High blood pressure, or hypertension, can leave you at risk for developing an aneurysm, stroke, or worse. Since cucumbers are high in the electrolyte potassium, they may reduce sodium-induced water retention and thus lower blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. But, of course, cucumbers on their own won’t mitigate the damage of an entire bag of chips a day, so if you do have high blood pressure, make sure you also work on reducing harmful habits (like smoking, maintaining a sedentary lifestyle, and eating excessive saturated fat- and cholesterol-laden foods), in addition to focusing on your cuke intake.
