“Lettuce” and its benefits and effects that no one has ever told you about. Lettuce is a popular vegetable that is a staple in many people’s diets. While lettuce comes in different colors, flavors, and nutritional contents, most types contain vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that have protective properties for the body. For example, eating more lettuce can help increase your intake of essential vitamins and minerals, such as folate and vitamin C, as well as plant compounds, such as carotenoids, all of which can help boost overall health and reduce the risk of common diseases, such as heart disease.
Benefits of Lettuce
Folate
is a B vitamin that is essential for many important processes in the body, such as red blood cell formation and cell division. This B vitamin is in high demand during pregnancy because it is essential for the growth and development of the fetus.
A good source of plant compounds with protective properties
Lettuce is rich in plant compounds such as carotenoids, phenolic acids and flavonoids, all of which have powerful cell-protective properties.
For example, lettuce is high in beta-carotene and lutein, which have antioxidant properties in the เว็บพนันออนไลน์ UFABET สมัครง่าย โปรโมชั่นมากมาย body. Antioxidants help prevent cell damage by neutralizing highly reactive compounds called free radicals. Free radicals are byproducts of metabolism and other processes. When free radicals overwhelm the body’s antioxidant defenses, it leads to a condition called oxidative stress, which damages your cells and causes chronic inflammation.
Oxidative stress accelerates the aging process and is associated with a number of diseases, including heart disease and some cancers.
Eating foods rich in antioxidants, such as romaine lettuce, can help boost the body’s antioxidant defenses and protect against oxidative stress, thus reducing the risk of common diseases. For example, studies have found that people who consumed foods high in antioxidants found in romaine lettuce. Such as beta-carotene and polyphenols, had a reduced risk of certain cancers.
A 2024 review of 15 studies found that people with the highest blood levels of beta-carotene had a 24% lower risk of developing breast cancer than those with the lowest blood levels of beta-carotene.
Higher blood levels of beta-carotene and lutein, found abundantly in lettuce, have also been shown to help protect against heart disease and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the leading cause of vision loss in older adults today.
Lettuce also provides polyphenol compounds such as caffeic acid, selenium chloride, and quercetin. Studies have shown that polyphenols may help prevent common diseases such as neurodegenerative disease, heart disease. And stroke by supporting blood vessel health, reducing inflammation, and regulating blood lipid levels.
May help reduce the risk of disease and support mental health.
Adding more vegetables to your diet is one of the best ways to take care of your health and reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases.
Decades of research have shown that people who eat more vegetables. Especially fresh vegetables like romaine lettuce. Tend to have lower rates of diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. This is because vegetables like romaine are low in calories but high in plant compounds, vitamins, and minerals that have protective properties.
Adding more vegetables to your diet can help increase your nutrient intake and increase your intake of compounds that help protect cells from oxidative damage, support healthy blood sugar and blood lipid levels, and reduce inflammation.
Eating more fresh vegetables may help improve your mental health and prevent depression.
A 2018 study of 422 people found that those who consumed more fresh fruits and vegetables had lower rates of depression and higher positive mood and life satisfaction than those who consumed more cooked and canned fruits and vegetables. Lettuce was among the top 10 fresh foods linked to better mental health outcomes in this population, the researchers reported.
Risks of eating lettuce
Lettuce is safe for most people to eat and is not associated with many health risks. Lettuce allergies are uncommon. However, people who have a condition called lipid-transferred protein sensitization (LTP) — a form of food allergy in which people react to certain proteins found in many plant foods — can have mild to severe allergic reactions after eating lettuce.
In addition, lettuce can be contaminated with harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning. Such as E. coli, norovirus, listeria, salmonella, and cyclospora.
For this reason, it is very important to wash lettuce thoroughly under running water before eating. Other ways to prevent bacterial contamination of lettuce include:
- Keep lettuce away from raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and use a separate cutting board for raw vegetables.
- Store lettuce in the refrigerator at 40°F or below in a clean container.
- Wash and disinfect cutting boards, utensils, and kitchen surfaces before preparing lettuce.
- Refrigerate lettuce and salads within two hours after preparation.
Using these food safety techniques can reduce your risk of getting sick from food poisoning.