Calories in lettuce

History andinteresting facts

For those who are not that familiarwith the history or the origin of lettuce, its scientific name is Lactucasativa, which in Latin means milk (lac). Given the fact that it can be eateneither raw or as a supplement to a specific dish, lettuce is widely used as animportant ingredient of various salads, soups, sandwiches and numerous otherdishes. Additional important information that should not be disregarded isthat its stem is also as important as its leaves, when it comes to the generaluse. What contributes to its popularity is also quite a number of differentvarieties available at any time, which can satisfy just about anybody’s taste, suchas the Romaine lettuce, crisp head lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and loose-leaf lettuce.Another fact adding up to this popularity is that lettuce has extremely lowcalorie counts and thus is desirable for all those people, either consideringto start with, or those who already are on a specific diet regime. The benefitsof lettuce are just endless.

Background facts

This particular type of the plant wasone of the most frequently encountered plants in the Mediterranean region. Andin Egypt, it was even regarded as an aphrodisiac. On the other hand, the ancientGreeks believed it to posses qualities that can aid a person to a hugeextent in improving his/her sleep. The person who is responsible forintroducing this miraculous vegetable to Americans was none other butChristopher Columbus himself.

Nutrient counts under the microscope

When itcomes to nutrition and values, these are quite a treat. Lettuce is considered to be all time low insaturated fats, abounding in magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, calcium,potassium, and dietary fiber, as well as beta-carotene. In addition, it is an extremelyrich source of thiamine, iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, Vitamin K, andmost importantly, it has in it ever so low cholesterol and sodium amounts. Lettuceis regarded as a quite rich source of folic acid, which is another plus. Becauseof all its qualities, it is considered as a low calorie food variety, andtherefore, it is safely included in weight loss diets. Lettuce also containslactucarium, a mild opiate-like substance, which facilitates sleep.

Caloriecounts

The followinginformation is most definitely of biggest interest for the greatest majority ofpeople out there, i.e. the “infamous” calorie counts. When it comes to raw Iceberglettuce, for example, 72 gm contain 10 calories, 55 gm of Butterhead lettuceare endowed with 7 calories, Looseleaf lettuce gives one 1 calorie for every 10gm one eats, Romaine lettuce for the same quantity endows one with 2 caloriesand Ruby Tuesday Romaine Lettuce for each two cups eaten enriches person’scalorie count with 20 calories.