Lettuce Nutrition

Lettuce nutrition.. Grown as a leaf vegetable and a member of the daisy family, lettuce is mostly served cold and raw in salads or sandwiches as a cooling counterbalance to other ingredients due to its mild flavour.

• Lettuce has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years. It is a native to Europe and Asia but is grown throughout the world today.

• The name comes from 'milk' in latin as the plant has a milky juice: milk is lac in Latin, leche in Spanish, lait in French.

• The Yazidis that live in Northern Iraq consider eating lettuce a taboo, as they believe evil is found in it.

• Lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac food in Ancient Egypt.

• In China, lettuce is usually eaten cooked and the use of the stem is as important as the use of the leaf.

Types of Lettuce:
Romaine: Large, crisp leaves and a slightly sharp flavor.

Loose leaf: Mildly and delicately flavored leaves.

Chinese lettuce: Bitter taste on long and sword-shaped leaves.

Iceberg: Mild taste on crunchy leaves.

Butterhead lettuce: Softest leaves with a loose head and buttery taste.

Batavian lettuce: Non-hearty with frilly and crunchy - nutty flavoured leaves.

Lettuce Nutrition Values per 100 g

(Butterhead variety):

Calories: 13 kcal

Water: 96 g

Carbohydrates: 2.2 g

Fat: 0.2 g

Protein: 1.4 g

Dietary fibre: 1.1 g

Vitamin A: 166 ?g (18%)

Folate: 73 ?g (18%)

Vitamin C: 4 mg (7%)

Vitamin K: 24 ?g (23%)

Iron: 1.2 mg (10%)

Lettuce Nutrition and Health Benefits:
• Lettuce can be eaten freely by diabetics, as it is very low in carbohydrate content.

• Lettuce is great for dieters because it is very low in calories.

• The high content of magnesium in the juice has exceptional power to vitalise the muscular tissues, the nerves and the brain.

• Lettuce contains considerable amount of iron and supplies a good form of vegetable haemoglobin. Iron must be replenished frequently to meet the demands of the body.

• Lettuce aids digestion and is associated with better liver health.

• Lettuce has a good content of dietary fiber, it is good for those suffering from constipation and it does help digestion.

• Romaine or cos lettuce is a great source of vitamin A- beta carotene,vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, manganese, and chromium. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, 6 vitamins and minerals.

• Romaine lettuce has six times as much vitamin C , eight times as muchvitamin A, and three times as much calcium as iceberg lettuce.

• Lettuce in general is a good source of vitamin K and chlorophyll.

• Magnesium in lettuce is able to vitalize the muscular tissues, the brain and the nerves.

• As a general rule, the darker green the leaves, the more nutritiousthe lettuce is. So you may want to choose romaine lettuce over iceberg as it is greener and a lot more nutritious.

http://www.glycemic-index.org/lettuce-nutrition.html

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