Lettuce is one leafy vegetable we’d love to have even with junk food like burger and healthy food like salad. Lettuce is a cool weather crop found all-round the year. Iceberg lettuce is what most of us consume as they are easily available in the market. It might excite us a lot to know that there are different types of lettuce. Arugula, Batavia lettuce, Belgian Endive, Butter lettuce, Chrysanthemum Greens, Dandelion Greens are the different types of lettuce we know of, and they may not be easily available in India.
Health benefits of lettuce
Just when we think that we aren’t able to drink a lot of water, it’s important that we look around at the foods available. Just like cucumber, watermelon, muskmelon, and all the juicy fruits lettuce is very rich in water, though it may not be very rich in fibre. Calcium, potassium, vitamin C and folate are the nutrients available in your lettuce. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it helps us meet the standard daily requirements of vitamins and minerals and we also consume an additional amount of water automatically. So below are the health benefits of consuming lettuce, whether they are green lettuce, purple lettuce, red lettuce etc.
1. Aids in weight loss
The property of any food which has an excess amount of water undeniably means that it suffices your hunger while not adding many calories to your body.
2. Anti-inflammatory
Since it has a cooling and soothing effect on your stomach it battles inflammation that could be caused by unplanned diets we have in our busy lives.
3. Hydration
Again going back to the point where it has a lot of water, missing on drinking your regular amount can be somehow adjusted if juicy vegetables like lettuce are consumed.
4. Lowers the levels of Cholesterol
When stroke and heart attack have been common these days, the impact of eating lettuce frequently or rather regularly showed a significant reduction in cholesterol.
5. Induces Sleep
A lot of stress and anxiety that comes with our fast moving lives makes us compromise with our sleep, and over time it might become a habit of just not getting enough sleep even when we have the time to. Lettuce again is a saviour to sleep problems.
Lettuce Recipes:
Vegetable Salad: Adding tomato, onions, cucumber, peppers, and carrot garnished with some olive oil, salt and dressing turn into an amazing vegetable salad.
Corn Lettuce Salad: One cup of boiled corn, one baby potatoes, mushroom or peas or even throw in some chicken or fish with lettuce. Garnished with salt, oil, lemon juice and any dressing that you prefer makes for a fantastic corn salad again.
The frequency of same nutrients consumption may make us lack other nutrients and to avoid that is the reason we are asked to follow a balanced diet so we can live in a healthy body.