Food myths - busted (or not...)

Hey guys,

so thought I would change direction with my blog this week and take some time to look at the truth behind some food myths - you know those little bits of wisdom you spout and then go, "mmm is that really true or am I just helping to perpetuate some urban myth?".

So today's food myth is lettuce. Now I have for the longest time believed that lettuce has virtually no nutritional quality. I knew it was mostly water, and that it could have a soporific effect on you but that was about it. However most of the salad base in ready made salads from our local shops is lettuce, whenever I'm at dinner at my in-laws a big bowl of 'salad' is placed on the table containing nothing but lettuce leaves, and so I wondered...

what nutritional quality does lettuce have?

Well it does have some. But not a lot. Lettuce is (and I was right here - surprise, surprise ;-P) basically water with some dietary fibre thrown in. It does also have a vitamin and mineral content including; vitamins A, B6, C, K, thiamin, potassium, manganese, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and copper! Phew! That said these are all in very small quantities, and not likely to make much of a dent in your daily requirements. What's the solution - eat like a rabbit? Well different lettuces do have different nutritional qualities, but if you're looking for a relatively neutral salad base that just puts these others in the shade then look no further than spinach, or baby spinach. Spinach just blows lettuce out of the water in terms of the nutritional value and while it does have slightly more flavour (I prefer it personally), it can still make for that nice neutral(ish) base.

So here's to spinach and out with lettuce (unless you're thirsty). Eat smart and make your food count. And for ease's sake here's a nice little comparison table, courtesy of: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/recipes/spinach/spinach&lettucenutrition.html

A Comparison of the Nutrient Content of Spinach and Lettuce Types
		Spinach	Lettuce, iceberg	Lettuce, looseleaf	Lettuce, romaine	Lettuce, butterhead
Nutrient	Units	Value per 100 grams of edible portion
Water	g	91.580	95.890	94.000	94.910	95.580
Energy	kcal	22.000	12.000	18.000	14.000	13.000
Energy	kj	92.000	50.000	75.000	59.000	54.000
Protein	g	2.860	1.010	1.300	1.620	1.290
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.350	0.190	0.300	0.200	0.220
Carbohydrates, by difference	g	3.500	2.090	3.500	2.370	2.320
Fiber, total dietary	g	2.700	1.400	1.900	1.700	1.000
Ash	g	1.720	0.480	0.900	0.900	0.590
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	99.000	19.000	68.000	36.000	32.000
Iron, Fe	mg	2.710	0.500	1.400	1.100	0.300
Magnesium, Mg	mg	79.000	9.000	11.000	6.000	13.000
Phosphorus, P	mg	49.000	20.000	25.000	45.000	23.000
Potassium, K	mg	558.000	158.000	264.000	290.000	257.000
Sodium, Na	mg	79.000	9.000	9.000	8.000	5.000
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.530	0.220	0.290	0.250	0.170
Copper, Cu	mg	0.130	0.028	0.044	0.037	0.023
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.897	0.151	0.750	0.636	0.133
Selenium, Se	mg	1.000	0.200	0.200	0.200	0.200
Vitamins
Vitamin C, ascorbic acid	mg	28.100	3.900	18.000	24.000	8.000
Thiamin	mg	0.078	0.046	0.050	0.100	0.060
Riboflavin	mg	0.189	0.030	0.080	0.100	0.060
Niacin	mg	0.724	0.187	0.400	0.500	0.300
Pantothenic acid	mg	0.065	0.046	0.200	0.170	0.180
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.195	0.040	0.055	0.047	0.050
Folate	mcg	194.400	56.000	49.800	135.700	73.300
Vitamin B-12	mcg	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Vitamin A, IU	IU	6715.000	330.000	1900.000	2600.000	970.000
Vitamin A, RE	mcg_RE	672.000	33.000	190.000	260.000	97.000
Vitamin E	mg_ATE	1.890	0.280	0.440	0.440	0.440

Enjoy your salads!!
Rach

Picture courtesy of: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/texascrops/leafygreensandpetioles/lettuce.jpg