Although it sounds foreign, there are various benefits of sea cucumber for health that are a pity to miss. Sea cucumbers or better known as sea cucumbers are found in Indonesian waters and are also cultivated in artificial ponds for trade.
Sea cucumber is not a plant, but a marine animal that has a slippery and soft texture. You can eat sea cucumbers fresh or they can be dried beforehand to add to other dishes, such as soups, stews, and various stir-fries.
Although these animals have a slightly bland taste, the benefits of sea cucumbers or sea cucumbers cannot be underestimated. That's why sea cucumber is also available in the form of health supplements.
Sea Cucumber Nutrient Content
Similar to other marine animals, sea cucumbers also contain abundant nutrients and are good for health, such as:
- Protein
- Fatty acids that have antioxidant activity, such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, and linoleic acid
- Vitamins, such as vitamins A, B2, B3
- Minerals, such as calcium and magnesium
In addition, sea cucumber is also low in calories and contains various other compounds that are also beneficial for health, such as phenols, flavonoids, chondroitin sulfate, squalene, and triterpenoids.
Here are the benefits of sea cucumber that you can get from its nutritional content:
1. Maintain a normal weight
Eating protein-rich foods, such as sea cucumber, can help you maintain a normal weight. Because protein-rich foods can slow stomach emptying, so you will feel full longer and avoid the risk of overeating. That way, your risk for obesity will also be lower.
2. Maintain normal blood sugar levels
Thanks to its protein and healthy fat content, sea cucumber is also useful for keeping blood sugar stable and within normal levels. As mentioned earlier, protein is able to slow down the digestive process so it can prevent drastic spikes in blood sugar when eating
In addition, the fatty acids in sea cucumber are also known to increase the effectiveness of blood sugar regulation. With these two benefits, you will avoid the risk of suffering from diabetes.
3. Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
The high protein content in sea cucumber is also able to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Not only that, eating protein-rich foods is also beneficial for lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglyceride levels in the blood.
With normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, you will avoid the risk of experiencing various dangerous chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease.
4. Relieves symptoms osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a disease that can interfere with comfort and prevent a person from carrying out normal daily activities. Eating foods rich in chondroitin sulfate compounds, such as sea cucumber, is believed to bring benefits to sufferers osteoarthritis.
This compound is a component of bone and cartilage in joints that are often damaged in sufferers osteoarthritis. By taking chondroitin sulfate, joint damage is thought to improve and disease progression will slow down.
5. Fight cancer cells
The triterpenoid content in sea cucumber is known to slow the growth and spread of several types of cancer cells, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, and liver cancer.
The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoid compounds in sea cucumber are also considered to be able to stop the development of cancer cells and reduce your risk of developing cancer.
Although the benefits of sea cucumber above are quite promising, keep in mind that further research is still needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness as a drug, especially for serious diseases such as cancer. Even so, you can still use sea cucumber to maintain health.
Potential Side Effects of Sea Cucumber
In addition to its benefits, sea cucumber also has the potential to cause health problems, namely allergies and bleeding. If you have an allergy to seafood, you need to be careful in consuming sea cucumber, because you are most likely allergic to this sea animal.
Some species of sea cucumber have anticoagulant properties, namely the ability to thin the blood. If you are taking blood thinners, you should avoid taking sea cucumber, especially in supplement form, to avoid the risk of bleeding.
The benefits of sea cucumber for health are indeed very interesting. However, you should first consult a doctor before consuming it regularly, especially if you have a medical condition or are taking certain medications.
