Cucumber vs Watermelon – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing cucumber to watermelon, we picked the cucumber.

Why?

It was close!

In terms of macros, these two “mostly water” salad items are very similar, though nominally cucumber does have slightly more fiber, and watermelon has slightly more carbs. So, either a tie here, or the very slenderest of first-round wins to cucumber.

In the category of vitamins, cucumbers have more of vitamins B2, B5, B7, B9, and K (and even, 164x as much vitamin K), while watermelon has more of vitamins A, B1, B3, C, and E, so that’d be a 5:5 tie by the vitamin count alone, but we say the margin of difference on vitamin K, of which cucumbers are a good source, breaks the tie and gives cucumber the win in this round.

Looking at minerals, cucumber has more calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, while watermelons have more selenium—an overwhelming win for cucumbers here.

In other considerations, both have a fair array of beneficial polyphenols, and cucumber extract is particularly potent (see the link in the “learn more” section below), but that’s as an extract—you’d have to eat a remarkable number of cucumbers to get that benefit from the food alone. So, we call this round a tie functionally, or else a super-marginal fourth-round win for cucumber.

Adding up the sections makes for a compelling overall win for cucumbers, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!

Want to learn more?

You might like:

Cucumber Extract Beats Glucosamine & Chondroitin… At 1/135th Of The Dose?!

Enjoy!