Lettuce comes in many varieties – there’s the iceberg, romaine, butterhead and more.

Whatever the type of lettuce, they are a good raw food addition to any diet as they can help offset acid-forming foods like meat and dairy.

All lettuce also contain life-giving chlorophyll – the darker the colour of the leaves, the greater the nutrient intensity.

Different types of lettuce are then rich in different nutrients. For example, iceberg contain choline, while romaine are filled with significant amounts of folic acid, vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, as well as manganese and chromium.

One thing to be aware though, lettuce falls under the list of “dirty” vegetables and fruits that tend to have higher pesticide load as the chemicals are absorbed by the edible portions of the plant. As such, it would be best to seek out organic lettuce as much as you can.

References
[1] Collins, Elise Marie. An A-Z Guide to Healing Foods: A Shopper’s Companion. San Francisco, California:

Cindy L. TJOL is trained in Psychology, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has several years of experience writing on natural health on the internet. Follow her on her blog and read her other articles at Insights On Health.com.