Does Cucumber Lower Blood Sugar In Diabetes?

Diet is often an essential part of managing diabetes. Not only does food affect your blood sugar, but it also can help control your weight, cholesterol levels and blood pressure -- all of which can reduce your chances of developing diabetes later in life. While no one can deny the benefits of a healthy diet, modern research is finding that certain foods could potentially improve your sensitivity to insulin more than others, helping to better manage blood sugar levels. Cucumber is one such food. As with any alternative approach to medicine, talk to your doctor before making changes to your diabetes treatment plan.
Blood Sugar 

A study published in the September 2010 issue of the journal “Plant Foods for Human Nutrition” found that the peels of certain vegetables could have some therapeutic effects
on diabetes. It appears that the polyphenols,flavonoids and ascorbic acids in cucumber peels -- as well as the peels of summer squash and “tinda” -- lower bloodsugar in diabetic rats. Further research is necessary to determine whether similar results can be expected in human patients.

Cholesterol
This same study also found that these peels held some promise in managing serum lipid levels. At the end of 15 days, the researchers saw improvements not only in the rats' total cholesterol, but also in their high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides. Low levels of high-density lipoproteins and high levelsof triglycerides have both been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, further suggesting the benefits of
cucumber to manage this disease. As with controlling blood sugar, more research is needed to determine if results are the same in human patients.
Water
Even if studies do determine that certain vegetable peels increase your sensitivity to insulin, the same doesn’t necessarily hold true for drinking cucumber water. The amount of polyphenols, flavonoids and ascorbic acids instilled into infused water isn’t likely as great as those found in the peel itself.