If you are currently living a healthy lifestyle, you must have salad in your daily meal. And it is not salad without a lettuce as its ingredient. Lettuce is one of main ingredients if you want to make salad. Also, it is helpful if you know what kind of lettuce you are eating. Yes, there are many kinds of lettuce, each have its own unique attributes. They are iceberg lettuce, leaf lettuce, and romaine lettuce, just to name a few.
An example of unique lettuce is Romaine lettuce. Why is it unique? Because, it has a distinctive trait that differentiate it from other lettuces. That trait is its tolerance of heat. Aside from this unique characteristic, Romaine lettuce contains a lot of advantageous substances for our health.
This writing will covers all the health benefits of eating Romaine lettuce, as well as its nutrition value and precaution. (You may want to read :Â Red Lettuce Health Benefits)
Nutritional Value of Romanian Lettuce
Just like other dark leafy greens, Romaine lettuce contains a lot of Anti-oxidants. And not unlike other lettuces, Romaine lettuce is also good source of folate and iron. It also rich in Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. (See also :Â Health Benefits of Eating Garlic Soup)
For detailed information of substances found in Romaine lettuce, see the list below :
Nutritional value per 100 gram
- 72 kJ (17 kcal) Energy
- 3.3 g Carbohydrates
- 2.1 g Dietary fibre
- 0.3 g Fat
- 1.2 g Protein
- 290 μg (36%) Vitamin A
- 136 μg (34%) Folate (B9)
- 24 mg (29%) Vitamin C
- 33 mg (3%) Calcium
- 0.97 mg (7%) Iron
- 30 mg (4%) Phosphorus
- 247 mg (5%) Potassium
- 95 g Water
As you can see from the list above, Romaine lettuce contains high concentrations of Anti-oxidants (Vitamin A and Vitamin C), and also it has been stated that leafy dark greens such as Romaine lettuce is a good source of beta-carotene, another Anti-oxidant. (Also read :Â Health Benefits of Green Fruits and Vegetables)
Health Benefits of Romaine Lettuce
Those are the nutritional values of Romaine lettuce. Now, let’s see what does eating Romaine lettuce do for our body health :
1. Prevents cancer
Romaine lettuce contains high amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Beta-carotene. Those substances are type of Anti-oxidants. With these anti-oxidants found in Romaine lettuce, you can prevent cancer cell growing in your body.
2. Improves your metabolism and digestive system
As you can see from the list above, Romaine lettuce contains high concentration of water, minerals, and dietary fiber. So, if you eat this leafy greens, digestion processes that takes place in your body will work smoothly. Thus, resulting in improved metabolism and any toxins in your body removed.
3. Assists in weight reduction
Indeed, there are many health benefits of Romaine Lettuce. This is obviously will be listed here. Just like other vegetables, Romaine lettuce has low to none amount of fat, so if you put this lettuce in your diet plan instead of junk foods, you will certainly loss some weight.
Not just low fat, but Romaine lettuce also low in calories, sugars, and carbs. So, you don’t have to worry about getting fat after you eat this vegetable.Â
4. Healthy food for pregnant women
Not only Romaine lettuce helps those who are trying to lose weight, but it also helps pregnant women preventing congenital disorder. Generally speaking, this lettuce promotes safe pregnancy. This is because high concentration of folate found in Romaine lettuce. Folate is widely known as important vitamin during pregnancy. (See also :
5. Boosts body’s immune system
Romaine lettuce mainly consists of Vitamins, especially Vitamin A and Vitamin C. These Vitamins will help you to boost your immune system, thus keep the diseases away. Vitamin A defend the body from harmful bacteria overgrowth, while Vitamin C helps maintain digestive health and prevent virus infections, flu, and common colds.
6. Acts as a skin treatment
Again, Vitamin A and Vitamin C found in Romaine lettuce plays important role here. Vitamin A helps in healing skin damages and wounds, helps build collagen, and minimize acne. While Vitamin C helps reduce inflammation.
7. Maintains a youthful look
The same as above, Vitamin A and Vitamin C will helps in nourishing skin. A healthy skin will lead to a youthful appearance. (You may want to read :Â Health Benefits of Collagen Drink)
8. Maintains eye’s health
According to some researches, people who consume enough Vitamin A and Vitamin C have smaller chance to suffer eye damage as they grow older. Also, the studies have shown that Vitamin A can prevent macular degeneration, a major cause of age-related blindness. Because Romaine lettuce contains high amount of these vitamins, it is recommended to add it to your daily consumption.Â
9. Prevents bone loss
Look at the nutritional values listed above, Romaine lettuce contains notable amount of minerals, Calcium, Phosphorus, and Irons. Although the effect is not as great as Vitamin K, these minerals still give the bone density a good boost and can helps prevent osteoporosis in the later age.
10. Maintains a healthy heart and blood circulation
Romaine lettuce contains a lot of folates (B9). Folate or folic acid is a Vitamin B that convert homocysteine. This function of folate is important because, if not converted, homocysteine might cause heart problems. Also, Vitamin A and Vitamin C found in Romaine lettuce helps increase the blood flow, prevent blood clots and other cardiovascular diseases. (Also read : Benefits of Honey for Heart Disease)
Caution of Romanian LettuceÂ
In early 2018, Romaine lettuce has been linked to the events of E. coli outbreak in USA and Canada. It is highly recommended that consumers who live within the mentioned areas not buy or eat Romaine lettuce unless they sure it is not shipped from the Yuma, Arizona.
In the past time, Romaine lettuce also has been linked to numerous E. coli and Shigella outbreaks. Studies have shown that some harmful bacterias has been found in Romaine lettuce. Some of those bacterias are Salmonella, Aeromonas, Campylobacter, and Yersinia. They may lead to food-borne illnesses.
Hence, it is strongly recommended that consumers buy Romaine lettuces from a trusted market with high level hygiene.