10 Surpising Nutritional Facts about Romaine Lettuce!

MadeOfMagic
MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I used to never eat salads because I only like romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, meat and dressing in my salads; plus all the dressing had way to many calories especially I like LOTS of dressing. I recently starting eating salads because I found amazing healthy low cal dressing from my bfs work, but I thought the only nutrition I was getting from my salad was everything except romaine lettuce! People used to always say that romaine and iceberg lettuce didnt have much nutrition because of so little calories-people called them empty calories, I would avoid it based on that belief. Well below facts have changed my views on romaine lettuce,

10 SURPRISING NUTRITIONAL FACTS ABOUT ROMAINE LETTUCE
RDA=Recommended Daily Allowance

1 – Protein. Believe it or not, romaine lettuce is 17% protein with 7.7 grams per head. It is also a complete protein! That means that it has all 8 essential amino acids, 9% RDA of some and up to 26% RDA of others.

2 – Calcium. One head of romaine has 206mg of calcium (about 21% RDA). Blend it with calcium rich fruits like papaya and oranges and you’ll get more calcium than a glass of milk!

3 – Omega-3s. One head of romaine lettuce contains 44% RDA of Omega-3 essential fats. Forget the tainted fish oils, reach for some leafy greens instead!

4 – More Vitamin C Than An Orange. One head of romaine contains 167% RDA of vitamin C while an average sized orange contains only 92%.

5 – Iron. One head of romaine contains 6mg of iron, which ads a significant source of iron to the diets of vegetarians and vegans.

6 – Romaine Lettuce is Rich in B-vitamins: Thiamine (B1) – 38% RDA, Riboflavin (B2) – 32% RDA, Niacin (B3) – 12% RDA, Pantothenic Acid (B5) – 18%, Pyridoxine (B6) – 36 %, Folate (B9) – 213%!

7 – Water. One head of romaine provides 16% of your daily water needs with about 20 ounces of water per head!

8 – Rich Source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and K. As with most leafy greens, romaine is super rich in beta-carotene with 1817% RDA per head and has 535% RDA of vitamin K.

9 – Low Levels of Oxalic Acid. If you have problems with calcium oxalate kidney stones, romaine lettuce might be a good choice for leafy greens since it is very low in this anti-nutrient.

10 – Mineral-Rich. Don’t let the lighter color of romaine lettuce fool you. This not-so-dark leafy green is rich in minerals. One head contains copper (33% RDA), magnesium (22% RDA), manganese (42% RDA), phosphorus (27% RDA), potassium (33%), selenium (5% RDA) and zinc (13% RDA).

http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/nutrition/10-surprising-nutrition-facts-about-romaine-lettuce/

Replies

  • MadeOfMagic
    MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
    Sorry for any misspellings!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    It's not really surprising at all. In fact, it's been known for some time that Romaine is far superior to Iceberg, which would explain the price difference.
  • MadeOfMagic
    MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
    I was not comparing the two, I just did not know romaine lettuce was so awesome and had all this stuff, ice berg lettuce actually has lots of good stuff too, but much much less of course-the greener the healthier. I just never thought lettuce of all things would be this healthy!
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    I used to never eat salads because I only like romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, meat and dressing in my salads; plus all the dressing had way to many calories especially I like LOTS of dressing. I recently starting eating salads because I found amazing healthy low cal dressing from my bfs work, but I thought the only nutrition I was getting from my salad was everything except romaine lettuce! People used to always say that romaine and iceberg lettuce didnt have much nutrition because of so little calories-people called them empty calories, I would avoid it based on that belief. Well below facts have changed my views on romaine lettuce,

    10 SURPRISING NUTRITIONAL FACTS ABOUT ROMAINE LETTUCE
    RDA=Recommended Daily Allowance

    1 – Protein. Believe it or not, romaine lettuce is 17% protein with 7.7 grams per head. It is also a complete protein! That means that it has all 8 essential amino acids, 9% RDA of some and up to 26% RDA of others.

    2 – Calcium. One head of romaine has 206mg of calcium (about 21% RDA). Blend it with calcium rich fruits like papaya and oranges and you’ll get more calcium than a glass of milk!

    3 – Omega-3s. One head of romaine lettuce contains 44% RDA of Omega-3 essential fats. Forget the tainted fish oils, reach for some leafy greens instead!

    4 – More Vitamin C Than An Orange. One head of romaine contains 167% RDA of vitamin C while an average sized orange contains only 92%.

    5 – Iron. One head of romaine contains 6mg of iron, which ads a significant source of iron to the diets of vegetarians and vegans.

    6 – Romaine Lettuce is Rich in B-vitamins: Thiamine (B1) – 38% RDA, Riboflavin (B2) – 32% RDA, Niacin (B3) – 12% RDA, Pantothenic Acid (B5) – 18%, Pyridoxine (B6) – 36 %, Folate (B9) – 213%!

    7 – Water. One head of romaine provides 16% of your daily water needs with about 20 ounces of water per head!

    8 – Rich Source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and K. As with most leafy greens, romaine is super rich in beta-carotene with 1817% RDA per head and has 535% RDA of vitamin K.

    9 – Low Levels of Oxalic Acid. If you have problems with calcium oxalate kidney stones, romaine lettuce might be a good choice for leafy greens since it is very low in this anti-nutrient.

    10 – Mineral-Rich. Don’t let the lighter color of romaine lettuce fool you. This not-so-dark leafy green is rich in minerals. One head contains copper (33% RDA), magnesium (22% RDA), manganese (42% RDA), phosphorus (27% RDA), potassium (33%), selenium (5% RDA) and zinc (13% RDA).

    http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/nutrition/10-surprising-nutrition-facts-about-romaine-lettuce/
    Thank You for sharing that :flowerforyou: I gave up iceberg years ago for Romaine, I heard it had more nutrients, plus I think A lot more flavor. I did not know however, just how much :noway: Great information :happy:
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I was not comparing the two, I just did not know romaine lettuce was so awesome and had all this stuff, ice berg lettuce actually has lots of good stuff too, but much much less of course-the greener the healthier. I just never thought lettuce of all things would be this healthy!

    I got ya'. My post was more of a 'woohooo useless information' post. :)

    It is pretty interesting how many nutrients are in there, when you consider how little food energy is actually in lettuce in general.
  • Nanadena
    Nanadena Posts: 739 Member
    I wonder if I could grow this in my garden this summer
  • MadeOfMagic
    MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
    Same here, I gave up iceberg and now only get romaine, it sure does taste way better! I have salads every night now, I never realized how many amazing nutrients it had! I feel prouder to eat it now, lol
  • emilyc85
    emilyc85 Posts: 450 Member
    This is great! I had no idea and this is a good reason to switch! Thank you :)
  • ckish
    ckish Posts: 341 Member
    Lettuce is very easy to grow and I was surprised at how much better it tastes too. :D
  • simplysassi
    simplysassi Posts: 137 Member
    I love Romaine lettuce. I like to add it to my spring mix - half and half. It adds a nice crunch and tastes wonderful.
  • MadeOfMagic
    MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
    Lettuce is very easy to grow and I was surprised at how much better it tastes too. :D

    One day when I have a house I am going to plant some!
  • susan_skipper
    susan_skipper Posts: 33
    Romaine lettuce is easy to grow and I have grown it quite a few times. The thing to remember is when it get to be a nice shape and size, tie it up (not too tight) with string around the middle. That makes it keep its tight shape. I think it protects the heart of it as well and then you can leave them in the garden a little longer while you eat them one by one.
    Thanks for posting the nutritional info about them. I knew about the iron and minerals but didnt know about the other things. I love Romaine lettuce, with a little sprinkle of "Mrs Dash" spice on it and some flaked tuna. Cant stand caeser salads with the dressing though.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    This is the only green thing I can get my boyfriend to eat. I love romaine. Hope theres not bad frost like there was the other year.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    cool! Thanks for posting. I love romaine :)
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
    I love romaine but I doubted this was accurate - looked it up and you're right! I had some yesterday and I noticed a smaller portion still had a couple grams of protein, but I didn't realize all the other benefits. I am always looking for good sources of potassium in particular, I never get to the 3500g recommended amount - the source I checked said that one head of romaine (626g) actually has 44% of the RDA.

    Of course, I generally don't eat a whole head of lettuce in one day. I'll have to see how much you have to eat for 626g.

    http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2475/2

    I make myself eat more spinach than I like, but now I can have more romaine. :) (Of course spinach is still awesome for you, but not as tasty in salads.) Hmmm, I'll have to compare it to kale.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    17% protein by what measure, calorie count? Romaine is 1% protein by weight. Few people eat a whole 600g head that is a very misleading serving size, if you look at the per 100g it's pretty low in all minerals and very low in omega-3 (short chain anyway not the useable long chain format). If you ate 600g of almost any wholefood you'd get a pile of nutrients. Certainly better than iceberg, but I'd still opt for baby spinach, 'anti nutrients' and all.
  • MadeOfMagic
    MadeOfMagic Posts: 525 Member
    17% protein by what measure, calorie count? Romaine is 1% protein by weight. Few people eat a whole 600g head that is a very misleading serving size, if you look at the per 100g it's pretty low in all minerals and very low in omega-3 (short chain anyway not the useable long chain format). If you ate 600g of almost any wholefood you'd get a pile of nutrients. Certainly better than iceberg, but I'd still opt for baby spinach, 'anti nutrients' and all.
    Per 100g it has 247mg of potassium, that is about 1/9th serving of romaine lettuce head-an average lettuce head is a pound and 7oz, I eat 1 1/2 of the romaine lettuce heads when I make my salad, so that is about 2200mg of potassium, over a 2/3 of what my body needs. It's hard for me to get all my potassium, but I get most of my daily needs from my salad. I got superb cilantro lime dressing that is about 200cals for 1/2 cup, and it's made of all fresh ingredients, so I make huge salads with barely any dent of my calories and get ton of nutrition from it. I hate spinach, I try to eat brocolli and other veggies but I can't stand most leafy greens so this is by far best option for me.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,332 Member
    I love romaine and eat it every day. Spinach doesn't really absorb well raw, it's much better nutritionally when lightly steamed or sautéed.
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
    Not surprising. I used to have an iguana and that is basically all they ate. I would give them bananas and zucchini occasionally as treats, but their primary source of food was romaine.
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I didn't have a CLUE, I just had some yesterday and will be SURE to start adding some to my veggie juices--THANK YOU!!!!:drinker: :flowerforyou: :drinker:

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