Lettuce is more of an afterthought to you. You toss it into salads mostly for its crunchy bite. You grab it at the grocery store because you think you’re supposed to. You rinse it hurriedly before tossing it on top of other ingredients that gets most of the attention.
But here’s what you don’t know: Lettuce isn’t created equal. Different types of greens contains different nutrients, and the numbers show it.
Why You Should Choose Darker Lettuce
What’s the distinction between iceberg and romaine? It is about texture, but it is also about the difference between eating water and eating something nutritious.
Why should you choose iceberg lettuce? Ninety-five percent of iceberg is water. This give the lettuce its refreshing qualities, though at cost of nutritional value. According to the data, it ranks dead last in nearly all vitamins. Compared than romaine (the salad green that ranks highest overall), it has less then a quarter of the vitamin K and barely any vitamin A.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t eat iceberg; just consider it a garnish, something to provide crunch and structure, not substance.
For nutritional reasons, romaine is the best bet: it tops the charts in vitamin K and vitamin A. The darker leaves is loaded with beta-carotene (the pigment that makes them so deeply green), which your body turn into retinol. Good for immune function and eyesight.
Vitamin K, meanwhile, plays an important role in how bones work and blood clotting. In one-hundred grams of romaine, you get well over a hundred percent of what you need in a day (all in just one serving). Because the pale inner heart has less nutritional value, seek out the dark leaves. The outer leaves are where the phytonutrients, carotenoids, and chlorophyll is. Choosing the darker parts of the plant doesn’t change the recipe, but it make your meal better.
Leaf lettuces (both green and red) is another tempting choice. They are high in vitamin C and folate. Plus, red leaves has anthocyanins (the pigments responsible for antioxidant activity in berries) as well. These plant compounds help fight against oxidative stress in our bodies.
Interestingly enough, the infographic indicate that red leaf lettuce scores high on the antioxidant capacity list. So toss a few handfuls of red leaf into your salad mix, and you’ve got some protective compounds that iceberg can’t deliver. It is a tiny trade-off for big rewards.
It’s not only what you choose but how you prepare it. Heat-sensitive nutrients such as folate and vitamin C breaks down rapidly; most of us consume our greens raw, so they retain these important compounds.
But fat-soluble vitamins, like A, E and K… Require some dietary fat for proper absorption. So if you toss your salad in pure vinegar, you’re washing all those essential nutrients right out of your system. A bit of olive oil changes the chemistry. Your body will pull the vitamins out of the leaves’ cellular structure. You may think raw is good, but without fat, your body might not even absorb it.
Quality is affected by storage time as well. Once harvested, vitamin C begin to diminish. And the more time passes, the lower the content. To get maximum benefits, eat them shortly after being cut. Simple enough, yet we tend to forget. Buy the large bag, let it sit for a while. When we finally eat it, it is not very nutritious.
When it comes to choosing your lettuce, imagine that you’re making a deal: Nutrition versus Texture. Iceberg provides crunch but nothing else. Leaf lettuce and romaine provides vitamins and minerals. The best of both worlds are a combination. Base it off romaine or leaf. Top it off with icebergs for texture. Dress it with oil so your vitamins stand out. It is simple, but it takes some thought.
We all say we want healthy food, yet hardly anyone stops long enough to see whether what we’re eating is truly healthy. Next time you buy a head of lettuce, inspect the leaves. Are they pale? You’ve mainly bought water. Are they dark? You’ve bought fuel. Make a smart decision; your salad will finally do its job.