Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: Cujef on 15/08/2007 20:14:51

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: Cujef on 15/08/2007 20:14:51

I was told by a friend that he she eats cucumbers and it makes her feel body feel cooler. I became quite curious and did some research online and couldn't find any conclusive scientific explination as to why cucumbers would lower body temperature. Is it a mental thing? or is there something inside them that will chemically react to aid in lowering your body temperature?

Thank You!

-Jeff

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: neilep on 15/08/2007 23:36:33

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to the site !

Good question.

I'm not a cucumber or biology person but my suspicion is that it is psychosomatic !....Cucumbers are notoriously linked to ' coolness ' and I wonder if it is indeed a cognitive reaction.

...but...maybe there is some truth in it...

...lets hope a passing cucumber/anatomy person passes by and answers.

in the mean time...enjoy the site.

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: another_someone on 16/08/2007 00:01:13

What does she mean by her body 'feeling cooler'?

One can have an elevated temperature due to fever, and yet shiver with cold - so subjective notions of feeling warm or cool are not necessarily meaningful.

One chemical that has been shown to lower body temperature is H₂S, but I am not aware that cucumbers (unlike rotten eggs) do contain any H₂S.

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: paul.fr on 16/08/2007 07:42:18

I am guessing this is the same effect that when you drink hot tea, you feel warmer, or an iced drink makes you feel cooler.

I know nothing about cucumbers having this effect, but if they were refrigerated, i don't see why your friend would not feel some sort of cooling sensation as she ate them.

You could always take her temperature before and after she has eaten cucumber and check your results.

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: Cujef on 16/08/2007 16:26:53

To further explain, my friend said she started eating cucumbers to feel cooler because she was told by a glass blower that is always around high heat furnaces, and that he eats cucmbers to combat the heat/feeling warm. I seriously think this is a mental thing. Although, most women I know have some sort of cucumber or melon type lotions they use that say they give a cooling feeling.

I guess I am more curious as to where this whole 'cooling' and cucumber thing started. I'd like to find a botanist or someone who knows a lot about vegatables/plants to tackle this one.

-Jeff

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: paul.fr on 16/08/2007 16:36:10

The origin of the phrase "as cool as a cucumber", Cool here means imperturbable rather than having a low temperature. Cucumbers are cool to the touch.
First recorded in John Gay's Poems, New Song on New Similies, 1732: "I ... cool as a cucumber could see The rest of womankind."

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: another_someone on 16/08/2007 17:06:40

I am guessing it may be down to the high water content in cucumber, which in high temperatures, may evaporate (possibly the fibres of a cucumber might also be efficient at bringing water to the surface to help it evaporate), and that evaporation would have a cooling effect.

Title: Can cucumbers really lower body temperature?
Post by: Cujef on 22/08/2007 15:17:45

In my research it seems cucumbers contain ascorbic acid and caffeic acid, which both aid in the prevention of water retention. Would not retaining water help someone stay cool? or would it simply just aid people in lowering swelling(as in using cucumbers on your eyes for cosmetic reasons)?