Let us make you Healthier with Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce is the second most popular vegetable in the U.S., right behind potatoes. Before refrigeration, ice was mounded on top of head lettuce to keep it cool during shipping. This gave it the appearance of an iceberg. Hence the current name.
There are five common types of lettuce.
- leaf
- romaine
- crisphead (head lettuce or iceberg lettuce)
- butterhead
- stem (also called asparagus lettuce)
Regular readers of the Nutrition Lessons website know that the darker the leafy green, the better the health benefits. Thus, iceberg lettuce should NOT be your first choice. For example, Romaine lettuce has over 11 times more vitamin A and over seven times more vitamin C than iceberg lettuce.
Some nutritional facts from the USDA National Nutrient Database (see page footnote for details) may interest you. All data is a comparison between iceberg lettuce (first number) and romaine lettuce (second number). For brevity I have left off the units. Suffice to say that the comparisons are between equal amounts of each type of lettuce.
- calcium - 18 vs. 33
- beta carotene - 299 vs. 3484
- iron - 0.41 vs. 0.97
- potassium - 141 vs. 247
- sodium - 10 vs. 8
- total sugars - 1.76 vs. 1.19
- vitamin A - 502 vs. 5807
- vitamin C - 2.8 vs. 24
- zinc - 0.15 vs. 0.23
An MSNBC article suggests that most adults should eat three cups of dark green vegetables a week. To reach this amount, you could have a half-cup serving almost every day, or larger servings several times a week.
This article at the Young Women's Health web site says that "dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of many vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, like vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. They are also great sources of fiber. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetable usually has." That article also suggests ways of using various green leafy vegetables to strenghten the nutrition of your diet.
Here is a good page describing the 5 types of lettuce, how to buy, how to store, and how to prepare. There are even some tips. One suggestion that they make is to use a salad spinner to dry washed lettuce leaves. I have owned a spinner for at least a decade, and use it regularly. One tip I had never considered before was to use wilted lettuce in a soup or stew. No waste! Also, never cut lettuce; tear by hand instead.
Ready for that salad?
p.s. Now don't ruin it with a high calorie mass produced salad dressing!
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