Such A Useful Zucchini

With it, the first summer vitamins, so long-awaited after a long winter, come to our tables. But what exactly is a zucchini useful for?

With it, the first summer vitamins, so long-awaited after a long winter, come to our tables. But what exactly is a zucchini useful for?

Zucchini comes from hot Mexico and is a relative of the pumpkin. It has an oblong shape, is white, green or yellow in color. Many people underestimate this vegetable, believing that its composition consists mainly of water. This opinion is only partially true - zucchini really consists of 95% water, and it also contains about 0.5% protein and 4.5% carbohydrates. Moreover, the composition of all varieties of zucchini is approximately the same. So, what good do we find in this first summer vegetable?

Composition of zucchini

In 100 gr. Zucchini pulp contains:

• Vitamin B1 – 0.03 mg;
• Vitamin B2 - 0.03 mg;
• Vitamin B3 – 0.01 mg;
• Vitamin B6 - 0.1 mg;
• Vitamin B9 – 14.0 μg;
• Vitamin A (carotene) – 12 mg;
• Vitamin PP - 0.6 mg;
• Vitamin C – 15.0 mg;
• Vitamin H - 0.4 μg.

Zucchini also contains a large amount of mineral salts, which play an important role in regulating metabolism in the body.

• Calcium salts - 17.2 mg;
• Potassium salts - 309 mg;
• Phosphorus salts - 28.2 mg;
• Magnesium salts - 16.2 mg.

It should be noted that the ratio of potassium and sodium salts (150:1) is favorable for maintaining the ideal water balance of the body, in practice this means that zucchini helps to remove excess fluid from the body and is therefore recommended for people in the postoperative period and women during pregnancy. In smaller quantities, vegetables contain salts of iron, sulfur, sodium, etc

In addition, zucchini contains quite a lot of such trace elements as: aluminum, molybdenum, zinc, lithium, arsenic, titanium.

The calorie content of the product is 100 kcal per 100 g. zucchini

About the benefits of the composition of zucchini for the body

A large amount of carotene and vitamin C determines the general strengthening properties of the vegetable. Since zucchini helps to get rid of excess fluid and normalize the water balance (simply speaking, the vegetable has a pronounced diuretic effect), it is indicated for cholecystitis, pyelonephritis, chronic nephritis, chronic colitis, and urolithiasis.

These same properties of the vegetable contribute to the removal of puffiness, the removal of impurities and even help in the fight against cellulite. Ham has a high content of pectin substances, which helps to remove "bad" cholesterol. Thus, zucchini is an indispensable vegetable in the diet of people suffering from atherosclerosis, hypertension, hepatitis and metabolic disorders.

The record high content of potassium and magnesium is useful for the heart muscle, iron improves the properties of blood and enriches it with oxygen.

Contraindications and restrictions

It is not recommended to use zucchini in raw form with an existing stomach ulcer, as well as with gastritis with increased acidity. Since there is a lot of potassium in zucchini, you should not abuse this vegetable for those who have kidney diseases associated with impaired excretion of potassium from the body.

Which zucchini are useful?

Since the composition of different varieties is almost identical, any varieties can be used for cooking, depending on personal taste preferences.

However, it is important to choose the right fruits. Young unripe zucchini 20-25 cm, which are cooked with the skin, are considered the most useful. These can be eaten even raw, but "older" zucchini must be cooked.

Young zucchini are not only the most useful, but also have the best taste qualities. They are recommended for children (by the way, this vegetable is one of the first to appear in the diet of children under one year old), and for the elderly, and for those who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract and suffer from diabetes. By the way, low-calorie and healthy zucchini often becomes the basis of various diets for weight loss.

Features of the zucchini diet

If you have chosen a diet, the main product of which is zucchini, then you need to know a few rules:

1. For the diet, choose young dark green zucchini (zucchini is ideal). You don't need to clean zucchini, since it is the skin that contains the maximum amount of vitamins and trace elements.
2. Despite the rich composition, zucchini need partners, so feel free to combine them with other vegetables, for example, in salads or vegetable stews.
3. Zucchini has little protein, which is necessary for the body, including during a diet. This means that the zucchini diet should include protein of animal origin: poultry, fish.

Features of culinary processing

There are many zucchini dishes. They are consumed fresh, fried, stewed, marinated, stuffed, used for salting and cooking caviar. It is important to choose unripe young fruits, as mature zucchini are quite hard, they lose their useful and tasty properties.

You cannot subject this delicate vegetable to long-term cooking, as this leads to the destruction of vitamins and trace elements. It is not recommended to use raw vegetables in baby food.

Ripe zucchini seeds are also used, which are recommended to be dried in the oven or lightly fried in vegetable oil to preserve their beneficial qualities.

Zucchini all year round

Even when stored for a long time, zucchini retain their beneficial properties. If you stock up this useful vegetable and take care of proper storage (for example, in a dry, cool cellar), zucchini will become your insurance against spring vitamin deficiency.