Lettuce Health Benefits, Nutrition and Vegetable Facts

Health Benefits of Eating Lettuce -- A Comprehensive View

Eating lettuce provides you with lots of health advantages. Although there are many varieties of lettuce, they do not offer the same nutritional value. Usually, the darker the color, the better it is to your health.

Lettuce is popular due to its antioxidant vitamin A and beta-carotene contents. Every 100 g raw lettuce generally supply you 247% RDA of vitamin A and over 4,400 mcg of beta-carotene. Vitamin A is good for our vision and maintaining healthy mucus membranes.
Lettuce juice is the best source of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is an organic cleanser and healer. It is an effective red blood builder, cell stimulator, rejuvenator and antiseptic.
The vegetable is also rich in vitamin K, which helps prevent Alzheimer's disease through lowering damage of neurons in the brain.
100 g of lettuce contains 1,730 mcg of zeaxanthin, an antioxidant carotenoid that promotes the light-filtering function of eyes and helps avoid age-related macular disease.
Folate in the vegetable is essential to expecting mothers as it protect infants from birth defects like neural tube defects and spina bifida.
Lettuce has an abundance of iron. This essential mineral helps carry oxygen in the blood, from the lungs to other organs and muscles. With vitamin C also present in lettuce, it helps to absorb iron appropriately.
Contain very low calories, the vegetable is dieters' favorite food, which help them in weight loss.
Besides the health benefits mentioned above, lettuce also contains other vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, calcium, copper and manganese.

Facts about Lettuce

4 Different Varieties of Fresh Lettuce Leaves

Lettuce (scientific name Lactuca sativa) is the member of Asteraceae Family, same as the sunflower and daisy. The name lettuce is derived from the Latin word “Lactuca”, which means milk. When its leaf is broken, you may see white liquid resembling milk exuded from it. This liquid is the one that responsible for the bitter flavor of lettuce.

Lettuce Varieties

Lettuce is generally classified into 4 main categories:

Iceberg lettuce -- the leaves inside is whitish and the outside is green, with a crisp, watery texture and a mild flavor.
Butterhead lettuce -- it has soft but large leaves which can be separated easily from the stem, with tender texture and a sweet flavor.
Romaine lettuce -- known also as cos, this head-forming type lettuce has long leaves with deep green in color. It has a deep flavor and a crisp texture.
Loose-leaf lettuce -- Contains wide, curly leaves that are red or green. It has a delicate flavor and slightly crispy texture.

Lettuce Nutrition Facts and Calories

Nutrition Value of 1 cup (36 g) Raw Lettuce, Green Leaves (Shredded)
Calories	5 kcal
Total Fat	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	10 mg
Total Carbohydrates	1 g
Dietary Fiber	0 g
Sugars	0 g
Protein	0 g

Lettuce Recipe

Bacon Lettuce Tomato Turkey Sundried Tomato Corn Wrap

Serve: 4

Ingredients:

3/4 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
4 bacon slices
8 slices deli turkey
4 eight-inch tortillas
2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

Preparation:

Mix the corn, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato, vinegar and oil in a bowl to make corn salad.
Divide the bacon and turkey among the tortillas. Top with the corn salad and lettuce. Roll up and serve.

Lettuce Side Effects

The adverse reaction from consuming lettuce is unknown.