and the hydrating benefits it has are tremendous for the skin.
Zucchini Health Benefits For The Nervous System!
The high water content in zucchini also helps support the proper function of your kidneys. In addition, they contain a great amount of potassium, which is important in the balance of your electrolytes.
The magnesium and potassium in zucchini help calm the nervous system. When you relax the nervous system, you help lower your blood pressure.
Why Is Potassium So Important For Lowering Blood Pressure?
Potassium is an electrolyte important for properly regulating your body’s fluid balance. This is ideal when seeking to lower blood pressure levels. It works in two ways.
Potassium helps relax blood vessel walls, and helps our body excrete excess sodium through our urine. Our kidneys store excess sodium from the food we eat. Kidneys are like the filter in our body. They filter our blood while removing the excess sodium. One of the issues is when our bodies are excreting too much sodium, the blood is pumping more forceful.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, is when our blood pumps more than average to remove excess fluids in our body. Our heart muscles then become strained and weaken. This can lead to serious health risks, like heart attacks and stroke.
Zucchini High In Antioxidants
This delicious vegetable, zucchini, is rich in antioxidants, which are superb to protect your skin from free radical damage that would otherwise cause wrinkles.
Zucchini is rich in vitamin C as well as carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. All these antioxidants and carotenoids in zucchini are beneficial to protect the skin. So, as you can see, eating zucchini benefits your skin health.
Zucchini Is Full Of Vitamins
Zucchini is full of vitamins C, B, and A, potassium, and carotenoids (lutein & zeaxanthin).
One medium-sized zucchini contains 47% of your daily requirements of vitamin C. Vegetables rich in vitamin C are beneficial to the skin because they help repair skin cells.
Zucchini is also full of potassium and iron. Potassium promotes healthy skin, and the iron that zucchini contains is essential for healthy blood.
Zucchini High Fiber Content Benefits For Weight Loss
Can eating zucchini help with weight loss?
Raw zucchini has some wonderful health benefits if your goal is weight loss. This veggie contains high fiber content, which makes it an ideal choice for weight loss.
Bonus: High fiber vegetables help support a healthy digestive system. In addition, higher fiber content will help keep you full and satisfied. The high fiber content makes this vegetable ideal for helping keep blood sugar levels steady, which can reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
Zucchini is also relatively low in calories and fat, with zero cholesterol, making this squash a healthy choice.
How many carbs are in zucchini?
Per 1 medium-sized zucchini, about 1 cup of raw sliced zucchini, there are 4 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Therefore, eating zucchini benefits those seeking weight loss for health benefits.
Benefits Of Zucchini For Eye Health
This food is excellent for good eye health. Protecting your vision is important. Zucchini is rich in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A by our liver. Beta-carotene is a known powerhouse of antioxidants shown to protect our eye health, especially night vision loss, cataracts, and macular degeneration.
Lutein also found in zucchini is another important antioxidant that helps support healthy vision.
Zucchini Helps Prevent Disease
Zucchini is brimming full of B vitamins like B1, B2, and B3, which are important for helping reduce the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, as well as many heart diseases.
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The manganese in zucchini is an essential mineral for the body that protects the body from heart disease.
⭐️ Zucchini Pro Nutrition Tip
Here are some quick nutrition facts on zucchini. Zucchinis contributes to healthy digestion. They are also a low-calorie vegetable, with only 21 calories per cup of raw zucchini.
Zucchinis are also a rich source of B-vitamins, especially folate, riboflavin, and B6.
How To Prepare “Zoodle” Noodles
Eating “zoodles” which are spiralized zucchini noodles, to appear like spaghetti noodles, is a fantastic option for those avoiding gluten by simply replacing any regular noodle with “zoodle noodles”.
You can make “zoodle noodles” Simply spiralize the zucchini and use it as replacement for regular noodles in any recipes.
If you are not used to eating zoodles, consider replacing only half of your regular noodles with zucchini noodles, and continue to decrease the amount of regular noodles over time.
Zoodles Nutrition Hack
There are some wonderful health benefits of zucchini noodles, zoodles. If you are aiming to decrease the amounts of carbohydrates you eat daily, here is a quick nutrition hack to try out.
For example, each time you make a pasta dish, simply consider slowly swapping out the regular pasta with zoodles until you are eventually eating only the zoodles.
10 Health Benefits Of Zucchini
- Full of Vitamin C.
- May Help Prevent Diseases.
- Rich in Vitamin A.
- Good for Nervous System.
- Good for Weight Loss.
- High Fiber Content.
- Good for the Eyes.
- Low in Calories.
- Rich in Antioxidants.
- Hydrating to the Body.
There are some surprising key nutrients and health benefits of zucchini that you should know.
Zucchini Key Nutrients
Vitamin C | Riboflavin | Vitamin B6 | Vitamin A | Potassium | Carotenoids (Lutein & Zeaxanthin) | Antioxidants
Benefits Of Raw Zucchini
Nutrition Breakdown Of Zucchini
*Per 1 medium-sized zucchini, about 1 cup of raw sliced zucchini.
- Calories | 21
- Fiber | 3 grams
- Carbohydrates | 4 grams
- Protein 1 gram
- Vitamin A | 48% DV
- Iron | 6% DV
- Vitamin C | 24% DV
- Folate | 22% DV
- Vitamin K | 17% DV
- Potassium | 16% DV
- Vitamin B6 | 35% DV
- Riboflavin | 27% DV
- Thiamine | 10% DV
- Manganese | 27% DV
- Phosphorus | 12% DV
- Copper | 8% DV
- Magnesium | 14% DV
Which Is Healthier Cucumber Or Zucchini?
They may look similar, but these two veggies vary in nutritional content. In terms of protein and fiber, zucchini wins this race. Both veggies are rich in potassium, calcium, and even iron.
But, when it comes to the energy and beauty vitamins, C and B, zucchini wins. Always vary your diet to make it more diverse, because this ensures you get a wide range of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to perform at its best.
Zucchini Eating Suggestions
Are you wondering how to eat zucchini? Here are some great ways to eat zucchini. Try slicing up some zucchini and adding to smoothies. You won’t taste the zucchini, but you will increase the nutritional content of the smoothie by adding extra vitamins and minerals.
I love to add zucchini to my chili, soups, and stews. Try making an egg breakfast burrito with some chopped zucchini too.
If you love zucchini, consider one of my delicious recipes, a healthy Korean beef zoodles bowl, or low sugar fruit strawberry maple smoothie, made with surprisingly zucchini.
You can also try out my blueberry zucchini healthy breakfast cookie (Video)
How Do You Make And Cook Zucchini “Zoodle Noodles”?
Start by either using a vegetable peeler to create elongated bands of noodles, or simply using a spiralizer to create the zoodle noodle.
To cook your zoodles, start by salting a large pot of boiling water. Next, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. After that, drain, season, and serve.
In addition, you can also toss your raw zoodles into a pan on medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the noodles around to cook for 3-4 minutes. You can add in other flavorful aromatics, like garlic, oregano, and onion.
Healthy Zucchini Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- How to Make Easy Paleo Turkey Zucchini Meatballs Recipe
- How to Make Blueberry Zucchini Healthy Breakfast Cookie (Video)
Let’s Discuss Health Benefits Of Zucchini!
Did you learn any impressive health, skin, and beauty benefits of raw zucchini? Will you be trying out some zucchini noodles, zoodles for their health benefits? I would love to hear what your favorite zucchini recipe is. Let me know in the comments below.
You can also connect with me @EatYourNutrition on Instagram. I love seeing your photos. #EatYourNutrition #LauraVillanueva
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